Policy information sourced from Lambeth Local Plan 2020-2035
Q7 Urban design: new development
New development (new buildings and conversion schemes) will generally be supported if:
- it is of a quality design which is visually interesting, well detailed, well-proportioned with adequate detailing/architectural interest (which can include accent colour, decoration and ornamentation);
- it has a bulk, scale/mass, siting, building line and orientation which adequately preserves or enhances the prevailing local character. Where the context is changing, the proposed development should also contribute towards the intended future character of the area;
- it includes climate change mitigation and adaptation measures such as passive solar design, sustainable urban drainage systems, urban shading and heat reduction measures;
- it is built of durable, robust, low-maintenance materials and is designed to be flexible and adaptable internally for different uses and changing circumstances over the lifetime of the development;
- it includes well-considered windows and doors/entrances in street and other public frontages, so that all entrances are attractive, safe and legible. Designers should ensure that features such as canopies and letter boxes, doorbells and intercoms, external lighting etc. are integrated effectively into the design, and that naturally-lit entrance halls, corridors and circulation spaces are provided where possible;
- plant and equipment (for example: meter boxes, pipes, cables, electronic communications antenna, and air conditioning units) is not placed on important elevations - where possible it should be fully integrated into the building or located in visually inconspicuous locations within effective and robust screened enclosures;
- it creates attractive roofscapes/roof tops where plant and equipment is fully integrated and completely screened from public view;
- it would not create canyon-like development especially along streets and railway lines; and
- any vehicular access, parking (particularly in undercrofts or basements) or servicing is designed so as to be safe and well-related to the users of the site and wider adjacent area, not prejudice or preclude active frontages, minimise impact on amenity and be visually attractive.
- it does not prejudice the optimum future development of, or access to, adjoining plots by omitting openings on party walls and avoiding direct overlooking, unacceptable overshadowing or undue sense of enclosure.
For more information please see the Local Plan