Supplementary Planning Guidance

Fareham Town Centre Design Guide

Appendix 2

Extracts from Relevant Planning Policy Guidance Notes

PPG1 - General Policy and Principles

New buildings and their curtilages have a significant effect on the character and quality of an area. They define public spaces, streets and vistas and inevitably create the context for future development. These effects will often be to the benefit of an area but they can be detrimental. They are matters of proper public interest. The appearance of proposed development and its relationship to its surroundings are therefore material considerations in determining planning applications and appeals. Such considerations relate to the design of buildings and to urban design. These are distinct, albeit closely inter-related subjects. Both are important. Both require an understanding of the context in which development takes place whether in urban or rural areas.

For the purposes of this Guidance, urban design should be taken to mean the relationship between different buildings; the relationship between buildings and the streets, squares, parks, waterways and other spaces which make up the public domain; the nature and quality of the public domain itself; the relationship of one part of a village, town or city with other parts; and the patterns of movement and activity which are thereby established: in short, the complex relationships between all the elements of built and unbuilt space. As the appearance and treatment of the spaces between and around buildings is often of comparable importance to the design of the buildings themselves, landscape design should be considered as an integral part of urban design.

Local planning authorities should reject poor designs, particularly where their decisions are supported by clear plan policies or supplementary design guidance which has been subjected to public consultation and adopted by the local planning authority. Poor designs may include those inappropriate to their context, for example those clearly out of scale or incompatible with their surroundings.

Policies should be based on a proper assessment of the character of the surrounding built and natural environment, and should take account of the defining characteristics of each local area.

PPG3 - Housing

Good design and layout of new development can help to achieve the Government's objectives of making the best use of previously-developed land and improving the quality and attractiveness of residential areas. In seeking to achieve these objectives, local planning authorities and developers should think imaginatively about designs and layouts which make more efficient use of land without compromising the quality of the environment.

New housing development of whatever scale should not be viewed in isolation. Considerations of design and layout must be informed by the wider context, having regard not just to any immediate neighbouring buildings but the townscape and landscape of the wider locality. The local pattern of streets and spaces, building traditions, materials and ecology should all help to determine the character and identity of a development, recognising that new building technologies are capable of delivering acceptable built forms and may be more efficient. Local planning authorities should adopt policies which:

• create places and spaces with the needs of people in mind, which are attractive, have their own distinctive identity but respect and enhance local character;
• promote designs and layouts which are safe and take account of public health, crime prevention and community safety considerations;
• focus on the quality of the places and living environments being created and give priority to the needs of pedestrians rather than the movement and parking of vehicles;
• avoid inflexible planning standards and reduce road widths, traffic speeds and promote safer environments for pedestrians; and
• promote the energy efficiency of new housing where possible.

PPG6 Town Centres and Retailing

Town centres must provide a high quality environment if they are to continue to be places where people wish to come. The Government wishes to promote greater consideration of design, particularly urban design, not least in order to help improve the environment in our town centres. Local planning authorities are encouraged to undertake an urban design analysis, as part of their town centre strategy, to provide a framework for policies in their development plan and for guiding the preparation of development briefs for key sites.