11.1 The Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area is fortunate to have a rich and varied built and historic environment with significant heritage assets alongside contemporary developments which provide a significant boost to the local economy. The Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area contains around 2,400 Listed Buildings and 36 Conservation Areas, as well as numerous archaeological assets and historic parkland.
11.2 Design is a key principle in the creation of sustainable development and should contribute positively to making communities better for everyone. Good design is concerned not only with how development looks but how it feels and functions. Incorporating both the enhancement of local character and distinctiveness that encourages innovative and creative solutions is encouraged. The Local Plan seeks to plan positively for high quality and inclusive design by creating places that function well, and establish a strong sense of place with comfortable places to live, work and visit. As stated in paragraph 124 of the National Planning Policy Framework 'the creation of high quality buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve'.
11.3 The National Planning Policy Framework also emphasises high quality design and good amenity standards as a core planning principle. It is therefore, of great importance that design principles are understood and appropriately considered by the Local Plan and planning applications. Creating well designed places that incorporate all aspects of design in an inclusive manner can help to deliver a high quality of life. The Council is committed to providing a framework for good design that contributes to improvements in crime prevention, access and inclusion, safe and connected streets, cohesive neighbourhoods, well connected green spaces, and provision of services. The Local Plan seeks to ensure these principles are brought forward over the plan period. The National Planning Policy Framework also promotes the effective use of land and it is important that this is achieved alongside delivering high quality and inclusive design.
11.4 Local distinctiveness plays an important role in enhancing local character and site specific qualities, the importance of which was highlighted through consultation feedback. The Local Plan encourages design that creates a sense of place and acknowledges local form and character. The aim of development should be to create new and exciting places where people want to live, work and visit. In this regard, design should be of its time and site specific. The National Planning Policy Framework establishes the importance of supporting innovative and outstanding design. The Council encourages this across the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area where it is respectful of its surroundings. In areas of more limited design quality the Council encourages development to significantly enhance design quality through innovative and creative means. Innovative design should be understood to include, but not be limited to, high levels of sustainability and new construction methods and materials.
11.5 The local character and distinctiveness of the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area are derived from the diversity of architecture, landscape and coastal setting. These have given risen to an architectural typology not just of farmhouses, picturesque cottages and churches but of resort tourism, military research and defence, agri-industry, park and garden structures, energy and landed estates. Buildings and structures that typify the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area range from 16th century moot halls, a wide representation of 16th and 17th century farmhouses, the grandest Georgian country house in Suffolk, designed 18th and 19th century landscapes and 19th and 20th century military airfields, towers and pagodas.
11.6 To help facilitate the understanding of local character and to support development that acknowledges and enhances the essence of local character it is important that the most appropriate information sources are referenced in relevant planning applications. Sources which may assist with identifying and assessing local character include Conservation Area Appraisals, Neighbourhood Plans, village / parish plans and the Suffolk Design Guide.
11.7 The introduction of Neighbourhood Plans in the Localism Act 2011 has encouraged local communities to take an active role in the plan-making process and prepare plans and policies that, in gaining statutory weight, have a real impact on the development of localities. In this regard, Neighbourhood Plans can, and are encouraged to, set out design policies which respond to their own local circumstances.
11.8 The Suffolk Design Guide was adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance by the Council in 1993, and revised in 2000 to acknowledge changes in national planning policy guidance. Although an ageing document, it is comprised of fundamental design principles that will continue to be important considerations. The Suffolk Local Authorities are in the early stages of reviewing the Suffolk Design Guide which will supersede the current guide, and which will be an important reference in relation to design considerations.
11.9 Local Plan consultation representations support the use of Building for Life 12 (BFL 12). Building for Life 12 59 is advocated in paragraph 129 of the National Planning Policy Framework as a tool to deliver well designed development proposals and to assess development proposals. In this regard, the Local Plan encourages all development proposals to use BFL 12 in demonstrating how the scheme meets the criteria for delivering high quality design. BFL 12 will be used as a tool to assist with design discussions during the pre-application and planning application stages, not as a prescriptive set of inflexible rules. BFL 12 (the most recent nationally endorsed version) will be used to inform the decision making process to provide a design quality assessment against all major applications. These assessments should be undertaken at the earliest possible opportunity in the decision making process so that schemes can be amended to deliver high quality design, if necessary. Residential development proposals will be supported where they perform positively when assessed, by planning officers and/or agreed upon through a dialogue between planning officers and applicant, against the Building for Life 12 guidelines. In demonstrating positive performance, applicants should include a design quality assessment of their proposal using all of the BFL 12 Guideline categories within a Design and Access Statement. Such BFL 12 Guideline categories include; integrating the scheme into its surroundings, locally inspired or otherwise distinctive character, and adequate provision of external storage space for bins and recycling. Such assessments should clearly set out how the elements of a proposal contribute to good design and avoid bad design as detailed in the BFL 12 Guidelines. In addition to requiring design quality assessments at the decision making stage, the Council will look to review the design quality of completed schemes.
11.10 The Built for Life accreditation reflects high quality design and provides confidence that appropriate consideration has been given to all aspects of design. BFL 12 operates a traffic light scoring system when assessing developments against the 12 criteria. Developments that achieve at least 9 'green' scores are eligible for the Built for Life quality mark, which indicates a high quality of design has been achieved. Developments that achieve a 'green' score for all 12 criteria can be awarded the Built for Life 'Outstanding' accreditation through an independent assessment process, with the best developments recognised at BFL 12 organised events.
