Built form

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Home Planning Planning policy Design Code New homes Built form (New homes)

Density

The illustration can be used to guide the built form of houses to ensure appropriate density and efficient use of land.

1. New housing developments should make efficient use of available land by:

1a. Minimising space reserved for road vehicles (highways, drives, parking) to a safe minimum.

1b. Increasing density around shops, services and public transport nodes.

Making best use of space above shops and other commercial premises.

2. The densities should be adjusted in order to:

2a. Maintain the character of the area

2b. Re-use existing buildings

2c. Increase distances between buildings due to the sloping topography of the site.

2d. Retain or strengthen the presence of trees, hedges or other important planting.

2e. Retain or create amenity or open space that improves the overall quality of the design.

Provide SUDS or other flood prevention / attenuation measures.
Provide solar gain.

3. The context and character of the site must inform whether new buildings join, and the design of joined dwellings. For example, in response to composed or uniform terraces, or irregular organically developed terraces, detached or semi-detached villas or farmsteads. These can be divided to form smaller dwellings.

Efficient land use

The prevailing density and character of the site should be identified through the site context assessment and used to inform the design of new development.

The context assessment should inform the density of a proposed development. However, higher densities will be considered where:

There is good access to local shops and services
There is good public transport and active travel infrastructure
It enables the delivery of non-market housing such as affordable or social housing
It enables the sustainable re-use of historic buildings and site layouts

Whether buildings join

The context and character of the site must inform whether new buildings join, and the form and design of joined dwellings. For example, in response to composed or uniform terraces, or irregular organically developed terraces, detached or semi-detached villas or farmsteads. These can be divided to form smaller dwellings.

In terms of embodied energy, the joining of dwellings or buildings uses fewer resources in terms of structures, walling and facing materials. Terraced dwellings use less embodied energy to build than semi-detached houses of the same size, and semi-detached houses require fewer resources to build than detached house of the same size. The dwelling types that are more efficient in terms of their embodied energy and the efficiency of construction also make efficient use of land as required by Policy 02 Spatial Strategy. Consequently, joining houses in rows or clusters is encouraged as it is more resource and land efficient. Joining buildings also reflects the vernacular of the Lake District: neighbouring houses often share load-bearing walls, as do houses and their outbuildings and farmhouses and farm buildings.

two rural farm houses in front of green field with rocky fell backdrop on a sunny day

Some parishes are characterised by dispersed built forms. Borrowdale.

single land road in village with park cars running through a grassy square. terraced white houses, sunny day

High density can look reposed if space is given to gardens and soft landscaping rather than cars. Hawksgarth, Hawkshead.

short row of semi detached white houses inside a rectangle bush boundary. green grass surrounds the boundary. sunny day

The close grouping of houses and terraces allows for the provision of a meaningful area of amenity landscaping. Hawksgarth, Hawkshead.

high view of white walled and grey slate roof houses in hawkshead village

The compactness of Lakes villages and hamlets is often a key part of their character. Hawkshead.

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slate roofed houses nestled behind a dry stone wall and garden bushes and trees. green grass field in foreground, fells in backdrop

The terrace on the right is a single built but slight variations give an organic rather than urban character.

group of white and stone rural village buildings in front of a tall barren red and brown snow dusted fell on a sunny day

By joining up the houses in short terraces and semi-detached pairs, this development avoids sprawling and so sits better in the landscape.

quirky white village terraced houses right up to the tarmac street. sunny day

Buildings can join to differing degrees and be set at different orientations rather than have basic plan forms. Hawkshead.

two lane tarmac road and pedestrian path running by a white village house

In this development, two apartments have been disguised as a small, detached cottage. Hawkshead.

stone square of quirky white village houses with small garden trees and a wooden picnic bench. sunny day

Buildings can join on one or more sides to create enclosed spaces such as this small square. Hawkshead.

slate roofs of houses popping out above well kept green hedges next to side of quiet road

Detached houses with generous soft landscaping to all sides is a characteristic of the few suburbs in the Lake District.

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Building types and forms

Code

Applicants must identify the urban grain of the area surrounding their site.

Urban grain is the street pattern, block size and building pattern in a settlement.

The grain of an area will vary depending on the type of settlement, location within the settlement and historic origins. Traditional street patterns should be maintained and reinforced by new development.

New development should ‘knit into’ the existing urban grain by respecting its character. Specifically:

Finer urban grains of smaller building footprints and higher densities should be reserved for infill development within town centres and villages with existing fine grain.
Looser urban grains with larger gaps between dwellings should be used in suburban and settlement edge locations.
Scattered urban grains should be used where large plots and relaxed patterns persist.

Exceptions: Coarser grains with larger plots and large footprint dwellings will not deliver in terms of housing numbers and will not provide the same variety and visual interest that a larger number of smaller buildings (a finer grain) will create. Some looser grain suburban characteristics, such as winding cul-de-sacs, will erode the distinctive grain of urban and rural areas.

