Proposed Submission Core Strategy

(2) APPENDIX 4 - KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES

The key design principles referred to in Policy EN3 are elaborated upon below:

Character (Identity & Place-Making) & Legibility
This is concerned with ensuring that the individual character and local distinctiveness of the various towns and villages within the district is respected and positively contributed to, in new development. Meanwhile new development itself should have a clear image, create a strong sense of place and be easy to understand and navigate around. Streets should have a clear hierarchy, and a coherent and well-structured layout. Continuity & Enclosure
Successful places depend on the creation of streets and spaces with clearly defined public and private space, typically using the ‘traditional’ model of continuous street frontages to define and enclose space. Again, developments within existing settlements need to respect local context and positive character, and the historic form of development. Quality of Public Realm & Ease of Movement and ‘Secured by Design’
New development should involve the creation/enhancement of public spaces and routes, including areas of both hard and soft landscaping, which are visually attractive, safe, uncluttered and usable. The design of the space around any building should be as important a consideration as that of the building itself.

Pedestrian-friendly accessibility and local permeability is critical both within new development and to link new development with its ‘parent’ community, for successful integration. The place-making function of streets, both existing and new, should be capitalised on, with particular reference to the concepts of active streets and shared space. Car-parking should be well-integrated in the design approach so as to support the character of the street scene and its functions.

Diversity
Larger new development should seek to create variety, choice, and adaptability to local needs, in terms of site layout and mix of uses, sizes of units, and design of buildings within the overall coherent design vision, to ensure physical and social integration within the development as a whole. Landscape Setting of Buildings and Settlements
The individual settlements within the district have strong landscape settings which new development must understand, respect and reinforce. The landscape setting is valuable for both its visual appearance and its historic form as archaeological evidence of landscape management. Development should be located so as respond positively to the existing settlement pattern and form, landscape character, topography and long views.

Positive landscape characteristics within and outside the site, such as trees, hedgerows, copses, field patterns, streams, rivers and ponds, and longer countryside views, should be retained and should influence the layout of the site such that they give the design identity and character.

Design in Context
All design proposals should be based on robust site and context analysis, evidenced in the ‘Design & Access Statement’ where applicable, or in other submission material. This should form the basis of any design strategy or process.

The siting, scale, layout, height and mass of new development should respect the wider appearance of new development in the context of the street scene, and the wider locality, together with the character and setting of existing buildings on or adjacent to the site, and this should be clearly evidenced in development proposals.

In relation to the historic environment, the impact of development on the fabric, legibility, character and setting of the particular heritage asset will be a consideration.

Building Appearance & Architectural Quality
The visual appearance, both in terms of architectural style and form, massing and scale, of individual buildings is a key component to people’s enjoyment of places.

Both traditional and contemporary design approaches might be successful in a particular location, depending on the skill of their execution, and the quality of the site and context analysis. However, there may be some instances where, due to the particular sensitivities of the site, or the nature of the development, the design approach may need to respect more closely the local vernacular in terms of construction and materials.

High architectural quality, beauty and inspiration, and the clear following-through of an architectural vision in materials and detailing will be expected regardless of building style.

Sustainable Design
New development should be located so as to minimise environmental and ecological impact. Individual buildings should be designed so as to enable the efficient use of renewable or sustainably managed energy sources, while larger developments should have at their core appropriate infrastructure for renewable energy generation, and efficient resource management measures as detailed in Chapter 13 ‘Sustainable Resource Management’

In relation to the historic environment, reference should be made to the best practice guidance regarding climate change and energy efficiency produced by English Heritage and proposals to improve energy efficiency should not adversely impact on the significance or character of the heritage asset.