Design and sustainable development guidelines

Planning guidelines for design and sustainable development in West Dorset have now been adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document and will be an important consideration in deciding planning applications as part of the Local Development Framework.

Why have planning guidelines?

The aim of these guidelines is to keep the quality and character of the district's built environment and to raise awareness and standards of sustainable construction.

The guidelines will support the relevant policies in the adopted West Dorset District Local Plan (2006) and issues raised will help shape the emerging core strategy policies.

How has the community been involved in their preparation?

Before drafting the guidelines, time was taken to gather information and talk to local people. Research and evidence was collected on landscape and built character, sustainable construction techniques and access issues.

A newsletter and feedback report was produced in June 2008 to bring everyone up to date on what had been done and some further suggestions were received.

A six week consultation was held during October and November and closed on Monday 24 November 2008. During this period, as well as making the guidelines available online and at the council offices and local libraries, a series of informative roadshows were held across the district. These events were publicised in local newspapers, on local radio and through letters and posters sent to schools, libraries, tourist information centres and town and parish councils.

What is in the guidelines?

The guidelines are split into eight chapters. Following the introduction, the second chapter contains ten principles (design policies) for development. The remaining chapters consider how each building element (such as the street, the plot, the building and internal layout and fittings) addresses these policies and attempts to answer questions that often arise. A quick overview is provided in the two-page non-technical summary.

To help set out clearly the key characteristics that give an area its individuality, character assessments have been produced. These include:

Appraisals or studies of the main conservation areas
Urban character assessments of the main towns (these are being finalised and should be approved by committee later this year)
An assessment of the landscape character of the district

The district council is also keen to encourage protection of the environment and ensure the efficient use of resources, for today and for generations to come. Some developers have told us that they are unsure how to improve their designs to meet higher standards in a cost-effective way, so the council has provided information sheets on various technologies that are currently available.

A sustainability appraisal of the design guidelines is also available, which looks at each design policy and compares how it performs in terms of agreed sustainability criteria.

The planning guidelines - adoption statement

A meeting of the Policy Scrutiny Committee was held in January 2009 to consider what changes should be made to the planning guidelines and make a recommendation to the Executive Committee. The committee papers included a detailed table of comments on the draft guidelines and how the guidelines could be revised in response to these. The sustainability appraisal and appropriate assessment of the potential adverse effects on any nearby European sites were also considered.

The West Dorset District Council Design and Sustainable Development Planning Guidelines were adopted at Executive Committee on 3 February 2009.

Where can I find the documents

Copies of all the documents can be inspected at the council offices in Dorchester, Bridport and Sherborne and at local libraries in West Dorset and Weymouth town centre. Copies can also be bought at the following prices:

Design and Sustainable Development Planning Guidelines £6 (plus £1 postage and packing)
Planning Guidelines Summary £1 (no charge for postage and packing)
Sustainability Appraisal Report £5 (plus £1 postage and packing)
Sustainability Appraisal Report Summary £1 (no charge for postage)
Landscape Character Assessment £8.50 (plus £1 postage and packing)
Single character area Landscape Character Assessment £1 (no charge for postage and packing, please specify area)

Guidance notes for developers

In most cases information on how a development complies with the requirements set out in these planning guidelines can best be set out in your Design and Access Statement. Any applications for one or more new homes should also be accompanied by a completed Design Policy J Checklist (pdf, 115kb) (opens in a new window) . The level of detail required in a Design and Access Statement will depend on the scale and complexity of the application. A guidance note on Design and Access Statements (pdf, 109kb) (opens in a new window) has been produced, particularly aimed at the type of information that would be expected to accompany major applications (those relating to 10 or more homes, or more than 1,000 square metres of non-residential floor area).