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3.1. Government advice stresses the need for urban design considerations to be at the forefront of the development plan process. These considerations are contained in PPS1, PPS6 andPPGs 3, & 13, and supported in the DETR guides: “Places, Streets and Movement” 1998 ,“By Design – Urban Design in the Planning System: Towards Better Practice” 2000 and “Better Places to Live” 2001.
3.2. It is vitally important to ensure that such matters permeate all aspects of the plan and are taken into account on a comprehensive and consistent basis. This chapter sets out the key urban design policies to be applied to all new development. These policies are amplified elsewhere in supplementary planning guidance/documents.
Urban Design Aims
3.3. Urban design looks beyond the external appearance of development to consider the relationship of buildings to one another and to the spaces around them. Good urban design is based on an understanding of how successful places work and not on the use of rigid design standards.
3.4. The Local Plan has seven key urban design goals:
• to promote places that have regard to their local setting and context;
• to promote places that are safe and secure;
• to promote accessibility, allow ease of movement and ensure good connectivity;
• to promote places that are easy to find one’s way around and that have a strong positive identity;
• to promote the vitality of the public realm, create places with variety and choice and encourage social and economic interaction;
• to promote the visual qualities of buildings in the city, the spaces they create, and the overall quality of people’s surroundings;
• to promote sustainable development.
3.5. Applicants for planning permission should be able to demonstrate how they have taken account of the need for good design in their development proposals and particularly that they have had regard to both policy and guidance. This should be done in a manner appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposal. As a minimum for major development, applicants should provide a short written statement setting out the design principles adopted as well as illustrative material in plan and elevation. For complex large-scale development proposals, the statement will need to explain how proposals relate to all relevant design policy and guidance. In certain circumstances this will involve the production of an urban design framework or master plan.
3.6. Landowners and applicants are recommended to seek the advice of the City Council at an early stage, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of design policy and guidance for individual sites and areas.
Supplementary Planning Documents
3.7. Supplementary planning documents will be produced which include City Wide, Area and Site Specific Planning guidance. These will include design guidance that amplify policy and will assist developers in understanding, appreciating and responding to the Planning Authority’s design expectations. Such guidance, formulated only after due public consultation, will be taken into account in the determination of planning applications as supplementary to the Plan Policies.
High Quality Building Design and Local Context
3.8. In considering any development in Leicester, note must be taken of the general characteristics of the City, its form and history. Any development within the City must consider its surroundings. The City Centre is characterized by its medieval street pattern. Around the centre are streets of terraced housing reflecting the significant growth of the city in the second half of the 19th century. Leicester still has the feeling of a large market town, with a compact retail core. In most cases new development should follow the discipline imposed by the established pattern of development in the area. In Leicester the dominant pattern is “the street” with buildings facing onto either side. This should continue to be the case in the future and opportunities to recreate past street patterns should be taken. Large scale monolithic developments are not appropriate within the historic areas in and around the City Centre where they would destroy the fine grain character of these areas. Local setting and context should not be used as precedents for future development where they undermine the overall character of an area and detract from the achievement of key urban design goals.
3.9. High quality environments and design enhance people’s lives. There should be no conflict between high quality design and the construction of robust buildings that function well, are sustainable and meet the needs of their occupants and the occupants of the future. Individual expression and variety of architectural style is encouraged. It is recognized that in certain circumstances designs that contrast dramatically with adjoining buildings are highly desirable. The circumstances of individual locations will determine where this approach is appropriate. Buildings that are robust, flexible and are of high visual quality can help prolong the use of and life of buildings by being flexible and adaptable to change.
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UD01. HIGH QUALITY BUILDING DESIGN AND LOCAL CONTEXT
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Planning Permission will be given for sustainable high quality building designs, whether they are interpretations of traditional styles or not, providing proposals have regard to local context including:
a) existing landscape characteristics and features such as trees, hedgerows ponds and waterways;
b) the scale and proportion of existing buildings, building lines and heights within the street scene;
c) the detailed design of the existing building where ancillary buildings and extensions are proposed; and
d) the retention and enhancement of existing urban spaces, traditional local materials, and townscape or historic features which contribute to the character of the area.
Planning permission will not be granted for design which is inappropriate in its context, or which fails to take the opportunity available for improving the character and quality of an area and the way it functions.
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3.10. Within Conservation Areas the conservation policies in the Chapter 9 will also be applicable.
Building Layout, Form and Positioning
3.11. New development should ensure that the building layout creates a network of connected spaces overlooked by the front of buildings. These should provide both enclosure and visual surveillance of the street. Overlooked streets and open spaces with ‘active’ frontages can make places feel safer and help introduce vitality into the public realm. The rear of buildings should be private and should not face the public highway or public open space. Street frontages that have the minimum of gaps between buildings provide both good visual surveillance and enclosure of the street scene.