11.11 The Suffolk Design Review Panel was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects Suffolk in 2012, to help consider the design quality of planning applications. Comprised of local design experts, the aim of the Panel is to promote and encourage high standards in design of the built environment across Suffolk. In determining planning applications, regard is given to any recommendations detailed in the reports generated by the Design Review Panel.
11.12 The East Suffolk Quality of Place awards, reviewed by judges which are comprised of local design experts and chaired by a District Councillor, are a celebration of the effort being made by people across East Suffolk to add to the quality of the environment, by creating high quality designs in both the built and natural environment and helping to conserve historic buildings. The best designed developments across the District are recorded on the Council's website.
11.13 The Suffolk Coastal Local Plan area has a large proportion of older residents and as such the need for housing to meet the needs of an ageing population is increasing. The Office for National Statistics predicts the population for the over 65 age group is set to increase by 59.7% between 2014 and 2039 across Suffolk. The RTPI's recent Dementia and Town Planning Document 60 and the Alzheimer's Society state that nationally there are currently 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK. This is set to increase to 1 million by 2021 and to 2million by 2051. It is therefore important that the design of the built environment caters for people throughout their lifetime and is suitable and accessible for people regardless of age, mobility or disability. This policy establishes the considerations against which residential developments will be considered, to provide for the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.
11.14 Creating a high quality environment for the elderly and those with disabilities will also result in a high quality environment for young people, for families with young children, and ultimately for everyone. Felixstowe has established a reputation as a Dementia Friendly Town, which can be attributed to Felixstowe Town Council actively engaging with communities as a Dementia Friendly Organisation and a Dementia Action Alliance Member.
Dementia Friendly Design Principles
11.15 Inclusive design is concerned with understanding how we use places differently and how this can inform design decisions for the benefit of all users. Inclusive design is defined as the design of mainstream products and/or services that are accessible to and useable by, as many people as reasonably possible without the need for special adaptation or specialised design. However, it is also important that inclusive design recognises the need for specialised adaptation where necessary. The principles of inclusive design detailed in above should be considered as standard practice and at the earliest possible opportunity in the evolution of development proposals with the aim of creating balanced and mixed communities.
11.16 Developers are advised to undertake pre-application consultation with local communities when proposing development. They are encouraged to seek views regarding local community needs and expectations from a broad spectrum of the community, in relation to the design of a proposal. Applicants are encouraged to engage with communities through the use of Building for Life 12.
11.17 Policy SCLP5.8 Housing Mix details the policy requirements in relation to accessible and adaptable dwellings, under Building Regulations standard M4(2). The requirements will be met where a new dwelling makes reasonable provision for most people to access the dwelling and incorporates features that make it potentially suitable for a wide range of occupants, including older people, those with reduced mobility and some wheelchair users. This policy will help to ensure the principles of inclusive design are met.
Policy SCLP11.1: Design Quality
The Council will support locally distinctive and high quality design that clearly demonstrates an understanding of the key features of local character and seeks to enhance these features through innovative and creative means.
In so doing, permission will be granted where proposals:
a. Support inclusive design environments which are legible, distinctive, accessible, comfortable, and safe, and adopt the principles of dementia friendly design;
b. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the character of the built, historic and natural environment and use this understanding to complement local character and distinctiveness through robust evidence, informed sources and site specific context and analysis;
c. Respond to local context and the form of surrounding buildings in relation to the following criteria:
i. the overall scale and character should clearly demonstrate consideration of the component parts of the buildings and the development as a whole in relation to its surroundings;
ii. the layout should fit in well with the existing neighbourhood layout and respond to the ways people and vehicles move around both internal and external to existing and proposed buildings;
iii. the height and massing of developments should be well related to that of their surroundings;
iv. there should be a clear relationship between buildings and spaces and the wider street scene or townscape; and
v. high quality materials appropriate to the local context should be used;
d. Take account of any important landscape or topographical features and retain and/or enhance existing landscaping and natural and semi-natural features on site;
e. Protect the amenity of the wider environment, neighbouring uses and provide a good standard of amenity for future occupiers of the proposed development;
f. Take into account the need to promote public safety and deter crime and disorder through well lit neighbourhoods and development of public spaces that are overlooked;
g. Create permeable and legible developments which are easily accessed, throughout the site and connections outside the site, and used by all, regardless of age, mobility and disability;
h. Provide highway layouts with well integrated car parking and landscaping which create a high quality public realm and avoid the perception of a car dominated environment. In doing so, proposals will be expected to prioritise safe and convenient pedestrian and cycle movement;
i. Include hard and soft landscaping schemes to aid the integration of the development into its surroundings;
j. Ensure that the layout and design incorporates adequate provision for the storage and collection of waste and recycling bins in a way which does not detract from the appearance of the development; and
k. Utilise measures that support resource efficiency.
All major residential development proposals will be expected to perform positively when assessed against Building for Life 12 guidelines. Developments should seek to avoid red outcomes unless there are exceptional circumstances. All Building for Life 12 assessed schemes will be reviewed once built out and compared to initial BfL12 assessments.
Neighbourhood Plans can, and are encouraged to, set out design policies which respond to their own local circumstances.
59 Building for Life 12 - Third edition | Design Council
60 Dementia and Town Planning 2017 | RTPI