COTSWOLD DISTRICT LOCAL PLAN 2001-2011 (Adopted April 2006)
5. RAISING STANDARDS AND ENSURING QUALITY
THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY
5.1 One of the objectives of this Plan is to raise the standards and quality of the layout and design of new development. Good quality layout and design, which includes materials, use of resources, landscaping, and integration with other land uses, is an important element of achieving more sustainable development. It can also help to maintain and enhance local distinctiveness. This section of the Plan sets out the standards that new development is expected to meet and the impacts that are expected to be addressed in the layout and design of new development.
The Challenge of Good Design
5.2 The Cotswolds is an outstandingly beautiful area, rich in architecture of every period and style. Virtually every town and village contains impressive set pieces, ranging from a scatter of cottages around a green to gently curving town streets and market places.
5.3 The design quality achieved in the past was generally very high, not just in the work of nationally-known architects, but also in the sense of proportion, place and ‘rightness’ that seems to have been intuitive through generations of local builders. Local standards of traditional craftsmanship have been exceptionally high for hundreds of years. Today's developers, architects and builders are presented with a wonderful opportunity and professional challenge.
5.4 The quality of design in new development is perhaps the most obvious measure by which most people judge the planning system. The public's expectations in this respect have been rising.
5.5 The Government has significantly raised the profile of design matters in planning in recent years. Planning Policy Statement 1 ‘Delivering Sustainable Development’ (PPS1) provides important guidance to local planning authorities and applicants on design considerations. Numerous publications promoting quality in design have also been published and organisations promoting design matters have been established; for example, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the Prince’s Foundation.
5.6 Planning decisions taken now will result in development that will last well into the next century. Future generations will judge us by the quality of what we build. The Cotswold Design Code produced in March 2000 as supplementary planning guidance has proved useful to applicants and has helped raise standards. Other urban design objectives set out in good practice should also be considered to ensure that appropriate weight is given to the issue of creating ‘places’ rather than considering development proposals in isolation.
POLICY 42: COTSWOLD DISTRICT DESIGN CODE
Development should be environmentally sustainable and designed in a manner that respects the character, appearance and local distinctiveness of Cotswold District with regard to style, setting, harmony, street scene, proportion, simplicity, materials and craftsmanship.
NOTES FOR GUIDANCE:
1. The Cotswold Design Code: The Council will consider applications with reference to the Cotswold Design Code, published separately as Supplementary Planning Guidance.
2. Local Distinctiveness: Whilst much of the District is typically ‘Cotswold’ in appearance, some areas exhibit a different or mixed character, such as those lying within the Upper Thames Valley and the Vale of Evesham, where brick and other materials are more commonly used. The vernacular architecture also varies throughout the District. The White Consultants’ document, ‘Assessment of Landscapes outside the Cotswolds AONB’ (June 2000) provides a characterisation context for those parts of the District lying beyond the AONB designation. Whilst respecting local distinctiveness, the District Council welcomes good modern architecture in suitable settings.
Provision for the Community
5.7 A community’s current provision of, and future need for, services and facilities will be taken into account when considering development proposals. Adequate community facilities are vital to achieving balanced, integrated and supportive communities.
5.8 The Local Plan can help to ensure that the needs of different community groups are met by guiding new development to places where there is existing spare capacity and by requiring the provision of, or contribution towards, new or improved community facilities where the need exists.
5.9 The Council will use planning obligations and/or conditions to achieve sustainable development as set out in Policy 49. This includes meeting social needs; for example, through the provision of community facilities. One of the Local Plan’s objectives is that facilities should be readily accessible to all members of the community.
5.10 Community facilities may cover a number of forms and uses, including meeting places, halls, places of worship, health centres, formal sport and informal recreation areas / facilities. Further detail is given under Policy 32 ‘Community Facilities’.
POLICY 43: PROVISION FOR THE COMMUNITY
Proposals for significant residential development will be permitted only in locations where safe and convenient access to community facilities can be provided. Where the existing local provision of community facilities is considered inadequate to meet needs arising from development, the Council will seek to secure the provision of facilities on site and/or contributions to the provision or enhancement of existing facilities within the vicinity of the site, commensurate with the scale of the development.
NOTES FOR GUIDANCE
1. Access: In order to maximise the use and access to community facilities, new development must incorporate reasonable access. This could be through the provision of public transport or through safe cycle and pedestrian routes.
2. Need: The Council will consider a number of variables when assessing the adequacy of existing local provision in relation to proposed new development. The need for community facilities will vary from place to place, over time, and according to the nature and scale of the development generating the need.
3. Planning Obligations: All legal agreements or planning obligations seeking the improvement of existing community facilities or the provision of new community facilities will be fairly and reasonably related to it in scale and kind, and directly related to the proposal. Where facilities are provided as part of a new development, arrangements will need to be made for their long term maintenance and care.
Public Art
5.11 The introduction of public art into the urban and rural environment is becoming increasingly widespread. This has many benefits, which can include:
· making a positive contribution to the character of an area, particularly where it draws on local tradition, history, or association, for inspiration;
· enhancing the commissioners status amongst local, regional and national communities;
· engaging the community in shaping their environment, as very often public art can be the subject of a local competition or workshop to elicit ideas; and
· reducing vandalism if local people feel that they 'own' the feature. This can also occur when a previously under-utilised area is made more attractive.
5.12 The Arts Council has promoted the ‘percent for art’ concept, whereby a proportion of the capital budget of a development project is set aside to commission works of art. Although the traditional notion of public art is that of a commemorative sculpture, public art can assume a variety of forms, including functional features such as: gates, seating, lighting, paving, stained glass, architectural features, banners or community projects. It can also include high quality design and construction materials.