3.12. Planning applications will be assessed in order to determine a scheme’s ability to reduce the risk of criminal activity, trespass and vandalism. New development should be designed to minimize such risks through appropriate layout, boundary features and means of enclosure.
3.13. The City Council is concerned with the image of the City as a whole but also with local identity and people’s attachment to places. It is desirable that new development creates a sense of place, aids orientation and reinforces the identity and legibility of a particular district. Legibility is the clarity of a place, and the degree to which an area is easily navigated and understood. The best places are memorable, easy to understand and have a character with which people can identify. Development should give a strong identity to the area through the form and layout of buildings and the creation of new spaces between them.
3.14. The positioning of development on individual plots has an influence on the character of a place, the amount of visual surveillance, and the overall legibility of development. Strong building lines generally provide a pleasing development ‘rhythm’, can ensure a sense of enclosure and offer increased security and surveillance.
3.15. In certain circumstances it maybe desirable for buildings not to conform to the building line in order to have a positive impact on the street scene, for example, allowing corner buildings to be set forward or for the incorporation of public open space.
3.16. Large areas of car parking in front of development reduce both the visual surveillance and enclosure of the street. Consideration should be given to parking either at the side, within the interior of the block, or underground where appropriate.
3.17. Corner buildings are an important feature of Leicester’s streets and require special consideration. Their high visibility can make them important as local or major landmarks. If designed well they can aid legibility, increase the visual surveillance of the street, stimulate the mixing of uses and provide good enclosure of the public realm.
3.18. Tall buildings can make a positive contribution to the image of the City. They can improve density, legibility and townscape if designed and located appropriately. Conversely however, they can have a wide range of negative effects including obstructing views, detracting from nearby historic buildings and creating ‘dead’ environments at street level. Further guidance on tall buildings will be provided in a supplementary planning document.
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UD02. BUILDING LAYOUT, FORM AND POSITIONING
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Planning Permission will be given for new development where buildings:
a) provide a positive built frontage onto public spaces, streets or waterways;
- by having windows and entrances onto the street to ensure vitality and visual surveillance of the public realm,
- by making a clear physical distinction between private and public space,
- by being positioned in front of plot, unless an alternative can be shown to have a positive benefit for the public realm,
- by emphasising the importance of corners by either raising their height or profile or by other design treatment.
b) create a sense of identity and improve legibility;
- by the use of street widths and building heights to emphasise the importance of the public realm,
- by the appropriate use of landmark buildings,
- by incorporating key views of prominent features within, into and out of new development.
Tall buildings will only be permitted where they meet strict design and locational criteria. They must make a positive contribution to the character of the area and the City as a whole and have minimal adverse impacts on adjacent buildings and on public amenity.
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3.19. The supplementary planning document on Tall Buildings will provide further guidance including the design and locational criteria.
Design and Layout of Streets, Pedestrian Routes, Cycleways and Public Spaces
3.20. Good design of streets and public areas can help everyone move around more easily and safely, particularly people from disadvantaged groups. Creating pleasant outdoor spaces where people can meet contributes to the vitality of the City.
3.21. Streets should generally link with other streets at both ends and routes should be as short and direct as possible. Short linked streets make development more accessible, can encourage walking and cycling and make it easier to find one’s way around. Connected places are more readily integrated into the wider structure of the City, helping to reduce any sense of isolation. Culs-de-sac should generally be avoided unless they are part of a well-connected network of streets. Streets should be more than just traffic channels and should offer a safe and attractive environment for all. The DETR publication ‘Places Streets and Movement’ provides guidance on this objective. In certain circumstances, for reasons of highway safety, it may be necessary to restrict vehicular movements in connected streets giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists or public transport. However, this should not result in long footpath links that reduce vitality and segregate different users or prevent convenient access to buildings by service vehicles.
3.22. Roads should not dominate the layout of development. The relationship of buildings to each other is of paramount importance in creating a network of spaces which provide variety and interest. Where possible the City Council wishes to see traffic calming measures integral to overall design. Well designed spaces can effectively calm and filter traffic without the need for road humps or similar measures. Detailed policies on traffic calming and car parking can be found in Chapter 5.
3.23. The City Council is committed to improving access for disabled people to the built environment. Developers will be expected to follow guidelines set out in SPG “Paving the Way” in new development or refurbishment in the City. Developers also need to consider Policy AM01 in Chapter 5 that deals with pedestrians, people with limited mobility and new development.
