Local Plan 2045 Scoping Consultation
Other elements in this consultation
11. Design and Heritage
Objective 6: To create safe and beautiful places, protecting and enhancing the area’s heritage and character with high standards of design, ensuring new development is well integrated and accessible to all.
Where are we now?
11.1In terms of design, there is evidence of a shift in national policy priorities since the adopted Local Plan was produced. At that time national policy was still heavily emphasising a plan area-wide design code as the lynchpin of an ambitious approach to providing design guides generally. However, the draft NPPF appears to focus more on design codes for specific areas, such as an allocation or area for change. This is likely to be a more practical approach to the provision of new design codes.
11.2Furthermore, the adopted Local Plan places considerable emphasis on the National Design Guide in terms of establishing the key principles underpinning the local policy framework. However, an updated version of the National Design Guide was consulted upon earlier in 2026. Consequently, assuming that a new version of the National Design Guide is published in due course, which is in any way similar to the draft version, then it will mean that some changes to the key design principles (as set out in Policy P1 in the adopted Local Plan) are likely to be necessary.
11.3The design related policies in the adopted Local Plan are detailed and extensive, and the council is unlikely to be willing to see this undermined in the new Local Plan. However, the national decision-making policies are fairly extensive in relation to design. While the draft NPPF does specifically state that there is scope to provide locally-specific design policies or standards which are necessary to add further detail to the principles in the national decision-making policies. Consequently, there is probably scope to provide additional policies in this regard and hence retain a robust policy framework in relation to design.
11.4For heritage the position is somewhat different, the changes set out in the draft NPPF are not hugely significant in terms of policy considerations pertaining to heritage assets, though the extensive suite of national decision-making policies suggest that policies may not even be needed in the new local plan regarding heritage. However, heritage will still be significant consideration, especially given the extremely rich heritage of the plan area, in terms of issues such as site assessment and site allocations.
What are the challenges and opportunities?
Challenges
11.5Challenges include:
11.6Achieving a high standard of design and placemaking in the face of increasing housing pressure.
11.7In a similar vein, achieving a high standard of design and placemaking in the face of weakening viability i.e. currently the housing market is weak, while build costs and other development costs are increasing.
11.8Increasing housing pressure can create tension with the preservation of the historic environment, as there is then pressure for more development within the setting of listed buildings and also in and around conservation areas.
Opportunities
11.9Opportunities include:
11.10The plan area generally provides a positive context for achieving a high standard of design, this is not always being achieved. Consequently, there may be opportunities to improve the standard of design.
11.11While the draft NPPF restricts the potential to include development management policies in many instances, there is more scope in relation to design, and there is also the potential to use design coding via supplementary plans to further improve design standards and clarify expectations.
11.12The draft NPPF seems to require a more extensive evidence base in relation to heritage than was previously the case, which will help to ensure a high level of protection for the historic environment.
Question 36: Do you agree with the design and heritage challenges and opportunities? Comment
Question 37: Are there any other design and heritage challenges and opportunities? Comment
Question 38: What does the draft NPPF mean for the scope of design and heritage policies in the new Chichester Local Plan? Comment
Question 39: How can the council best use design guidance, design codes and masterplans to support local plan design policies at authority wide, area specific and site-specific scales? What role should supplementary plans play in preparing and adopting these documents? Comment
What are the key priorities?
High standard of design
11.13Achieving a high standard of design, in relation to the overall site and individual buildings, which is locally distinctive and responds positively to the context, including layout, scale, massing, coherence of architectural language, materials and detailing.
Increasing densities
11.14Ensuring that high design standards can be reconciled with the need to increase densities.
Sustainable design
11.15It will be important to ensure that sustainable design principles are successfully harmonized with the overall design concept, both in terms of the layout, for example in relation to issues such as sustainable travel, but also in relation to individual buildings.
Landscape design
11.16Landscape design which responds positively to the overall design concept for the site, the context, and is highly sustainable.
Amenity
11.17Achieving a high standard of amenity of new and existing residents.
Historic environment
11.18Ensure that the historic environment is preserved and where possible enhanced.
Evidence base
11.19Putting in place the necessary evidence base in relation to design and heritage. That could be challenging within the tight timescales envisaged by the new plan-making system, especially given that there are new requirements in this regard meaning there are not clearly defined expectations or established methodologies.
Policy Framework
11.20Following on from that it will be necessary establish what sort of policy framework is necessary, especially in relation to design, where there is likely to be greater scope for having local level policies.
