5 minute read
Introduction
Background
Sustainable development and achieving good design lie at the heart of the English planning system, enshrined in both planning law, through the preparation and adoption of statutory development plans and non-statutory SPDs, and promoted in national policy through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and supporting guidance.
As set out in the NPPF, all local planning authorities in England should prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles of the National Design Guide (NDG) and National Model Design Code (NMDC), to help achieve well-designed places and to provide clarity about design expectations. Where there is no local design guide or code in place, the NDG and NMDC are material considerations and should be used to inform planning decisions.
There is increasing recognition of the role that design codes can play in introducing clarity and certainty for applicants and speeding up planning decisions through better quality applications being made. As well as improving engagement with and transparency for local communities who can have an early and meaningful say in the shaping of their area. Government reforms are seeking to further strengthen the role of good quality design – and the weight attributed to it – in the planning system, to deliver well-designed and beautiful places. For example, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, due to be enacted in autumn 2023, includes at Schedule 71 provision which states that a Local Planning Authority (LPA) must ensure that for its entire area, the development plan includes the development design requirements that the authority considers should be met for planning permission to be granted. An LPA will be able to prepare design codes either as part of their local plan, or in a supplementary plan both of which will be statutory development plans.
About the programme
The Design Code Pathfinders Programme builds on the 2021 National Model Design Code (NMDC) Pilot Testing Programme, which supported 14 local councils in testing the application of different stages of the design coding process, as set out in the-then draft NMDC. As part of the 2022 Design Code Pathfinders Programme, 25 areas across England were awarded a share of £3 million to support the production of local design codes using the NMDC.
Alongside a package of support delivered to Pathfinders by DLUHC and the Office for Place Advisory Board, the Design Council has provided tailored help through a set of review panels that were delivered in the autumn/ winter of 2022. These sessions were followed up with a set of in-person cohort workshops in March 2023 that brought Pathfinders together to learn from each other’s experiences of developing design codes, tackle shared challenges and gain advice from the enabling panel (Design Council Experts).
Learning resources
In April 2023, an interim report was produced, which summarised emerging findings from the first phases of the NMDC process followed by the Pathfinders. These findings were presented to the Pathfinders in a collaborative workshop, followed by a set of activities to refine our understanding of their experience, prioritise key learnings and co-develop learning resources for future coding teams.
These resources, which can be found on the Design Council website, include Pathfinder interviews and insights and a flow chart of the coding process. The resources are referenced throughout this report.
Research methods
The research design was informed by an evaluation framework, developed by the Design Council in collaboration with DLUHC. Based on this framework, a toolkit was drawn up, which includes an ethics review and a suite of research methods. This report is based on four key methods, which include:
1. Two sets of in-depth interviews designed to give Pathfinders the space to explore their experience of the programme to date, including the aspects that have helped them, the challenges and barriers they have faced along the way, as well as obtaining their feedback on the support they have received. These interviews were transcribed, anonymised and analysed thematically to draw out key learning at different stages in the coding process.
a. The first set was carried out with 19 of the 25 Pathfinders between November 2022 and January 2023. The remaining six Pathfinders declined to be interviewed.
b. The second set was carried out with eight of the 25 Pathfinders in May 2023. We opted to carry out these supplementary interviews with only a third of the cohort as this allowed us to go into more depth. These were chosen in conjunction with DLUHC.
2. Documentary review of the design advice letters, summarising the advice that Pathfinders received as part of their Design Council-facilitated design advice sessions, which were held six months into the process, and again at twelve months. These letters were analysed to draw out the aspects of developing a code that the Pathfinders needed help with, from the perspective of the enabling panel (Design Council Experts).
3. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of monthly reports that were issued by DLUHC, and which asked the same 14 questions, supplemented by a further set of one-off questions relevant to the month. For example, ratings of workshops held, or the length of time taken to procure a consultant. Summary tables can be found in the appendix.
4. Participatory evaluation tools that were used to capture feedback from Pathfinders attending the design advice sessions. This feedback was analysed to draw out positive and negative aspects of the review panel sessions, as well as key learnings that Pathfinders took away from the sessions.
