Design and the planning process

by Philip Moren

If there is one thing that causes resentment for some architects and their clients, it is what they perceive as unjustified criticism and interference by planning authorities in the design of their buildings. Neither planners nor councillors, nor members of the public are qualified or sufficiently well informed to make judgements on design matters, they argue. This is better left to architects. Or even to developers, who understand what their customers want.

This brief article examines how the need to deliver good design has become integral to the planning process and how construction professionals should respond to relevant requirements.

Evolution of modern design control

In 1980, Department of the Environment Circular 22/80 explained that planning control of external appearance should only be exercised where there was a fully justified reason for doing so, such as in environmentally sensitive areas. Planning authorities were warned not to impose their tastes on developers simply because they believed them to be superior and, even where detailed control was exercised, it was not to be over-fastidious. They were to be closely guided in such matters by their professionally qualified advisers. This was especially important "where a building has been designed by an architect", it was stressed.

It took until the late 1990s, following concern over the widespread lack of local distinctiveness and design quality in many new developments, for the government to start to move away from its light touch approach. Planning Policy Guidance note 1 (PPG1), published in 1997, recognised that good design should be the aim of all those involved in the development process and should be encouraged everywhere.

A succession of design initiatives followed. These included the setting up in 1999 of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE); the publication of the Urban Task Force's report Towards an Urban Renaissance; and the government-endorsed good practice guide By Design: better places to live. Local authorities and developers were asked to think more imaginatively about the design and layout of new development – in part, a response to the rash of soulless and dispiriting housing estates that had been built during the previous 20 years.

Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS1), which replaced PPG1 in 2005, sets out the overarching planning policies on the delivery of sustainable development through the planning system and explains that good design plays a fundamental role in achieving this. "Good design is indivisible from good planning", the policy statement says. However, it was not until 2006, when it became mandatory in England for most applications for planning permission to be accompanied by a design and access statement (DAS), and in 2008, when local authorities were placed under a statutory duty to have regard to the desirability of achieving good design when making their development plans, that the role of the planning system in controlling design matters finally became enshrined in law.

There is no longer any doubt that aesthetic control over buildings and detailed regulation of urban design matters is an essential part of the planning process. Authorities are required to ensure that design which is either inappropriate in its context or fails to take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of an area, and the way it functions, is rejected.

Planning policies and local design guides

When preparing development proposals it is essential that designers familiarise themselves with not only relevant national planning policy guidance on design, but also with local development plan policies. The latter will often be supported by design guides, which will normally include development management standards and advice on considerations such as scale, density, massing, height, landscape, layout, access and architectural style.

Design and access statements (DAS)

The need for most planning applications to be accompanied by a DAS is now widely understood. Less so, is their value. Many statements fail to explain in plain and simple language the 'story' of a proposed development and its design rationale. Some architects and designers have earned a degree of notoriety (or, depending on your point of view, respect) by treating the requirement as a waste of time, a mere box-ticking exercise, and have approached it with cynicism and sometimes scathing wit. While such an approach may be amusing, it is rarely appropriate, of course, especially where a DAS is required to explain and justify a large, complicated or potentially controversial development.

The DAS will not only be read by officers dealing with or commenting on the application, but will also be studied by local residents, interest groups and others who may be unfamiliar with the planning system. It will also be taken into account by an inspector in the event of an appeal becoming necessary.

So the DAS provides a valuable opportunity to sell the scheme and to explain to those who may have difficulty in understanding complex drawings and technical reports how the proposed development responds to its local context and relevant planning requirements, including the provisions of the council's development plan and any supplementary planning guidance.

In England, government advice on DASs is set out in Section 6 of the CLG publication Guidance on information requirements and validation, issued in March 2010. The CABE best practice guide Design and Access Statements – How to write, read and use them (2006) is also helpful, albeit that this is now partly out of date. In Wales, guidance is found at Appendix 1 of Technical Advice Note 12: Design (2009).

Design at appeal

Design is estimated by the Planning Inspectorate to arise as an issue in around 40% of appeals. Guidance for inspectors when considering design matters is available on the Inspectorate's website and is based largely on the CABE guide Design at appeal - Advice on dealing with design issues within planning appeals (2006).

The gist is that inspectors will need to be well-informed in order to reach a balanced, soundly-based decision or recommendation with reasoned judgement. This means, therefore, that the quality of the evidence is vital. Developers, it is pointed out, deserve to obtain approval for schemes that have been the subject of careful and reasoned analysis of their setting and context, prompting a well-conceived and readily (and reasonably) explained design response.

Design advice

Applicants for planning permission are encouraged to consult the Design Council, which since 31 March 2011 has incorporated CABE, for further advice on good design. A range of useful CABE publications may be found on its website.

In particular, designers should have regard to good practice set out in By Design – Urban design in the planning system: towards better practice (2001); By Design – better places to live (2001); Safer Places – the Planning System and Crime Prevention (2004); and Planning and Access for Disabled People: A Good Practice Guide (2003). Also relevant is Manual for Streets (2007) and Manual for Streets 2 (2010), and the Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical guide - 2010.

The Urban Design Compendium, which is available on the former Homes and Communities Agency website, provides guidance on good urban design principles. It includes over 100 case studies demonstrating how these principles and processes work in practice.

The Resource for Design Information (RUDI) has published a number of local authority design guides on its website.

Reclaiming local identity

Earlier this year, housing minister Grant Shapps, with the support of planning and decentralisation minister Greg Clark, called on architects and housebuilders to "think outside the identikit Legoland box" and make sure their new developments reflect the identity of the local area. The Design Council has been asked to help developers to work with local communities to bring forward creative and innovative designs that respond to local character and identity.

The Localism Bill, currently before parliament, enables communities to draw up neighbourhood plans to decide what their area should look like. So developers who work with local people are more likely to find it easier to secure planning permission for their proposals.

Conclusion

It is clear that good design has a vital role to play in delivering sustainable development. Architects and other construction professionals are encouraged to use the resources available to ensure that new development is designed to a high quality.

Philip Moren BA(Hons) MRTPI is a planning consultant and regular writer on planning matters. He is co-author of the RIBA Good Practice Guide: Negotiating the Planning Maze. The views expressed in this article are entirely his own.

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• In a pickle over planning reform
• Sustainability and the planning process
• The future of planning

Selected links:

• Town and country planning, general

June 2011

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