Village Design Statements

As part of the Community Planning Network the Trust supported Village Design Statement (VDS). VDS is an opportunity for local people to positively influence the design of future building in their village. The aim is to produce a document that describes the existing character of a village and explains how it should be respected in new development. The document can be adopted as policy by the local council, and so has real influence when planning decisions are made. It is also useful to developers, in designing appropriate developments, and local residents, in making changes to their properties and when commenting on planning applications.

The VDS concept emerged in 1996, when the initiative was first promoted by the Countryside Agency (now commission for Rural Communities).

The Rockingham Forest Trust supported Warmington village in carrying out a very successful project. Their VDS was adopted as planning policy by East Northants Council in November 2003. It can be viewed on the village website at www.warmington.org

Village Design Statements: a summary

• A VDS is designed to manage the process of change, not to prevent it taking place (i.e. it cannot say where how many houses should be built, but it could say where the most appropriate sites might be, and how the houses should look).

• A VDS should comprehensively describe the distinctive character of the village including building materials and styles, street layouts, open spaces, important views etc.

• It should then explain how this local character can be conserved and enhanced in new developments.

• A VDS should be adopted by the Local Authority as ‘Supplementary Planning Guidance’ (SPG), which means it is a ‘Material Consideration’ when decisions are made on planning applications. It must fit in with existing higher level planning policies in order to achieve SPG status.

• It is vital that the Local Authority is involved throughout e.g. inviting a representative to your first public meeting, sending them minutes of meetings, and providing them with the drafts of the VDS for checking.

• The project should be run by a group of local residents, with plenty of opportunities for wider involvement from the community in the process. It’s important that this group is not dominated by the parish council, although it’s fine for them to be involved.

• The process can take as long as two years to complete, with various key stages to work through. These include surveying the existing character through a workshop day, establishing principles for future development, and drafting the VDS document.