5.13 The Council will continue to pursue the principle of providing public art in any development project in which it is involved. Previous examples include Bourton-on-the-Water Leisure Centre, Moreton Area Centre and Trinity Road Offices, Cirencester. It expects others to do likewise for the good of the community at large, and to provide high quality design in development, building and planning by involving professional artists and craftspeople.
POLICY 44: Public Art
The Council will, in appropriate cases, encourage the provision of public art as an integral part of development. Public art will be sought particularly in association with commercial development where the gross floor area of the proposed buildings, or existing buildings whose use is to be changed, is 1000 square metres or more, or in residential developments of 10 or more dwellings.
NOTE FOR GUIDANCE:
Public Art: At least one per cent of the capital budget (contract sum) of the development project should be earmarked for the provision of public art. This is the minimum percentage that is normally sufficient to provide the work. A list of the Council’s registered ‘artists’ is available from the District Council.
Landscaping in New Development
5.14 The character of an area derives as much from the spaces around buildings as from the buildings themselves. Fine buildings can be spoilt by a poor setting. On the other hand, mediocre buildings can be enhanced by well thought-out, pleasing landscaping.
5.15 Landscaping includes hard surfaces, planted areas, street furniture, means of enclosure, and the scale, form, function and size of the spaces themselves. It can be used to:
· soften;
· screen;
· act as a visual 'foil' to buildings, to provide sitting-out areas; and
· help create a mature appearance to a new development.
Landscape design should be seen from the outset as an integral part of the layout and character of a scheme, rather than being treated as an afterthought.
5.16 Existing landscape features, such as trees, hedgerows, dry-stone walls and water are very often valued locally and can be integrated into new developments as part of the overall planning of a site. As well as seeking to retain as much of the existing landscaping on a site as possible to add maturity, major new landscaping work should be carried out at the earliest opportunity, particularly on the boundaries.
5.17 Developers are advised to check whether any trees within a development site are subject to tree preservation orders or whether the site is in a conservation area, in which case additional controls could apply to the felling of trees or demolition of walls.
5.18 Dry-stone boundary walls are one of the features of the Cotswolds, gracing countryside and settlement alike. Their characteristic style and detailing can vary greatly, from the tall expertly-coursed and dressed walls surrounding the grand houses, to the rubble walls separating fields on the high wolds. Besides traditional dry-stone walling, Cotswold stone walls with mortar and old walls of locally-made brick also make important contributions to the appearance of many towns and villages. Walls deserve to be protected and repaired when at risk, especially when they are part of, or adjoin, a development site. The opportunity should also be taken to establish new boundary walls as part of the comprehensive landscaping of a site.
POLICY 45: LANDSCAPING IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
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5. / High standards of appropriate landscaping will be required in all developments.
Any attractive, existing landscape features, such as trees, hedgerows, walls (especially dry-stone), ponds, streams, and other wildlife habitats should be retained and integrated into all landscaping schemes.
Any proposals for landscaping, particularly windbreaks, tree belts, screen planting or bunding, shall not significantly adversely affect views of the wider landscape from public vantage points.
Where a development site contains, or is bounded by, Cotswold dry-stone or other walls, whatever their condition, every effort should be made to protect and repair them, re-using local stone wherever possible, as part of the development proposal.
In locations where Cotswold dry-stone walls are characteristic, especially within Conservation Areas and the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, new dry-stone walls, of an appropriate type, height and style, may be required for the boundaries and means of enclosure for new development, especially where boundaries are adjacent to highways, public footpaths or in prominent locations, re-using local stone wherever possible.
NOTES FOR GUIDANCE:
1. Appropriate Landscaping: A landscaping scheme should be submitted at the outset as part of applications for development in Conservation Areas, and for development elsewhere in sensitive, prominent locations. The scheme should include a survey of existing trees and other features on the site. The landscaping scheme should reflect the character of the location. The relationship between hard and soft areas, in particular, should be in keeping with the surrounding area and result in a practical, usable and readily maintained landscape. Any walls or fences should be of adequate height to provide enclosure and screening where appropriate, and should be of a durable construction. The colours and texture of paved or other hard-surfaced areas, should be carefully selected to complement the character of the buildings. In rural locations, a more informal landscape character would be appropriate.
2. Landscaping Scheme: A landscaping scheme should show sufficient detail to clearly indicate the character and appearance of the spaces to be created in the layout and design of the proposed development, including existing features to be retained, new planting, surface materials and means of enclosure. Any underground public utility services within the area to be landscaped should also be indicated. In large-scale development schemes, and, with the prior agreement of the Council (in writing), the landscaping scheme may be submitted for approval in two stages. First, a plan of the structural landscaping, showing the extent, shape and height of earth mounding, existing features to be retained, the location of proposed trees, shrubberies, grassed and hard-surfaced areas, footpaths and boundary treatment. Second, a detailed scheme showing the number and types of plants, details of hard-surface materials and street furniture.
3. Existing Features: Care should be taken during construction works to ensure the protection of existing landscape features, including the use of temporary fencing to safeguard trees from the careless deposit of building materials, the lighting of fires, or excavation that could damage root systems.
4. Landscape Advice: At an early stage in the design process, advice should be sought from the Council on the type of landscaping that may be required, and on suitable species of trees.
5. Dry-stone walls of an appropriate type: The Council will have regard to the nature and scale of the development, the condition and extent of walling that should be repaired or newly built, and the cost likely to be incurred. The Council will not make unreasonable demands, but private sector developers and individuals should be prepared to protect and enhance the characteristics of their sites and their surroundings that, in turn, will benefit the proposed developments and their values.