Design

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Design Access Statements
urban design london
Esther Kurland Urban Design London ekurland_at_cabe.o
rg.uk
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Welcome

• Design and Planning
• What are statements
• Reading tips
• A made up statement
• Why bother

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Design and planning
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Talking about portrait images
National Policy
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If we deliver poor design, we know that we will
not deliver sustainable development Lord
Rooker, Planning Minister, House of Lords, Jan 04
All involved in planning must work to achieve
sustainable development Planning and Compulsory
Purchase Act 2004
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What the PPSs and PPGs say

• Design Matters
• Design cuts across planning policy areas
• Design is about how places work

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Key policy tests PPS1

• Refuse designs that dont take advantage of
  opportunities for improvement - positively make
  places better for people.
• This should be the aim of all involved.
• LPAs should have robust, positive design policies
  based on local character and objectives.
• Have regard to By Design

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Key policy tests PPS1

• Good Design should
• Address the connections between people, places
  and access to jobs and services
• Integrate development into the existing natural
  and built environment and reinforce local
  distinctiveness
• Be an important part of providing successful,
  safe and inclusive places
• Create places everyone can use and enjoy
• Consider impacts on the natural environment

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Ask is the design good enough to approve?
rather than is it bad enough to refuse?
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The Good, the Bad, the OK?

• PPG1 said refuse bad design
• CABEs 2004 Housing Audits found 61 of new homes
  in the South East were mediocre and 17 were good
• The 2005 Audit showed that 70 of homes in the
  North were mediocre and only 6 were good
• Now PPS1 is saying only approve good design
• What will the audit in 5 years find?

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Design at a Glance

• Gives up to date information on national design
  policy

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Principles of Good Design

• Character should have its own identity
• Continuity and enclosure public and private
  should be clearly distinguished
• Quality of public spaces should have attractive
  and successful outdoor areas

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Principles of Good Design

• Ease of movement easy for everyone to get to and
  move through
• Legibility has a clear image and is easy to
  understand
• Adaptability able to change easily
• Diversity values difference
• Inclusivity for everyone, without special
  treatment

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How can we tell?

• Its hard!
• Its your job
• Use common sense you can do it
• Look at built schemes
• Ask yourself- What would it be like to use the
  scheme?. If you are 30 years older? Or younger?
  Or with a broken leg?
• Use Building for Life, Design Quality Indicators
  etc
• Create your own indicators?

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What are statements?
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Statements are tools to help prevent poorly
designed places
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Planning design tools
Regional Spatial Strategy
Sub-regional Framework
Local Development Framework
Masterplan
Regional
City/Town
Neighbourhood
Scale
Site
Building
Component
Design Code
Building Regs.
Sustainability appraisals
Design Guide
Area Action Plan
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What are statements?

• They are required by the Planning Act
• They are needed with most application types
• They can be used to fix details as proposals
  develop
• They should be proportionate to the complexity of
  the development
• They should be used to explain and justify the
  proposal

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What should they contain?

• The design process How the designer has thought
  about the area and how new buildings and spaces
  have been informed by what already exists.
• Use What buildings and spaces will be used for
• Amount How much would be built on the site

These should deal with the main inputs to the
design process.
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What should they contain?

• Layout How the buildings and public and private
  spaces will be arranged on the site and the
  relationship between them and the buildings and
  spaces around the site.
• Scale How big the buildings and spaces would be
  (their height, width and length)

To establish the 3D form of the development
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What should they contain?

• Landscape design How open spaces will be treated
  to enhance or protect the place, for example what
  trees, paths, lighting or seating will be
  provided or retained
• Appearance What the building and spaces will
  look like, for example building materials and
  architectural details
• Access and inclusivity How everyone could get to
  and move through the place and why the points of
  access and routes have been chosen

The design details, based on first 5 above.
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What should they contain?

• What ever you as a Borough say they should!
• The GLAs requirments as explained in their
  Sustainable Design and Construction SPD.

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• Reading Tips

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How do you know if a design and access statement
is any good?

