To consider and comment on the draft Central Bedfordshire Design Guide prior to its consideration by Executive for adoption as technical guidance for Development Management purposes.

The Chairman invited a representative of Bloor Homes to speak at the commencement of this item.  The representative raised a number of issues that were in summary as follows:-

·         The potential impact on investment decisions of changes in policy.

·         The need to clarify the way the Council would deal with existing reserved matters applications.

·         Whether the Council would allow some schemes to come forward without being subject to the guidance in the Design Guide.

Cllr Young clarified that developers were requested to comply with both the Design Guide and Design Codes on specific sites.  The Council had tried not to be prescriptive so as not to obstruct new development.

The Committee received a presentation from the Acting Principal Planning Officer that outlined the rationale for updating the current Guide in addition to outlining several key issues and the ways in which the Council planned to address them.  In light of the presentation and the points raised by the speaker the Committee and other Members in attendance discussed the following issues in detail:-

·         Concerns regarding revisions to parking standards, which some Members perceived were being ‘watered down’, and the need to design developments in such a way to minimise the need for enforcement.  In response, Cllr Young detailed the rationale for the parking standards and commented that many residents did not make appropriate use of allocated parking spaces.  The Council would more proactively enforce on-street parking to encourage residents to use allocated parking spaces.  Where appropriate, developers would be required to provide enforcement on housing estates.  Cllr Young agreed to further clarify references within the Guide in relation to parking standards.

·         Whether the use of communal bins could be considered more widely during the planning stage for new developments in Central Bedfordshire.  In response the Acting Principal Planning Officer commented that the Guide proposed better design for communal storage of bins rather than encouraging shared bins.  Cllr Young agreed that the Guide should encourage the wider provision of communal bins in relation to new housing developments.

·         The need to work with Bedford Borough Council (BBC) to encourage similar design standards on adjacent developments, such as Wixams.  In response, Cllr Young commented that officers communicated with colleagues at BBC but there would be a different approach to design and overall layout.

·         The need to consider the long-term maintenance costs of some building materials.  In response Cllr Young commented that the Council was considering both the engineering approach to street maintenance and the repair strategy for materials to address this concern.

·         The potential benefit of service trunking so that the Council could more accurately locate facilities under the pavement/road.

·         Whether the principles of the Design Guide could be a mandatory requirement for new developments.  In response, Cllr Young stated that the Guide had to be adhered to but some flexibility was needed and if it was mandatory it would lead to an increase in planning appeals and the Council may lose control of the planning process.  Cllr Young also pointed out that whilst some flexibility was appropriate, consistent and clear application of the Guide to all developments was equally important so that all developers knew where they stood and had as much certainty as possible.

·         The need to amend references to public art to provide wider reference to the ‘public realm’.

·         The importance of maximising opportunities to travel by walking, cycling and public transport and that town or neighbourhood centre should ideally be within walking distance of residential developments.

·         The importance of ensuring that primary roads in a development are an appropriate width so as to allow car parking where appropriate without impeding traffic flow.

RECOMMENDED

1.    That the Executive adopt the Design Guide as technical guidance for development management purposes subject to references to ‘public art’ being amended to ‘public realm’.

2.    That the Executive delegate to the Director of Regeneration in consultation with the Executive Member (Strategic Planning and Economic Development) the authority to make any minor amendments to the document prior to final publication.