Policy DM3 – Design principles
Significant weight will be given to the following design principles in assessing development proposals:
a) Gateways
Major development within 100m of the main gateways to the city, as defined on the Policies map, will only be permitted where its design is appropriate to and respects the location and context of the gateway. New landmark buildings of exceptional quality will be accepted where they help to define or emphasise the significance of the gateway. In these locations, particular emphasis will be given to design considerations over other factors.
b) Long views
The design of new buildings must pay careful attention to the need to protect and enhance the significant long views of the major landmarks identified in Appendix 8 and those identified in conservation area appraisals.
c) Local distinctiveness and character
Proposals should respect, enhance and respond to the character and local distinctiveness of the area. The design of all development must have regard to the character of the surrounding neighbourhood and the elements contributing to its overall sense of place, giving significant weight to the uses and activities around it, the historic context of the site, historic street patterns, plot boundaries, block sizes, height and materials.
d) Layout and siting
(i) The layout of a development should make efficient use of land, making best use of its topography and should have a positive impact in terms of its appearance and the way it is used. Appropriate consideration should be given to orienting development in order to optimise energy efficiency and maximise solar gain;
(ii) Proposals should be designed to provide a permeable and legible network of routes and spaces through the development, which takes account of public accessibility, links effectively with existing routes and spaces and minimises opportunities for crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. The public realm should be designed so that it is attractive, overlooked, safe and secure;
(iii) Well-designed and well-defined private, semi-private and public open space should be incorporated for all development, as appropriate to the area. This must include sufficient space for bin and cycle storage in accordance with policies DM2 and DM31.
e) Density
Development should achieve a density in keeping with the existing character and function of the area, although higher densities will be accepted within the city centre, district and local centres and other locations of high accessibility. The density of development must take account of the need to protect and enhance heritage assets and their settings, where these would be affected. The density of residential development should accord with policy DM12.
f) Height, massing, scale and form
Developers should demonstrate that appropriate attention has been given to the height, scale, massing and form of new development including the avoidance of dominant or incongruous extensions and alterations to existing buildings.
g) Design of roads and streets
Streets, routes and spaces should enhance the quality of the environment. The provision of car parking, servicing areas and accesses should not dominate. Roads, pedestrian footways and cycleways should be constructed from a palette of materials chosen to reflect the special character of the city (including the selection of appropriate street furniture and lighting) to complement the character and appearance of the area and enhance the appearance, safety and usability of the public realm.
h) Materials and details
Proposals for new development (including extensions and alterations to existing buildings) will be required to demonstrate that appropriate consideration has been given to the selection and choice of materials and decorative colour (including hard and soft landscape materials). In choosing materials developers should have regard to the prevailing materials of the area. Development will be encouraged to make the maximum practical use of sustainable and reused/recycled materials.
i) Green infrastructure, landscaping and biodiversity
All new development will be expected to make appropriate provision for both the protection of existing and the provision of new green infrastructure as an integral part of the overall design which complements and enhances the development. Careful consideration must be given to the choice of hard and soft landscaping and boundary treatments and should be used to clearly define public and private space.
Where reasonably practicable, provision should be made within developments for new and enhanced green infrastructure and for built and natural features which help to:
a) safeguard and enhance wildlife habitats, habitat links and natural features of geodiversity and biodiversity importance;
b) enhance the appearance and character of the built and natural environment of the site and its surroundings;
c) create a biodiversity-rich environment through the design of built structures and landscaping, the latter to include the use of native plant species; and
d) link new areas of wildlife habitat into the existing network of habitats.
j) Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
All new development involving the construction of new, or the significant extension or adaptation of existing buildings will be expected to
a) achieve the highest practicable standards of energy efficiency in design by means of internal and external layout, orientation, massing, materials, insulation, heat recovery, natural ventilation, shading and the use of landscaping and planting which is climate-change resistant and beneficial to biodiversity;
b) reduce the carbon footprint of new development so far as reasonably practicable through the reuse and conversion of existing buildings and the reclamation, reuse and recycling of construction materials;
c) utilise construction techniques and incorporate design features which help to ameliorate the urban heat island effect by reducing heat absorption;
d) promote and facilitate sustainable drainage and mitigate against flood risk from surface water runoff as required by policy DM5.
