Urban Design

Good urban design is essential to creating attractive, high quality and sustainable places in which people wish to live, work and relax. Urban design is the assessment of buildings, spaces, streets and areas to ensure that:-

New buildings respond to the character of an area.
Places are easy to move through and find your way.
Buildings and areas are flexible to respond to changing market demands and the needs of users.
Places provide variety and vitality for communities and businesses.
Well designed and useable areas of public space are incorporated into schemes where appropriate for all the community.

Good design should be the aim of all involved in the development process. Development should be design-led. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) vigorously champions good design and Bracknell Forest Borough Council expects to see developers and designers paying particular attention to the principles of urban design when proposing development in the Borough. Additionally, the appearance of proposed development and its relationship to its surroundings, are material considerations in determining planning applications.

Reference should be made to national policy (Planning Policy Statement 1), regional policy (Berkshire Structure Plan) and local policies contained within the Bracknell Forest Borough Local Plan, primarily policy EN20 when working up schemes within the Borough.

Further suggested reading

The value of urban design. CABE / DETR, 2001.
Manual for Streets - DfT and DSLG
By design - Urban design in the planning system: towards better practice. DETR + CABE, 2000.
Better places to live: by design. Companion guide to PPG3. DTLR + CABE, 2001.
Protecting design quality in planning. CABE, 2002.

The Urban Design Officer works with planning officers, Councillors, planning applicants and developers to promote, facilitate and deliver quality development within the Borough.

For further information and guidance on urban design issues please contact the Urban Design Officer using the details on the right.