• The most important question to ask is Is the
  design any good?
• PPS1 says to be good the scheme should are
  well-mixed
• have well-planned public space that brings people
  together
• function well and add to the overall character
  and quality of the area
• are safe and secure
• support the effective use of resources, and
• make sure that everyone can access and benefit
  from the full range of opportunities available to
  members of society.
• These are the things to look for when reading a
  statement and assessing a planning application.

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Is this real? Will the place really look like
this?
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What do you think?
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The Process

• They should have thought about these
• the areas landscape, buildings, routes and open
  spaces
• who uses the area and how
• social mixes and local aims
• how the local economy operates
• what policies say should happen in the area

Look to see if they have done these
Assessed Involved Evaluated Designed
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For Example

• This statement identifies
• Current constraints
• Current opportunities
• How the development will respond to these

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Use

• Ask yourself
• Will the uses planned offer the things people
  need and want?
• Will they be able to adapt and change over time?
• And will everyone be able to get to them and use
  them easily?

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Wrapping the box, creating active frontages What
would you see as you shopped here?
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Carlisle
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For Example

• This statement
• Uses pictures and words
• Shows existing land uses and facilities
• Explains how the development will make the most
  of them

The sites location affords it good links with
the town centre
Nearby, local shops and schools
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Amount

• Ask yourself
• Will the number and size of buildings work well
  on the site?
• Have you got the right info to tell if the amount
  is appropriate?
• Are the ancillary facilities available? Or will
  they be?

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Talking about portrait images
The Density Myth
Net site density v gross neighbourhood
density Dwellings/hectare, HR/hectare,
floorspace figures or plot ratios? Car parking
and density
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The Density Myth

• Thorley Lane,
• Bishops Stortford
• 31 dwellings/hectare
• Jesmond, Newcastle
• 43 dwellings/hectare

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The Density Myth

• Deansgate Quay, Manchester
• 102 dwellings/hectare
• Canning Street, Liverpool
• Originally 41dwellings/ hectare (currently 119
  dwellings/hectare)

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For Example

• This statement contains
• Floorspace
• Parking space
• Different potential uses

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Layout

• Ask yourself
• Will the place be easy to understand, maintain
  and adapt?
• Are the right uses in the right places?
• Are spaces fit for their purpose?

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This diagram is not from a statement, but it
shows how layout can affect walking routes to
school Although same actual distance (red
arrows), the two walks differ enormously
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For Example
This plan shows the basic layout tat the master
plan stage
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Scale

• Ask yourself
• How will the scale work with the surroundings?
  and the skyline?
• Will the scale of building parts work?
• Do the plans and visuals give you a true idea
  about scale?

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For example

• This statement
• Explains why roof shape is appropriate
• Isnt expensive and hi-tech reflects the scale
  of the development

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Access and Inclusion

• Ask yourself
• Could we all use it?
• Would it fit with and if possible improve the
  local movement network?
• Does it balance the needs of different transport
  modes?

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Coherent? easy to use? Safe? Uncluttered? Waterl
oo
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For Example

• This statement shows clear lines (in yellow) of
  wheelchair accessible routes

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• Ask yourself
• Has this been considered from the outset?
• Does it support the use of the spaces and the
  image of the area?
• Does it meet ecological or biodiversity aims?

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For Example

• This statement proposes planting that
• Provides seasonal interest
• Encourages pedestrian activity
• Is robust enough for roadside location

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Appearance

• Ask yourself
• Will it support local distinctiveness
• Will it make people smile and feel good?
• Are you sure you know what it will look like?