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UD03. DESIGN AND LAYOUT OF STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACES.
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High quality and imaginative designs for streets and public spaces are encouraged. Planning permission will be given for proposals in which:
a) proposals integrate with existing routes and are well connected to the wider area;
b) the layout of streets encourages walking and cycling, and caters for all people including people with disabilities, elderly people, young people and people with young children, and caters for the requirements of public transport;
c) conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles is minimized by street designs that restrict traffic speed to an appropriate level and provide pedestrian and cyclist priority;
d) the safety of pedestrians and cyclists is promoted through streets that are overlooked, preclude potential hiding places and prevent inappropriate access. Unnecessary footpaths between and to the rear of properties should be avoided; and
e) streets and public open spaces are designed to be easily maintained and provide coordinated urban hardware.
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3.24. Where developers wish the Council to maintain unadopted streets, a commuted sum for future maintenance will be sought.
3.25. Proposals will be expected, where appropriate to make provision for vehicle accessibility. Detailed policies on traffic calming and car parking can be found in Chapter 5.
Mixed Use
3.26. Mixed use development can contribute towards good urban design and sustainable development by:
• making urban areas more attractive places to live by providing increased activity and use during the day, in the evenings and at weekends, and by introducing new residents and visitors;
• improving the vitality and viability of commercial centres.
• reducing the need to travel, by providing for a range of requirements in close proximity;
• providing a feeling of safety through natural surveillance resulting from greater and more prolonged activity;
• creating a variety of different building and spaces which can contribute to visual interest and preserve and enhance historic or cultural heritage;
• improving the quality of residential neighbourhoods by introducing a focus of activity; and
• introducing new uses into redundant buildings, giving them a new ‘lease of life’.
3.27. There are a number of situations where these benefits are particularly appropriate; the City Centre, Town Centres, District Centres, Local Centres, the Strategic Regeneration Area, Potential Development Areas, and in major new housing developments. Each of these situations may require a different mixed use approach from a rich mix of different activities to a single predominant use supported by ancillary functions. There is no automatic correlation between the mixing of uses and environmental quality. The benefits deriving from mixed use are largely determined by four factors:
• the mix of different uses; which generate different levels of interaction and activity;
• the scale and grain of development. Different situations will require different levels of grain, from ‘fine’ (where the mix is between or even within individual buildings) to ‘coarse’ (where the mix relates to relatively small areas of a single use within a wider, though walkable area);
• the density of development. Higher densities tend to encourage greater activity; and
• the extent to which potential problems of disturbance and nuisance caused by different neighbouring uses can be resolved.
3.28. The City Council will provide planning and design guidance to identify the particular requirements of a mixed use approach for specific sites or areas.
Energy Efficiency
3.29. Government guidance states that local authorities should have particular regard to the need to conserve energy. The two main land use factors that impact on the energy efficiency of a building are site location and building design.
3.30. The gradient and orientation of a site, together with the spacing between buildings and the height of possible obstructions have an impact on the amount of exposure a building has to direct sunlight and therefore to potential solar energy gain. Heat loss is influenced by the number of external walls and, on exposed sites, by the presence of planting or other types of wind breaks.
3.31. Developers should consider robust and adaptable building forms to facilitate changes of use over time, for example the conversion of office buildings to residential accommodation. Building conversion is usually more energy/resource efficient than knocking a building down and starting again.
3.32. The City Council considers it important to incorporate energy conservation measures. Savings in fuel use and CO2 emissions by careful design for passive solar gain can be up to 50% with no increase in building costs (Source: London Research Centre 1999). The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has developed an energy audit that can be carried out on various types of buildings from office blocks to supermarkets. Applicants for non-residential development will be strongly encouraged to carry out a BRE energy audit and this should be submitted with the planning application. Residential development will be strongly encouraged to achieve a National Home Energy Rating (NHER) of 10 or above. Further information and advice on BRE energy audits, NHER and other energy conservation issues can be obtained from the Leicester Energy Advice Centre.
3.33. Supplementary Planning Document on ‘Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’ gives further practical advice. See also Policy BE16 (Renewable Energy). It is recognised that on some sites there may be a trade-off between maximising passive solar gain and other objectives. Maximising energy efficiency should not compromise the Plan’s aim to make efficient use of land or other key urban design principles as set out in Policy UD02. Where these objectives are considered to conflict, the Planning Authority will require as part of a design statement, a detailed reasoned justification of the approach taken to energy efficiency objectives.