Supplementary text
3.1 High quality and inclusive design is essential to deliver sustainable development. The NPPF requires local and neighbourhood plans to develop robust and comprehensive policies that set out the quality of development that will be expected for their area. This policy contains further detail to help implement this aspect of national policy and supplement the strategic design principles set out in JCS policy 2. It sets out the design principles that should be applied across the city to all forms and scales of development.
3.2 In accordance with NPPF recommendations, local design review arrangements are in place to provide assessment and support to ensure high standards of design in Norwich. Formal comments on the design aspects of current planning applications have been provided on a monthly basis by the Norwich Society (the city’s main local amenity society) for many years. More significant development proposals may also be referred to an independent local design review panel for consideration before submission and, where appropriate, considered by elected members as part of pre-application public consultation. It is expected that where proposals of exceptional significance such as large new retail, commercial or housing schemes come forward they may need to be referred to Design Council CABE (or such successor body as inherits its responsibilities) for national design review.
3.3 Norwich’s built and natural environment is of generally high quality and is characterised by a tight urban form, well provided with green open spaces and trees and exhibiting a historic townscape of particularly high quality reflecting its development over the past 1,000 years. It is essential that new development takes full account of these qualities in order to build on its strengths and promote local distinctiveness through high quality design. New development should therefore be designed to use land efficiently and be adaptable, (optimising the potential of the site to accommodate development) as well as enhancing the character and appearance of the neighbourhood in which it will be situated.
3.4 Although information requirements for planning applications have been reviewed to remove the need for formal design and access statements for householder and other types of minor development, they are required for significant development proposals and most development in sensitive areas. Design and access statements have proved to be a useful means of setting out essential design principles for development schemes and have helped to drive up design quality standards in Norwich and elsewhere as well as enabling more effective and speedier decision-making. Where such statements are required these should aim to show how a proposal is functional, attractive and accessible to all. They should also show how the proposal meets the requirements of the development plan as a whole, with a particular focus on both policy 2 of the JCS and policy DM3 of this plan.
3.5 The policy emphasises the importance of local character and distinctiveness and ensuring that the new development relates to and enhances key landscape and townscape elements, in particular the need to encourage green design to support biodiversity and combat the effects of climate change. All proposals, including both traditional and contemporary designs, should be capable of being successfully integrated within neighbourhoods. Good design involves not only the creation of attractive features and forms within developments, but also includes consideration of the relationship of buildings with space and with the built form surrounding them. Furthermore, it should address how different places and uses interconnect and how people move between them (see NPPF paragraph 61). Particular consideration needs to be given to the impact of extensions and alterations both on the existing building and its immediate surroundings: the city council’s good practice guidance (Advice for household extensions) gives more detailed assistance to applicants in relation to householder development.
3.6 The gateways identified in this plan are firstly those around the fringe of the city which demarcate the Norwich urban area from the surrounding countryside. Secondly those leading into the city centre assist in welcoming visitors to the centre and signifying its functional importance. The city centre gateways often coincide with the position of historic gateways to the old walled city of Norwich. Gateways may be marked by appropriately designed landmark buildings: for the purposes of this policy a landmark is defined as “a building or structure that stands out from its background by virtue of height, size or some other aspect of design”. However, because of the particularly sensitive townscape of the historic city it is considered that excessively tall or large buildings would be inappropriate in most gateway locations. The expectation of this policy is that gateway sites would be marked by development of exceptionally high quality which relies for its distinctiveness on design aspects other than size and height.
3.7 The distinctive topography of Norwich, with its two river valleys and sometimes steep, often wooded valley sides, offers the opportunity for long views across the city from elevated viewpoints. These views contribute greatly to appreciation of the townscape and provide a sense of place. The policy does not seek to protect all views from all places. Rather it seeks to manage and control development which could affect the key long views identified in appendix 8 and those which are identified in conservation area appraisals.