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Style does not equal quality
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Quality transcends style
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For Example

• This statement shows examples of local vernacular
  that will inform the design of the development

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Statements and policy

• Design access statements require applicants to
  explain their scheme in relation to policy
• So the policies need to be good
• Set out what theyre looking for in terms of
  outcomes
• LPAs encouraged to produce own guidance on design
  access statements
• set out what theyre looking for in terms of
  information
• GLA has its own requirements too

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A crib sheet
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Golden Rules Writing

• Keep it short and to the point
• Write it for the application
• Start the statement when you start the scheme
• Explain how the design came about and what you
  are trying to achieve
• Talk to those who could help as soon as you can
• Use statements as a negotiation tool
• Allow it to change if the scheme changes
• Use illustrations based on the application
  drawings

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Think about what you are doing!
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A made up example
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Made up statement For New Shop front at No 12
High Street, New Town

• Planning Process
• We visited the site and walked for 5 mins to
  east, west and south.
• We found
• This shop sits towards the eastern end of the
  main shopping centre. The shop itself is single
  story and was built in 1930 but the current
  shopfront dates to 1965. The surrounding
  buildings are predominantly 2 storeys and have
  flats or offices above shops, restaurants and
  banks. Other buildings in the area are of
  various ages and there is no clear style in the
  area. But all together the shopping centre is
  lively and attractive. It is well used.
• The pavement outside the shop is narrow only
  around 2m wide. At times this means people get
  in each others way and there are pedestrian
  barriers to stop people moving out onto the road
  outside the shop.
• The design of the shopfront as submitted with the
  planning application is based on our
  understanding of the character and problems of
  the site. So although we would like to include a
  large overhanging canopy we have not as the
  pavement is too narrow. We have also suggested a
  relatively large fascia sign as the unit is only
  single storey and the ones around it are 2
  storey. So we think a taller sign will help the
  shop fit in with its surroundings.
• We have read the councils design guide on
  shopfronts and have included a stall riser,
  pilasters and set in door as that guidance
  suggests.

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• Use
• Not applicable this is a shop with A1 use
  established. We are proposing no change.

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• Amount
• Not applicable. This is a single unit and we are
  not proposing to change that.

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• Layout
• There is not much choice in the layout of a shop
  front. But we have decided to move the door from
  the eastern to western end of the unit. This is
  because of the narrow pavement, which is at its
  narrowest at the eastern end. We think this will
  make it easier for people to get in and out of
  our shop, particularly if they have buggies or
  are in wheelchairs and the street is busy.

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• Scale
• The scale of the unit itself is set. But we want
  a tall fascia to make the building look bigger.
  We think this will make the parade look better
  with less of a gap at this single storey unit.
  
• The scale of the stall riser and pilasters and
  glazing bars is based on the manufacturers
  design. But we have asked them to make the stall
  riser bigger so it is now 40cm tall in line
  with the Local Authorities Shop front guidance
  which sets this as a minimum.

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• Access and Inclusively
• We have moved the door as explained above to make
  access easier. The door itself is 1m wide
  enough for a double buggy or a wheelchair. There
  will be flat access at the door, better than the
  present shop front which has a step up to a
  narrow door.
• The applicant wants to make sure the internal fit
  out of the shop will also let everyone use it
  easily.

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• Landscaping
• This is not relevant there is no space for
  landscaping. But as the applicant is a florist
  and the window will be bigger than at present
  more plants will be visible.

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• Appearance
• As there is no particular style or consistent age
  of shop fronts in the area we are proposing a
  modern design which highlights the florists own
  creative style.

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Why bother?
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A town centre story
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A suburban town centre
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A new arts centre
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An icon
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A new bus station
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New shops
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New flats
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Plea for inquiry into bus station deathBarnet
Times

• An elderly woman who dedicated her later years
  to charity has died after being hit by a
  double-decker bus at North Finchley Bus Station
  less than a year after pedestrian safety concerns
  delayed its opening.
• Although in the early stages of the
  investigation, police conformed that she was not
  standing at a bus stop, but appeared to be
  crossing the station's exit.
• The station was supposed to open last autumn to
  coincide with the launch of the new arts centre
  above it, but the opening was pushed back almost
  a year due to concerns over the safety of
  pedestrianised areas within the station
  predominantly the exit in Ballards Lane and the
  entrance in Kingsway.

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Thank you for listening
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