In 2018 the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group was successful in receiving grant funding to create Design Guidelines for the Parish to inform the Neighbourhood Plan.
In the context of growth and additional development being introduced into the Parish, consultation carried out by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group identified that the individual village feel of all three villages (North Weald, Thornwood and Hastingwood) should not be lost. Thus there was a need to develop a number of design guidelines that would help inform and influence new development as well as the modification and extension of existing properties. The main objective of the document is to ensure that all new development is designed and planned with regard to the existing context of the villages within the Neighbourhood Plan area, in an attempt to ensure that the individual village feel is retained.
The document summarises a number of strategic issues identified during the consultation carried out by the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, and the aspirations by the communities involved, although not strictly design issues, should be considered in the context of any design proposals.
The document develops a series of design guidelines related to the residential context of the three villages. The themes covered can be used as guidance and tools to assess new development and/or modifications, and will be used as part of the evidence base for creating a Neighbourhood Plan for our area.
The report was prepared by consultants at AECOM on behalf of Locality, working closely with the North Weald Bassett Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, and is based on a detailed appraisal of the area carried out through both desk study and fieldwork.
The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has already received support to complete a Heritage and Character Assessment study, and these two documents should be read jointly to gain the full picture about the Neighbourhood Plan aims regarding characterisation and design guidance.
A copy of both documents can be found HERE.