3.8 In general, there is scope to achieve higher densities in the city centre and in and around district and local centres. However, the density of development should respect and have regard to the existing character of the area. The assessment of an area’s character and the impact of the development on it should take into consideration its historical context, urban morphology, the make-up of blocks and plots, landscape, predominant heights, views, design, materials and heritage assets in the area. Where a site is located within a conservation area particular account must be taken of any design guidance the relevant conservation area appraisal, as required by JCS policy 2.
3.9 When considering the layout of a site, priority should be given to non-car modes of transport, respecting the needs of pedestrians and cyclists over motor vehicles. This approach will assist in creating an attractive and safe environment for its intended users, and also help to promote sustainable development in accordance with the presumption set out in the NPPF. To comply with policy DM31 and the standards in appendix 3, car parking should not dominate schemes. Public and private open space should also be integral to the design of the development and should be well situated and defined to avoid piecemeal and isolated patches of public space that are not well used and may be prone to vandalism.
3.10 Careful consideration should also be given to detailed design aspects including the selection and choice of materials for buildings, landscaping, boundary treatments, demarcation of public and private space, street surfacing and street furniture. The range of materials which can be used for the construction of roads, footways and pedestrian areas has increased dramatically over recent years, but many of these new materials are not especially appropriate to the character of the city. Developers will be encouraged to use a limited range of materials that are capable of being adapted flexibly to the individual character of specific streets and places, in accordance with the Streetscape design manual, to ensure that the quality of the public realm is maintained and improved.
3.11 To comply with this policy, materials should be chosen having regard to the local materials palette prevalent in the area but also to promote the conservation of resources through the use of the most sustainable and resource-efficient materials practicable. Should there be a conflict between these two objectives, this would need to be resolved through negotiation on a case-by-case basis to achieve the most appropriate and beneficial design solution for the site.
3.12 The application of external colour to historic buildings is also a characteristic feature of Norwich which helps to define and reinforce local identity. Applying decorative colour to the external walls of listed buildings may need listed building consent and must be agreed by the council as local planning authority. Selected colours should take account of the Historic colour strategy. Advice on appropriate colours and materials is available from the council’s specialist urban design and conservation staff.
3.13 The design of new development offers many opportunities to improve and enhance the biodiversity and geodiversity of Norwich, both by incorporating features to promote biodiversity value within individual schemes (for example features to attract and support wildlife) and by creating new green areas to provide links to existing habitats, as required by the JCS.
3.14 Consequently development should be designed to safeguard and, where practicable, enhance natural features creating wildlife habitats and to provide new green infrastructure. This is particularly important within or adjacent to national, regional and local environmental assets and areas of open space as defined on the Policies map. Appendix 6 of the Green infrastructure delivery plan (GIDP) should be consulted to ensure that green infrastructure provision and enhancement is locationally sensitive to the particular character of the area and enhances local distinctiveness. Green infrastructure opportunity areas are detailed and illustrated in appendices 5 and 6 of the delivery plan. More detailed guidance on landscaping in development schemes will be included in an advice note on trees, landscape and development.
3.15 Even the smallest development proposals can make a useful contribution to increasing biodiversity through quite modest and low-cost enhancements and building design features, such as bat and bird boxes and bird bricks. Larger developments would be encouraged to incorporate more extensive wildlife friendly features as part of their overall design, such as green and brown roofs, which have the added advantages of capturing rainwater, combating surface water run-off and reducing the impact of flooding. Practical advice on incorporating green design features and enhancing biodiversity in schemes is available from various sources. Supplementary planning guidance on promoting biodiversity is expected to be brought forward to support this policy, which may either take the form of county-wide guidance prepared by Norfolk County Council or local SPD specific to Norwich.
3.16 JCS policy 1 states that development in the area will be energy and resource efficient, mitigate against the urban heat island effect and be adaptable to climate change. Policy DM3 of this plan provides further detail as to how this requirement will be applied in Norwich. Since not all development involves new buildings, it also clarifies what categories of development the policy applies to.
