Design in the Built Environment

Urban Design and Landscape

Charnwood is an attractive and vibrant Borough with an impressive and diverse legacy of architecture, settlements and landscapes. The Council is concerned to protect, improve and add to this proud heritage and encourages high quality design in new development throughout Charnwood. Good design can make a difference in shaping our built environment, and the sustainability of development and our quality of life can be enhanced by more careful thought about the places we create. The Plans, Policies & Place Making Group is responsible for the preparation of guidance to help secure higher design standards.

Planning Permission granted for larger or prominent developments is often subject to landscape conditions to ensure that the spaces between buildings contribute to the landscape setting, provides screening or reinforces land uses. The Group can offer initial landscape advice to applicants and oversees the process of planting conditions in the planning process.

The Group also has responsibility for securing the achievement of the Council’s standards in the design and provision of green space in new development and plays a role in the adoption of Public Open Space by the Borough and Parish/Town Councils.

The Group is currently proposing improvements for Loughborough Town Centre. To see the proposals and comment click here.

• Village/Town Design Statements VDS

  Design statements are produced by local communities, supported by the Borough Council and the Leicestershire and Rutland Rural Community Council. They are a means of fostering good design, appropriate to its local context and may be prepared for a village, town or neighbourhood within a larger settlement such as Loughborough.

  The Plans, Policies & Place Making Group provides support to secure the adoption of Village Design Statements as Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) or Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG). Design Statements have already been adopted by the Borough Council for Barrow-upon-Soar (SPG); Burton-on-the-Wolds (SPD); Rearsby (SPG); Woodhouse (SPD); Woodhouse Eaves (SPD) and Wymeswold (SPG).

• Charnwood - Leading in Design

  This Supplementary Planning Document explains the importance the Borough Council places on the achievement of high design standards and provides guidance which encourages developments that:

  • Are appropriate to their context;
  • Secure positive improvements to the landscape, streetscape or place where they are located;
  • Create safe environments where crime and disorder or fear of crime do not undermine quality of life:
  • Foster strong and positive relations between people from different backgrounds within neighbourhoods;
  • Make efficient and prudent use of natural resources; and
  • Address the needs of all in society.
• Leading in Design - Making it Easy

  This Supplementary Planning Document promotes awareness of access issues and provides guidance on the design considerations that are necessary to ensure convenient and suitable access to buildings and spaces for all people.

• Leading in Design - Shopfronts and Signs

  This Supplementary Planning Document provides guidance on achieving good design of shop fronts and shop signs to help conserve and restore the character of our streets and to contribute to the vitality and viability of the Borough.

• Public Art: Making Places Distinctive (PDF Document, 7.9 Mb)

  This document, adopted in April 2003, encourages the provision of public art as an integral part of the design of developments. It explains the way the Council will seek to encourage public art and the procedures to be adopted to govern the process of delivery. It is available as a hard copy on request.

Charnwood Design Awards

The Charnwood Design Awards Scheme was set up to recognise projects that have contributed most to the quality of Charnwood’s built environment. The Scheme was biennial and last ran in 2008. Its aims were to promote interest in the built environment and to encourage good practice and better standards in building conservation, new development and landscaping generally.

• Charnwood Design Awards 2008

• Manual for Streets

  Designing streets as places for people as well as traffic. Produced jointly by Department for Transport and Department for Communities and Local Government.