Project:

Strategic Urban Vision and Design Guide for Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme

Translating good design from strategic policy to detailed guidance

Working across Council boundaries, we prepared guidance to support good design in the form of a Strategic Urban Design Vision and Design Guide. The underlying purpose of the Design Guide was to achieve a step-change in the design quality of new development, for both public and private sectors.

The guide was created to be easily navigated in electronic format, with search functions and embedded hyperlinks.

The Design Guide provides clear guidance on how to produce and assess good, sustainable urban design within the planning application process for the benefit of applicants, planning officers, and politicians.

Project Deliverables:: Adopted Strategic Urban Design Vision and Design Guide
Client:: City of Stoke in Trent and Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Collaborators:: Tibbalds, Dally Henderson and Urban Vision
Location:: Staffordshire, England
Status:: The guide was adopted by both Local Authorities in 2010

Expertise: Policy and Strategy Urban Design
Services: Urban design advice Design guidance and codes Spatial strategies and policies

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It is probably unique in its scope, ranging from the strategic sub-regional level to the level of house extensions and materials, which is a result of the efforts which have gone into ensuring the guidance is locally distinctive rather than merely generic.

Design Environment West Midlands

Tibbalds was jointly appointed by the local authorities for Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme to create urban design guidance to shape future development so that it is locally distinctive, and to set a benchmark for design quality across the sub-region.

The client’s objectives for the guidance were for it to be aspirational and inspiring, while providing practical and pragmatic advice to prospective developers and their designers on how to achieve urban design quality without compromising development viability.

The purpose of the Design Guide is to tell the ‘story of change’ proposed for the sub-region. It is based on the Joint Core Spatial Strategy, urban design appraisals and a programme of stakeholder consultation/ training events led by Urban Vision and run jointly with Tibbalds. This process helped to identify the urban design priorities for the locality, which were then translated into key themes for the Vision. These themes are addressed at both a strategic and detailed level across the sub-region.

The Design Guide provides clear guidance on how to produce and assess good, sustainable urban design within the planning application process for the benefit of applicants, planning officers, and politicians. It also provides a coordinating framework for public sector bodies when they are commissioning or formulating strategies and proposals.

The guide was adopted by both Local Authorities in 2010. It is an interactive electronic document, easily navigated on screen, with search functions and embedded hyperlinks.

Download and view the Design Guide.