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UDO4.ENERGY EFFICIENCY
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Planning permission will not be given for development proposals which would fail sufficiently toachieve efficiency in the use of energy and incorporate measures suitable to the proposal by:
a) maximising the benefits of solar energy, passive solar gain, natural ventilation and the efficient use of natural light through siting, form, orientation and layout whilst addressing the density requirements of buildings; and
b) using landscaping to optimise energy conservation.
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Adaptability
3.34. The most successful places are able to adapt to changing circumstances. Places need to adapt at every scale. A household makes different demands on a house as children are born and grow up. Towns and cities as a whole have to adapt as industries rise and decline, and as the demand for housing and the nature of workplaces change.
3.35. New development should firstly consider the re-use of existing buildings where they make a positive contribution to the street. When new buildings are proposed, good urban design that provides for adaptability can help ensure that changing needs are met and can help to avoid obsolescence, dereliction and the need for comprehensive re-development.
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UD05. ADAPTABILITY
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Development proposals should be designed for flexibility with the future in mind and should:
a) provide opportunities to adapt to the changing needs of their users; and
b) have flexible layouts which allow for the greatest variety of possible future uses to be accommodated.
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3.36. Proposals for student housing should also have regard to Policy H08.
Landscape Design
3.37. As part of the design process, the City Council wishes to see an integrated approach to the use of soft and hard landscaping in relation to new development. This should involve:
• the use of existing landscape features, topography and areas of planting which have amenity or ecological value.
• A co-ordinated approach to the overall layout, access, planting proposals, fencing, hard landscaping, lighting, services, street furniture and surface materials;
• planting and hard landscaping that contributes to the street scene, provides structure and delineation, creates landmarks, takes into consideration microclimate and wildlife potential;
• where appropriate, the use of natural regeneration techniques; and
• provision for adequate maintenance to be carried out.
3.38. In considering proposals to develop land, the City Council will require a site survey, plotting all existing trees and hedges, including the height, spread and condition, with existing and proposed levels to be submitted at or before the planning application stage. Details of drainage and other services will be required at the same time.
3.39. The effect on existing planting of felling, lopping, topping and pruning, changes to drainage patterns or ground levels and severance or compaction of roots will all be taken into account in considering the impact of proposed development.
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UD06. LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Planning permission will not be granted for any development that impinges directly or indirectly, upon landscape features that have amenity value including areas of woodland, trees, planting or site topography whether they are within or outside the site unless:
a) the removal of the landscape feature would be in the interests of good landscape maintenance; or
b) the desirability of the proposed development outweighs the amenity value of the landscape feature.
Where development is permitted that results in the loss of a landscape feature with amenity value, compensatory landscape works will be required to an agreed standard.
New development must include planting proposals unless it can be demonstrated that the scale, nature and impact of the development or character of the area do not require them.
Planting proposals should form part of an integrated design approach which includes overall layout, access routes, fencing, hard landscaping, lighting, services and street furniture and should be submitted as part of the planning application.
Development proposals will require maintenance of existing and new landscape for the first ten years after implementation during which time all dead or vandalized stock will need to be replaced (where appropriate with additional protection).
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3.40. The City Council will seek to protect trees which enhance the amenity of Leicester by ensuring that development schemes take account of existing trees and by making Tree Preservation Orders where necessary.
3.41. Features and soft landscape areas that are intended for retention must be protected during the site works with secure fencing. Protection of landscape features should be to a standard as set out in B.S. 5837 “Trees in Relation to Construction”. Further advice on the subject is provided in the adopted supplementary planning guidance ‘Tree Protection’.
Waste Disposal
3.42. The siting of recycling points and the storage of refuse bins can create an adverse impact on the visual quality of the street scene, reduce visual surveillance and provide a means of access to the rear of properties.
3.43. The Council’s strategy for dealing with waste is based around kerbside collection of recyclable material. Householders and businesses will increasingly be required to segregate different types of waste (glass, paper, organic material etc.) prior to collection. It is therefore essential that new homes have adequate utility space inside and bin areas outside for the storage of segregated waste. In particular, apartments and student accommodation (whether conversions or new-build) must incorporate appropriate storage for recyclable material in communal areas. The storage of refuse bins should generally be provided at the rear. Recycling points should be provided and located where they are easily accessible. Innovative solutions will be sought to avoid any adverse impact on the visual quality of the public realm.
3.44. The policy will apply to both commercial and residential development, including flats and factory/office conversions.
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UD07. WASTE DISPOSAL
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New development and redevelopment should have sufficient refuse storage space to allow segregated waste collection. Storage space for refuse bins and the appropriate provision of space for recycling facilities should be integral to the design of new development and, where possible, redevelopment. Facilities should be secure, their impact on the street scene should be minimized, and access for servicing should be provided.
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