Hounslow is one of three finalists in the Design Code category at the National Urban Design awards
Published: Friday, 22nd September 2023
Hounslow Council’s emerging Character, Sustainability and Design Codes Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been shortlisted for a prestigious National Urban Design award.
Hounslow is one of three finalists in the Design Code category where the panel of judges will examine how each finalist has utilised design codes to seek exceptional and unique answers to current urban design challenges in the UK. The winners will be revealed on Tuesday 26 September 2023.
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 and functional development of an area.
The purpose of Hounslow’s design codes is to raise design quality and enhance local character, so that local people can live, work and thrive in sustainable, healthy, social and inspiring places. The project provides an innovative model for crafting design codes at different scales, from Borough-level to site specific, embedding sustainability and circular economy principles throughout.
The Hounslow Character, Sustainability and Design Codes will be adopted as an SPD, providing a central resource of information for communities, officers and applicants alike to build an understanding of context into their planning applications and decision-making.
Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development said:
“We are committed to creating thriving, greener, safer, and healthier places for our communities to live, play, work, and study. Like the rest of London, we desperately need more genuinely affordable homes, but we have been clear that these must be of high-quality sustainable design and connected with the communities in the surrounding areas.
“This nomination is a testament to the hard work officers have put in to update our character study and develop design codes in close partnership with residents, refining them based on feedback to ensure the needs of our communities are met for generations to come.”
Jane Manning, Director at Allies and Morrison said:
"It's been a really rewarding experience working with the council and local communities to develop a set of nuanced and evidence-based design codes which respond to local needs and local character."
The Council is currently reviewing responses to the recent round of consultation on the Adoption Draft of the Character, Sustainability and Design Codes Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The document will be formally adopted later this year and will be published alongside the updated Engagement and Consultation Statement with the responses to the latest consultation.
Find out more about planning and design codes in Hounslow here.
To find out more about the National Urban Design Awards visit: www.udg.org.uk/.
