A Guide to Designing in Bradford, Bradford Metropolitan District

A key objective within the brief was to ensure that the design guidance addressed specific local issues for Bradford and understanding these was an integral part of the project.

Tibbalds led the consultation process with a variety of key stakeholders, including all council departments, the research group Born in Bradford, the Bradford Property Forum, a disabled and older people’s group, Bradford Civic Society, and local housebuilders and developers, which helped to draw out the key issues and aspirations for building homes in Bradford from an incredibly diverse perspective. This process led to the creation of the vision and a series of eight priorities, which are used throughout the guidance to help link Bradford-specific issues to common design considerations.

The structure of the document was also an important consideration. The objective was to create a guide which was helpful and informative for all participants in the planning and design process, including the community. This led to structuring the document according to a typical design process, starting with ‘Defining a brief’, to ‘Creating a neighbourhood’, and finally ‘Making a home’, allowing the document to clearly explain to all users what is expected at each stage of the design and planning process.

The final document is an aspirational and visionary guide that supports local policy and aims to raise the overall standard of housing in Bradford by setting out clear design principles to help address local issues. Homes and Neighbourhoods: A Guide to Designing in Bradford was adopted as an SPD in February 2020 and will support planning policy, as well as the design and planning process itself.

The guide was nominated for an RTPI Award for Planning Excellence 2020.