Urban design is the design of towns, neighbourhoods, streets and public spaces. Urban design deals with the large scale development for example groups of buildings and spaces between them, with the goal of making urban areas attractive and functional for everyone to enjoy
Urban design is an inter-disciplinary field that utilises elements of many built environment professions, including architecture, highway engineering, landscape architecture and urban planning. It is common for professionals in all these disciplines to practice urban design.
In Dudley Council, urban design plays a key role in planning and regeneration through the provision of ‘design policies in Development Plans, Supplementary Planning Documents, design input into Development Control and special projects, urban design frameworks, masterplans, site development briefs, and option appraisals for development on Council’s land’.
In addition, The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that local planning authorities should ensure that visual tools such as design codes and guides are used to inform development proposals to provide maximum clarity about design expectations at an early stage and reflect local character and preferences. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) highlights that local planning authorities should prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code reflecting local character and local design preferences, providing a framework for creating high-quality places.
Areas of Work:
- Lye and Stour Valley design code
- Formulate design policies in Statutory Development Plans.
- Supplementary Planning Documents - these provide detailed design guidance on the entire town centre or specific areas.
- Provides a front line service that support all stages of Development Control including public inquiry.
- Development Briefs/options appraisal: this provides development vision and options for key development sites.
- Design input to special projects and fund bidding including DY5 Enterprise Zone Masterplan and Metro.
- Dudley Portersfield Development Brief (PDF) – a key development brief for a major regeneration opportunity site in Dudley Town Centre.
- Design for Community Safety Supplementary Planning Guidance - this provides detailed guidance to ‘designing out crime’ in new development.
- Residential Design Guidance Supplementary Planning Document – this provides localised guidance in relation to residential development, housing density & how high level design may be achieved
Urban design and landscape evidence base
Evidence Bases have been produced by the our Placemaking team to provide background supporting technical evidence to underpin the policies and strategy within various Planning Policy documents.
These evidence bases, used in combination with other documents such as Conservation Area Character Appraisals and Management Plans and Historic Landscape Characterisation documents and the formally adopted Planning Policy documents can be used to identify constraints and opportunities for future development in the area.
Dudley Borough Development Strategy
The documents below, provided by our team, are just part of the research and analysis which informed the Publication Stage Consultation Document for the Dudley Borough Development Strategy and form part of the evidence base.
Area Action Plans
Our Urban Design & Landscape Design Teams have also produced evidence bases in support of the four Area Action Plans for the strategic centre of Brierley Hill & the three main towns of Dudley, Stourbridge & Halesowen.
Related services
Other services across the council related to Urban Design