3.17 Addressing climate change is an important aspect underpinning the development plan. The JCS promotes the sustainable location of development, the efficient use of resources and the promotion of renewable energy. Policy 3 of the JCS requires major schemes to provide at least 10% of their energy requirements from decentralised low carbon and renewable energy sources and for the largest proposals to demonstrate that they have taken opportunities to maximise the contribution of such sources. Because of identified constraints on water supplies in the east of England, it also requires new development to be water efficient. All new housing development must achieve Code for sustainable homes level 4 for water efficiency and schemes over 500 dwellings must achieve level 6 by 2015. Supplementary advice for developers supporting JCS policy 3 in relation to water efficiency is contained in a Water efficiency advice note issued by the Greater Norwich Development Partnership in 2011.
3.18 More rigorous national standards for energy efficiency are being introduced through the Building Regulations, with the aim of ensuring new development becomes zero carbon. The timing of the introduction of the higher national standards will determine the standards applied in Norwich.
3.19 Minimising and mitigating against flood risk is also an important requirement of JCS policy. The issue is dealt with more fully in policy DM5 but can also be addressed through aspects of the design of buildings themselves. Particular vulnerability to surface water flooding has been identified in certain parts of the city in the Norwich Surface water management plan (SWMP) and further technical modelling has since established the extent of the Critical Drainage Catchments feeding into those areas. Account has been taken of specific recommendations in the SWMP as to how the issue might be addressed in Policy DM3 and other policies of this plan.
3.20 As set out in the JCS, ‘Building for life’ criteria introduced by CABE in 2003 and since replaced by the simplified Building for life 12 standard will be used to evaluate residential development of 10 or more units. Should these be revised or superseded, account will be taken of any equivalent best practice standards which are subsequently adopted during the currency of this plan.
3.21 Other design guides and best practice advice should be referred to where appropriate. These include published National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) on design, the Manual for streets, the city council’s local Streetscape design manual and ACPO’s Secured by design website. Within conservation areas, the advice in any published conservation area appraisals will be taken into account, in accordance with JCS policy 2. Within the City Centre Conservation Area, proposals should accord with the design guidelines and principles set out in the City centre conservation area appraisal.
References
- NPPF: CLG, 2012: Presumption in favour of sustainable development; Core planning principles; paragraph 17 re design;
Section 7 - Requiring good design;
Section 8 - Promoting healthy communities (safe and accessible environments);
Section 10 – Meeting the challenge of climate change, secure radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, take account of landform, layout, building orientation, massing and landscaping to minimise energy consumption; manage the risk of flooding;
Section 12 – Conserving and enhancing the natural environment (minimise impacts on biodiversity).
- National Planning Practice Guidance: CLG 2014: Design.
- JCS policy 1: Addressing climate change and protecting environmental assets.
- JCS policy 2: Promoting good design.
- JCS policy 7: Supporting communities.
- JCS policy 11: Norwich city centre.
- JCS policy 12: The remainder of the Norwich urban area, including the fringe parishes.
- The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013: re Design and access statements.
- Design and access statements – How to write, read and use them, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment [CABE], 2006 (Archived).
- Creating successful masterplans, CABE, 2011 (Archived).
- The sign of a good place to live: Building for life 12, Design Council CABE, 2012.
- Manual for streets, Department for Transport 2007.
- Norwich streetscape design manual, Norwich City Council 2006.
- Secured by design, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) web resource http://www.securedbydesign.com/
- Greater Norwich historic characterisation and sensitivity assessment, Norfolk County Council (2009).
- Conservation area appraisals, Norwich City Council, various dates. Available at www.norwich.gov.uk
- Good practice guidance for green infrastructure and biodiversity, TCPA 2012.
- Norwich urban area surface water management plan, URS Scott Wilson, 2011.
- The Code for sustainable homes, CLG 2010.
- BREEAM: The environmental assessment method for buildings www.breeam.org
- Water efficiency advice note, Greater Norwich Development Partnership, 2011.
- Extensions to houses advice note, Norwich City Council 2012
