Policy PLAN1 requires all development in Islington to be of high quality, making a positive contribution to local character, legibility and distinctiveness. Development proposals must comply with four key design principles: Contextual, Connected, Inclusive and Sustainable, and submit a comprehensive site appraisal with detailed drawings and written statements addressing various criteria.
Plain-English summary of the adopted policy text below. The full text is the rule; this is the gist.
All forms of development are required to be of a high quality and make a positive contribution to local character, legibility and distinctiveness, based upon an up-to-date understanding and evaluation of the defining characteristics of an area. Any development which does not take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of an area and the way it functions will be refused.
B.
To ensure that the vision and objectives of the Local Plan are realised, all development in Islington must, from the very first iteration of the proposal, comply with four key design principles:
Contextual – all development must make efficient use of sites/buildings, by responding to and enhancing the existing site context (which could extend beyond the site itself); not undermining the quality of existing development and streetscape; and ensuring that the development capacity of a site is fully realised.
A good level of amenity must be provided, including consideration of noise and the impact of disturbance, hours of operation, vibration, pollution (such as air, light and noise), fumes between and within developments, overshadowing, overlooking, privacy, direct sunlight and daylight, over-dominance, sense of enclosure and outlook2.
Connected – development must improve permeability and movement through areas and the quality, clarity and sense of spaces around and between buildings. All opportunities to repair fragmented urban form should be taken.
Proposals must improve safety and promote positive social contact, behaviours and community cohesion, including through creation or enhancement of effective places to dwell, and through increased natural surveillance.
Development must sustain and reinforce a variety and mix of uses in line with any relevant land use priorities of the Local Plan. No proposal should unduly prejudice the satisfactory development or operation of adjoining land and/or the development of the surrounding area as a whole.
Inclusive – development must be adaptable, functional and resilient, and able to respond to the spatial, social and economic needs of the borough’s increasingly diverse communities and their different and evolving demands. This includes sustaining and reinforcing a variety and mix of uses in line with any relevant land use priorities of the Local Plan.
Sustainable – development must be durable and adaptable, and contribute to the creation of a vibrant, liveable, enduring city. All development must consider social, environmental and economic elements jointly and simultaneously, guiding development towards sustainable solutions.
This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other relevant amenity impacts which should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
C.
The process of developing and designing a proposal which addresses the four key design principles will only be effective where it is informed by a comprehensive site appraisal. All development proposals must submit a site appraisal comprising the information below, commensurate with the scale, location and potential impact of the proposal; major developments and smaller developments on sites in prominent or sensitive locations will likely be required to address many, if not all, of the criteria.
Information must be demonstrated/evidenced through provision of detailed clear and accurate drawings and relevant written statements3:
(i)
architectural and design quality and detailing, such as colour, type, source and texture of detailing and materials used. Construction detailing must be unified, visually attractive, robust and maintenance free; poorly-detailed and undeliverable built forms are not appropriate;
(ii) details of historic context, such as distinctive local built form, significance and character of any designated and non-designated heritage assets, scale and details that contribute to its character as a place;
(iii) an assessment of the urban form, such as building lines, frontages, plot sizes and patterns, building heights, storey heights and massing;
(iv) movement and spatial patterns, such as definition, scale, use, detailing and surface treatment of routes and spaces;
(v) considerations of the local landscape and natural features, such as topography, trees, boundary treatments, planting and biodiversity; this must be informed by appropriate information including, where relevant, a tree survey and analysis of the local ecology and green links;
(vi) visual context, particularly strategic, local and other site specific views (e.g. local landmarks), skylines and silhouettes, and scale and form of townscape set pieces or urban compositions;
(vii) daylight and sunlight levels, based on relevant best practice/guidance;
(viii) surface water flows and opportunities to capture them;
(ix) existing features and patterns of use including housing, entertainment, commercial, community and play activities;
(x) details of infrastructure provision, including existing and planned infrastructure, and any impacts that the proposed development will have on this existing and/or planned provision;
(xi) the accessibility (physical, social, and economic) of the street in context; including technical survey information and feedback on user experience of the street;
(xii) safety in design, including consideration of access, materials and site management strategies;
(xiii) plan(s) showing the location of utilities above and below ground, and, where proposals may impact on ongoing operation of utilities, evidence of engagement with relevant utilities providers;
(xiv) traffic, including pedestrian flows at different times of the day and week, and an analysis of what modal shift might be possible; and
(xv) assessment of route and place qualities.
D.
All elements of proposed building designs must be demonstrably deliverable. Any proposals which are considered likely to employ ‘value engineering’ approaches, which dilute the design quality of approved schemes and often make schemes difficult to maintain, will be resisted.
In conjunction with additional information requirements set out in various Local Plan policies.