Guidance

Infographic - The Benefits of Design Codes

Published 17 July 2024

1. What are the benefits of Design Codes?

• Shape places through clear design requirements.
• Bring democracy forward and build trust.
• Increase efficiencies and simplify decision making.
• Create certainty & predictability of what is expected.
• Facilitate building of more and better homes and places.
• Increase efficiencies and simplify decision making

2. How can design codes benefit communities?

• Communicate what makes local places special and what the community needs to grow.
• Inform the planning system with clear asks for how places should evolve to meet future needs.
• Get a head start on engagement on schemes by ensuring developers understand local expectations.
• Have greater certainty of how places will grow to meet community needs.
• Increase confidence that development will deliver places to feel proud of that meet local aspirations.

3. How can design codes benefit policy makers?

• Set local standards for development to meet and shape better, healthier and more sustainable places.
• Collaborate with communities to embed local ambitions for place, through clear quality standards.
• Have a clear, joined-up process to set standards aligned with policy areas and statutory consultees.
• Make decisions less open to challenge through clear, objective design quality requirements.
• Enable high quality development in the right places to meet needs and support Local Plan delivery.

4. How can design codes benefit applicants?

• Understand what local people value and have confidence to invest in high quality places.
• Respond to consistent standards to evidence that proposals reflect local aspirations and character.
• Understand the design requirements to achieve consent, reducing time through the planning system.
• Increase planning and viability certainty from land acquisition stage, opening up new opportunities.
• Deliver more homes and places that communities value, building trust to unlock future development.

5. How can design codes benefit decision makers?

• Make design decisions based on objective requirements agreed through the plan making process.
• Build public trust in the system to make decisions based on local needs and aspirations.
• Code for common design issues to improve quality of submissions and reduce complex negotiations.
• Refuse poor design quality based on clear standards, without the need for interpretation.
• Have confidence in maintaining design quality whilst approving more applications.