Place Making

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To ensure that the most sustainable sites are used for development and that the design process, layout structure and form provide a development that is appropriate to the local context and supports a sustainable community.

Read the background on Place Making

Question 3.1

Objective

To ensure effective re-use of appropriate existing buildings.

Importance:

Question

What percentage of the existing appropriate buildings on site are being re-used/ refurbished?

Targets and Justification

Best: 100%
Good: >50%
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.2

Objective

To ensure that the landscaping scheme is attractive and appropriate to the local environment

Importance:

Question

Has a landscaping scheme been drawn up for the site to provide an integrated and ecologically sensitive green infrastructure? This should include POS, street scenes, public/private space boundaries and site boundaries, with landscape and ecological assets preserved and appropriately augmented.

Targets and Justification

Best: Drawn up with landscape architect AND qualified ecologist
Good: Drawn up with landscape architect OR a qualified ecologist
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.3

Objective

To achieve visual and physical connectivity that makes it easy to find the development and to navigate around it, whilst integrating it into the surrounding area.

Importance:

Question

Are there physical and visual links between the development and the surrounding area, and how do they integrate the development with the surrounding area?

Are new routes into the site continuations of existing access points from the surrounding area?
How direct are sight lines of existing neighbourhood streets continued through the site?
Are main routes within the site connected directly to main routes in the wider area without feeding through existing routes with less capacity or with a primarily residential function?

Targets and Justification

Best: Not currently identified
Good: A design strategy addressing all three issues
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.4

Objective

To make pedestrian movement attractive and safe, reducing reliance upon private cars for local journeys.

Importance:

Question

Does the proposed street network provide a high quality public realm with a pedestrian friendly environment?

Has a choice of good pedestrian routes connecting to services and places people want to use been provided?
Are pedestrian routes direct with safe crossings at points where pedestrians want to cross?
Has a design strategy been produced to ensure that pedestrian routes are attractive, well-lit and safe, and avoiding where possible un-segregated shared use (pedestrian and cycle) routes?
Will traffic calming design measures be applied?

Targets and Justification

Best: Yes to all questions
Good: Yes to 2 or more
Minimum: < 2 points addressed

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.5

Objective

To create a place with a clear identity that is easy to understand and navigate.

Importance:

Question

Has the development been designed to be easy for users to understand and orientate themselves in, and does it promote a neighbourhood identity?

Have entrances to the development and its different areas been designed as gateways?
Have landmarks, including memorable buildings, been used to help users orientate themselves?
Have clear views and deflected views of landmarks been created?
Have corner buildings been heightened or building line altered to act as landmarks?
Have nodes been emphasised through surface treatment?

Targets and Justification

Best: Yes to all questions
Good: Yes to 3 or more
Minimum: <3 points addressed

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.6

Objective

To ensure that building frontages encourage pedestrian usage of streets, helping to make a place feel more vibrant.

Importance:

Question

Have ‘Active Frontage Guidelines’ of the English Partnerships Urban Design Compendium been met in order to promote vitality? Note active frontages means encouraging pedestrian entrances and exits onto streets, which are frequently used.

Targets and Justification

Best: 100% achieves at least Grade C frontage, 50% Grade A
Good: 100% achieves at least Grade C frontage, 25% Grade A
Minimum: < Good Practice

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.7

Objective

To ensure access to green space for all

Importance:

Question

What level of access do building occupiers and users have to public green space?

Targets and Justification

Best: ANGSt standard met
Good: 25% of dwellings are within 400m of designated public green space where children can play
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.8

Objective

To promote outdoor recreation , health and community interaction.

Importance:

Question

Is there provision of accessible play space for the new development?

Targets and Justification

Best: Exceeds the good practice guide's requirements
Good: Meets good practice guide "Developing accessible play space: a good practice guide" ODPM
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.9

Objective

To ensure that new buildings can be adapted to the demands of new uses.

Importance:

Question

Has flexibility been designed into commercial units to provide adaptability to changing market needs?

