Policy information sourced from Redbridge Local Plan

LP26: Promoting High Quality Design

The Council will require good design and ‘place making’, and will seek high quality design in all development within the borough. Innovative and good design will be encouraged and promoted, and development of poor design, that does not take available opportunities to improve an area’s character and quality, and the way it functions, will be refused planning permission. The Council will expect developers to show how their proposals will achieve high quality inclusive design to ensure an accessible environment, and how they have engaged with users in their Design and Access Statements;

The Council will promote high quality design in the borough by requiring that development:

  • Is of high architectural, urban and landscape design quality;
  • Respects the local character of the area, and makes a positive architectural and urban design contribution to its context and location;
  • Conserves and enhances the character and signifcance of the historic environment and complements the borough’s heritage assets, and their settings, in accordance with LP33;
  • Is well integrated and has regard to and respect for the surrounding area, in terms of layout, form, style, massing, scale, density, orientation, materials, and design, in order to reinforce the positive and distinctive local character and amenity as described in the Characterisation Study (2014), or its updated equivalent;
  • Incorporates sustainable design and durable construction, observing best practice in energy efciency and climate change mitigation, and incorporates the highest standards of accessible and inclusive design that is adaptable to diferent activities and land uses and the changing needs of all, including disabled and older people;
  • Consists of high quality details and materials that respects or improves local character;
  • Respects the existing layout of buildings, surrounding streets, open spaces and patterns of development. The layout of new development should create direct, recognisable, through routes that improve legibility and movement through places, and positively contribute to street frontages;
  • Ensure that high quality hard and soft landscaping is integral to layout and design, and opportunities to introduce green urban design solutions are optimised;
  • Is designed to minimise crime and antisocial behaviour, creating safe and secure environments;
  • Provides high standards of accommodation for housing in terms of size, quality and arrangement of internal space, external private and external communal amenity space, and access to usable open space;
  • Creates clear distinctions between private and public space, and integrates building services equipment and facilities in a well-planned manner;
  • Does not result in an adverse impact upon the amenity of neighbouring occupiers in relation to overlooking and privacy, daylight/sunlight, outlook, noise and vibration; and respects the scale, massing and height of surrounding buildings;
  • Provides appropriate facilities for refuse, recycling and servicing; and
  • Preserves key and important views, as illustrated in the Characterisation Study (2014), or its updated equivalent.

Implementation

The Council will develop, enable and facilitate Masterplans and planning/ development briefs for major opportunity sites within the Investment and Growth Areas and other parts of the borough;

Council planning ofcers will engage with developers in pre-application discussions prior to the submission of planning applications. The Council’s pre-application service includes Planning Performance Agreements for major development. Design review is encouraged for the most signifcant development proposals;

For competitive tender processes, where Council land assets are advertised for disposal, any award or invitation to purchase land will be contingent on planning policy for new development, and specifc design criteria as relates to the land and its surrounding area. The highest design quality will be sought by the Council, upon which great weight will be placed when deciding on awards or invitations to purchase. As part of such competitive tender processes the Council will require that developers submit outline plans, with Design and Access Statements outlining the design merits of their development proposals, having regard to the criteria set out in LP26 High Quality Design;

The Council will update the Urban Design Framework (2004) in the light of changes in national, regional and local policy and to take account of the Characterisation Study (2014), when making decisions on planning applications; and

Planning ofcers will advise local residents owning properties to use the Council’s Householder Design Guide (January 2012), in order to encourage domestic improvements that are in keeping with local character, whether for alterations to houses under permitted development rights or through the planning application process. Improvements that require planning consent that do not comply with the Council’s Householder Design Guide will be resisted.

For more information please see the Local Plan