Character, Sustainability and Design Codes SPD | Character, Sustainability and Design Codes SPD

The Character, Sustainability and Design Codes Supplementary Planning Document has been adopted by the Council, as of 14th May 2024. The Supplementary Planning Document, the Adoption Statement and the Engagement and Consultation Statement can be accessed via this webpage. Hard copies of the SPD and the Adoption Statement can be found at any of the libraries within the borough. Please click here to see a list of libraries and their opening times.

The Character, Sustainability and Design Codes SPD (Supplementary Planning Document) is an update to our existing 2014 Urban Context and Character Study.

Adopted Character, Sustainability and Design Codes Supplementary Planning Document

Part A1 – Introduction	Part A1.pdf	Part A1 proposes a set of borough wide design principles.
Part A2 – Common Considerations	Part A2 .pdf	Part A2 sets out design guidance relevant to all site types, including resources, nature, movement, homes & buildings.
Part A3- Typology Design Codes	Part A3.pdf	Part A3- includes guidance for six distinct site types: backland, residential infill, adjacent to infrastructure, arterial route, waterfront and airspace (upwards extensions).
Part A4- Tall Building Design Guidance	Part A4.pdf	Part A4 includes design guidance for tall buildings.
Part A5- Residential Extension Guidelines	Part A5.pdf	Part A5 includes design guidance for residential extensions.
Part B1- Feltham	B1 Feltham .pdf	Part B1 includes a vision for Feltham, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance, a town centre code for Feltham and site codes.
Part B2- Hanworth	B2 Hanworth.pdf	Part B2 includes a vision for Hanworth, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance.
B3- Bedfont	B3 Bedfont.pdf	Part B3 includes a vision for Bedfont, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance.
Part B4 – Hounslow West	B4 Hounslow West.pdf	Part B4 includes a vision for Hounslow West, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance and public realm guidance.
B5- Cranford & Heston	B5 Cranford and Heston.pdf	Part B5 includes a vision for Cranford & Heston, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance.
Part B6 – Central Hounslow	B6 Central Hounslow.pdf	Part B6 includes a vision for Central Hounslow, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance and a town centre code for Hounslow.
Part B7 – Isleworth	B7 Isleworth.pdf	Part B7 includes a vision for Isleworth in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance.
Part B8- Osterley	B8 Osterley.pdf	Part B8 includes a vision for Osterley, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance.
Part B9 - Brentford	B9 Brentford.pdf	Part B9 includes a vision for Brentford, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance, a town centre code for Brentford and site design codes.
Part B10 - Chiswick	B10 Chiswick.pdf	Part B10 includes a vision for Chiswick, in addition to neighbourhood level design guidance, a town centre code for Chiswick and site design codes.
Engagement and Consultation Statement	Engagment and Consultation Statement- Interactive webpage	The Engagement and Consultation Statement outlines the engagement and consultation work undertaken throughout the project, the feedback received and how the plan changed in response.
Adoption Statement	Character, Sustainability and Design Codes SPD Adoption Statement	The adoption statement formally advising of adoption of the SPD.

Context

Design coding is one tool available to local planning authorities, communities and developers to define and deliver design quality. It is a set of design requirements that provide detailed parameters for the physical development of an area. The Character, Sustainability and Design Codes SPD will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which will be a material consideration in decision making on planning applications.

The London Plan emphasises the use of design codes: Policy D4 states that design codes should be used to help bring forward development and ensure it delivers high quality design and placemaking.

The need for area-wide design assessments is currently set out in the NPPF. Furthermore, design codes are set to become a statutory requirement as stated in the proposed changes to the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework). Paragraphs 133-139 of the NPPF emphasise that all local planning authorities should prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code (NMDC), which reflect local character and design preferences, and that development that is not well designed should be refused, especially where it fails to take into consideration local design policy, government guidance on design and supplementary planning documents, such as design guides and codes. The NPPF states that development which reflects the policy, guidance and codes should be given significant weight.

Engagement and Consultation Summary

We undertook an initial engagement survey entitled “Tell us about your Neighbourhood” in January and February 2021. The survey sought feedback from residents and people who work in the borough about their local areas, asking for feedback what makes the area special, what is liked and disliked and the activities that are undertaken in different parts of the borough. This was in order to provide an understanding about what contributes to an area’s special character and how future improvements can enhance the design quality and character. The survey also sought feedback on character area boundaries. The survey gathered around 750 responses. A summary of responses will be provided in the final report.

On 3 March 2021 we held an informal engagement workshop with residents, where presentations were given by Allies and Morrison on proposed character area boundaries and on opportunities to enhance character in each neighbourhood. A video of the workshop can be viewed here and the presentation here. Please note that the presentation is a work in progress and will be updated in the final report.

On 12 May 2021 a 2nd informal engagement workshop was held with residents to gather feedback on proposed area design codes, propose alternative codes and come up with new codes that shape the future of neighbourhoods. A video of the workshop can be viewed here and the presentation here. Please note that the presentation is a work in progress and will be updated in the final report. For this workshop, we put together an informative video to explain what design codes are, what they aim to do: Watch the video here.

Further online engagement workshops were held with residents in Feltham (23 July 2021), Brentford (3 August 2021) and Chiswick (3 August 2021) to gather feedback on aspirations for specific sites to shape design codes.

The first statutory consultation on the Study took place between Monday 4 April and Monday 16 May 2022, where we invited comments on the document via a prototype consultation portal. A number of public workshops were held including: a West of the Borough workshop on 21 April 2022, an East of the Borough workshop on 28 April 2022, a workshop with the Youth Parliament and a workshop with a disability focus group. Following this, the study has been refined in line with your feedback.

Following this consultation exercise, a number of changes were made to the emerging SPD in response to the comments received. The Engagement and Consultation Statement summarises the feedback and resulting amendments, organised by theme, place and site for ease of reference. The main changes are set out below:

To address comments that the document was extensive and detail on specific issues may be lost, the structure has now been streamlined into a modular structure, with each Place module containing all information related to that area, including any site codes. Part A, which covers borough wide guidance and codes, is also structured modularly to allow easier referral to specific content.
Town Centre codes have been added for the four town centres to deliver the ideas in the masterplans and visions and the building heights have been revised.
Additional guidance has been added to Part A2 Common Considerations, including additional design guidance related to accessibility, climate change, the sustainable design journey & links to the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation SPD.
A section on front gardens, parking and boundary wall guidance & sustainable energy infrastructure & insulation has been added to the REGs in response to community feedback that front gardens are being lost to driveway conversions.
The visions for each place now include a sustainability focus.
Some neighbourhood boundaries were amended following feedback from stakeholders, focusing on boundaries in Chiswick, Brentford and Isleworth.

An adoption consultation was undertaken between 16th June and 14th August 2023. The purpose of this adoption consultation was to give stakeholders a chance to comment on a version of the document that was as close to the Adoption Version as is possible. This means that amendments made after this consultation period will be minimal focussing on the accuracy of the document and ensuring that the changes that were made to the document reflected the feedback that you gave us.

A full summary of the engagement and consultation activities, representations and changes to the SPD can be found in the Engagment and Consultation Statement.