Policy information sourced from the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan
SADM 11 Amenity and Layout
- All proposals will be required to create and protect a good standard of amenity for buildings and external open space in line with the Council’s Supplementary Design Guidance, and in particular should ensure:
- The levels of sunlight and daylight within buildings and open spaces, and garden areas in particular, are satisfactory.
- Dwellings are dual aspect, wherever feasible, in order to enable passive ventilation and avoid the need for mechanical ventilation, subject to any noise and air pollution mitigation measures that are required to make the proposal acceptable.
- External private or communal garden space, in its extent and design, meets the reasonable needs of its users
- A reasonable degree of privacy to new and existing private living space and the main private garden area, with overlooking limited to an acceptable degree. The design of new communal garden areas should seek to create spaces that provide opportunities for privacy or seclusion for residents, particularly where residents do not have access to private balconies or other private external space.
- New development is not overbearing upon existing buildings and open spaces.
- The outlook and visual amenity afforded from within buildings and private/communal garden areas should be satisfactory, taking account of the relationship with neighbouring buildings and the wider street scene, including the design of parking, boundary treatments and landscaping.
- Shared circulation space and routes to private entrances within flatted development should be of sufficient width, be welcoming, and be naturally lit wherever possible.
- As a minimum, all proposals for C3 dwellings will be required to meet the Nationally Described Space Standard, unless it can be robustly demonstrated that this would not be feasible or viable.
- Proposals for Houses in Multiple Occupation will be expected to meet the criteria set out within the Council’s Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document.
- Proposals for ‘granny annexes’ will be supported, where the extension to an existing dwelling is modest in size and subordinate in scale to the main dwelling. The annex should be designed in such a way that it can function as an integrated part of the main dwelling whilst allowing for a degree of independence for the occupant(s). Vehicular access and garden areas should be shared with no boundary demarcation or sub-division of garden areas.
For more information please see the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan