Carlisle to receive share of £3 million to help planners set standards for design

Gillespies, The Greenway Ribbon is the winner of the Start with the Park: St Cuthbert's Garden Village Competition. — Gillespies, The Greenway Ribbon is the winner of the Start with the Park: St Cuthbert’s Garden Village Competition

Carlisle City Council is one of 25 areas in England to have been awarded a share of £3 million to help local planners set their own standards for design locally.

Communities across the country will lead the way in shaping the design of their neighbourhoods under a trailblazing new design programme, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced.

The Design Code Pathfinder Programme will empower communities to have their say on the development of new homes, buildings and amenities, such as shops and workspace, in their area and help restore people’s pride in the places they live.

The codes are a collection of design principles to help local areas deliver more beautiful and sustainable places and communities – such as specifying local building materials or deciding the layout of streets.

In Carlisle, £120,000 has been allocated from the scheme to set out design standards that new homes and neighbourhoods are required to meet within St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, to achieve healthy and sustainable living environment for new communities.

Cllr Marilyn Bowman, Portfolio holder for Economy, Enterprise and Housing welcomed the government funding: “Carlisle City Council and our partners have made significant progress in preparing the platform for design quality in the proposed garden village communities of St Cuthbert’s.

“As a World Health Organisation Healthy City, a key focus for St Cuthbert’s has always been to create an environment that encourages and facilitates healthy, sustainable living. Our principle of ‘Start with the Park’ is being implemented through our recently launched International Design Competition.

“Our design code will focus on how we use the inspiration from the design of this key piece of green and blue infrastructure, to inform and shape the character of the wider Garden Village. In particular, how we achieve a healthy and sustainable living environment for our new communities, with low carbon credentials at its heart and how we deal with key interfaces between built form and infrastructure.”

Local councils and neighbourhood planning groups throughout England will benefit from the work of the pathfinders through the sharing of lessons learnt and good practice.

The National Model Design Code (NMDC), published last year, will help guide selected local councils and neighbourhood planning groups on important design features such as street character, building type and layout, use of public space, and encouraging councils to consider the sustainability of new development.

Last year, the Office for Place supported 14 local councils and communities to set standards for design in their area, using the National Model Design Code.

Housing Minister Stuart Andrew MP said: “We want to give local people power over what their neighbourhoods look like and make sure all new developments enhance their surroundings and preserve local character and identity.

“Whether that’s choosing red brick for new buildings in our industrial heartland cities or choosing to set sustainability standards for newbuild homes, our Pathfinder Programme will help turn visions of greener, more beautiful homes and places into standards which developers adhere to.

“The design codes will be used as examples that communities across the country can draw on to produce their own, with support from the Office for Place.

“Many of the projects will focus on regeneration and deliver thriving town centres and green infrastructure, such as new walking and cycle routes.”