Optimum adaptability to future use changes in terms of building depth (9-13m)
Optimum adaptability to future uses in terms of building width (5-7m frontages) or multiples of
Floor to floor heights to allow for vertical segregation of mixed uses and provide adaptability for future changes of use
Percentage of buildings designed for flexible use (25%or more)
Optimum floor to floor heights to allow for future conversion from residential to commercial. Percentage of buildings designed for flexible use (25%or more)

Targets and Justification

Best: Yes to 3 or more
Good: Yes to 2
Minimum: Not addressed

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.10

Objective

To prevent social inequalities and foster a socially inclusive community.

Importance:

Question

Is the affordable housing indistinguishable from the rest of the development in terms of aesthetics and/or distribution?

Targets and Justification

Best: Yes to both
Good: Yes to one
Minimum: No set minimum standard

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.11

Objective

To apply design principles to increase the security of the development.

Importance:

Question

What percentage of buildings have been designed to ‘Secure By Design’ or equivalent standards?

Targets and Justification

Best: >80%
Good: 60-80%
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.12

Objective

To ensure that the development's lighting scheme is as energy efficient as possible and minimises light pollution.

Importance:

Question

What steps have been taken to ensure that the development lighting scheme (street lighting, way marking and security lighting – including those on buildings) has been designed to minimise light pollution and be energy efficient)

Targets and Justification

Best: As good practise plus: some lighting elements powered by renewable power sources; zero upwards transmission
Good: Lighting columns, timers, duration, illumination patterns varied according to the different lighting requirements of different locations within the site, with energy efficient bulbs used in each type
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Question 3.13

Objective

To ensure that occupiers of the site are protected from external noise

Importance:

Question

Does the developer have a design strategy to reduce the impact of external noise (traffic, rail, other) on the habitable rooms of houses and in occupied parts of other buildings

Targets and Justification

Best: Strategy drawn up with the assistance of acoustic consultants and modelling
Good: Developers' strategy
Minimum: See relevant local planning authority standard for minimum required

Applies to Developments

This question applies to Small, Medium and Large developments.

Policy Links

RPG

VIS 2: PRINCIPLES OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
EN2: AIR QUALITY.
EN4: QUALITY OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

RSDF

3.1: PROMOTE EFFICIENT USE OF AFFORDABLE ENERGY WHILST REDUCING ENERGY DEMAND.
3.2: INCREASE ROLE OF RENEWABLE ENRGY AND COMBINED HEAT AND POWER (CHP) WHILST REDUCING THE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ALL FORMS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION.
4.1: PROMOTE THE CONSERVATION AND WISE USE OF LAND AND OTHER RESOURCES IN THE REGION.
4.2: PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BALANCED AND SAFE COMMUNITIES WITH ADEQUATE HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT AND FACILITIES TO MEET NEEDS.
4.4: PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO ALL WHICH IS ADAPTABLE TO REFLECT FUTURE NEEDS, REFLECTS LOCAL DISTINCTIVENESS AND MEETS THE NEEDS TO OF THE COMMUNITY.
6.1: PROVIDE SAFE, AFFORDABLE AND SUITABLE HOUSING FOR EVERYONE, 6.3: PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH PEOPLE FEEL SECURE.
6.3: PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH PEOPLE FEEL SECURE.
9.3: IMPROVE AIR QUALITY FOR ALL.
10.1: REDUCE POLLUTION AND IMPROVE WATER, LAND AND AIR QUALITY.

RSS

ENV2
H6
E6
SC1
SC3
SC6

Development sizes

The checklist has been split into three different versions for different sizes of development:

Small: Up to 10 dwellings
Medium: 11 - 999 dwellings
Up to 999 dwellings (mixed use)
Large: 1,000 - 5,999 dwellings
1,000 - 5,999 dwellings (mixed)

If the development is for more than 6,000 houses, we recommend a bespoke checklist should be produced by the developer and local authority.

The set of questions for smaller developments is contained within the set of questions for larger developments.