Where possible, new development should repair the prevailing urban grain where it has been lost, for example by filling in gap sites or replacing out of scale buildings and plots with finer grain development.

Additional guidance of identifying building types and forms can be found in the National Design Guide. Building for a Healthy Life provides guidance on how to apply best practice when designing various urban grains.

map to show the built form grain of density of houses

row of various sized, light beige and white village houses in front of autumnal hedges and quiet road. blush evening sky

Houses and flats new and old, all built on a consistent grain. Staveley.

town road with parked cars either side. terraced town houses line both sides of the road. bright sunny day

Terraced streets also have a uniform grain: long terraces composed of small units. Keswick

town road and large semi detached white houses to the right hand side. high snow capped fells in backdrop

Suburban areas tend to have a uniform grain and consistent building types. Keswick.

large slate farm house behind green grass field, small tree and dry stone wall. bright sunny day

The closeness of farmstead buildings contrasts with the openness of the countryside.

slate farm buildings and white farm house behind green grass field, in front of dark green woodland on a cloudy day

Farmsteads are a key landscape feature of the National Park. This example is a lowland farm near Staveley.

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row of green slate, white windowed. thee storey town houses by road

Terraced streets are a classic example of houses forming blocks. Keswick.

white village houses set away from two lane tarmac road, dry stone wall, sparse trees and green field

The different house types all face the street, creating a 'block'. Hawkshead.

street in coniston village with terraced white and brown houses. moody, cloudy day

In places where entire streets are planned, houses present active frontages to the street while private rear gardens are hidden. Coniston.

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Active frontage

Code

To achieve the safety and security benefits of active frontages new development must incorporate: windows to principal rooms such as living rooms or bedrooms or secondary rooms such as kitchens, studies or home offices facing the street and the principal approach to the building. Main entrances to buildings that face the street or principal approach.

Accessibility

Code

Applications for new dwellings, including conversions and adaptations, must demonstrate that the practical guidance in Part M Volume 1 of the Building Regulations has informed the design.

Housing for all

Where there is a mix of housing ownership and tenures in a development, there should be no visual distinction between the tenures by virtue of their appearance or location on the site.

Mix of uses

In mixed use developments, the function and use of each element should be clear from its design, including which areas are public and private.

Building line

Code

Based on the site context and historic environment assessments:

New development should reinforce the level of enclosure along the existing space or street.
The set-back distance(s) of new development must respond positively to the uniformity or variance of the building line that it forms part of.
New development must reinforce the prevailing degree to which plot widths are occupied by buildings in the site’s context.

Where new set-back zones are created, these must consist of front gardens and vegetation that can help to soften new development, as opposed to hard landscaping or spaces for car parking.

Unless the established character of set back zones is open plan (i.e., lacking front boundaries) set back zones should be enclosed by low boundary features no more than one metre in height. The sensitive integration of cycle parking and bin storage can also positively contribute towards the character of the set back zone.

Exceptions can be applied to deviate from the common building line and level of enclosure where there is good reason to align with best practice design, for example:

Where a mature tree interrupts the existing building line;
Where a new public space is created;
Where emphasis of marker buildings is desired at key intersections and gateways;
Where the setting of a listed or locally important building should be preserved; or
Where a key view is to be framed and celebrated.

rural slate and white limewash buildings next to tarmac lane behind drystone wall. sunny day, snow capped fells in backdrop

Within rural situations, fragmented and diverse building lines are common. New development should contribute towards this diverse character and the intimate spaces which a staggered building line can create.

narrow street lined with quirky white village houses and a pub. bright sunny day

Within historic cores where irregular geometric building lines prevail with staggered set-back, new development should mirror the pattern and knit into the common building line.

two large white houses next to road junction

Towards the settlement edge, building lines become more organic and set-back increases, therefore, new development can explore more varied responses to building lines. However, the reasoning for deviations and the function of the subsequent spaces must be clearly defined.

quiet town high street lined with low two storey white shops

Any infill development along high streets or main streets where plot widths are fully occupied with buildings with a uniform set-back must mimic the existing building line and mix of active frontages.

tarmac lane, parked cars and a row of terraced cream houses with slate rooves in a picturesque village with a green fell in the backdrop

The setback distances vary, but this street nonetheless has strong building lines. Glenridding.

large detached white house with a small front garden and parked car on a quiet road

A staggered building line gives an informal character to the street. Glenridding.

Close building lines can slow traffic and create attractive vistas. Rosthwaite.

Buildings and hedges create parallel edges to the street. Ambleside.

On both sides of this street, irregular building lines are formed by the different set backs and angles of the buildings. Hawkshead.

This strong building line has a little variation. It provides a decisive edge to the street scene. Hawkshead.

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infographic sketch to show a street being correctly designed to frame the landscape view behind

Heritage assets

Code

New development must consider potential impacts on heritage assets (both designated and non-designated). This should be conducted early in the development process to inform overall design and identify possible constraints.

The heritage, design and access statement must clearly demonstrate an understanding of the significance and setting of any heritage assets affected by the proposal. Potential impacts (both direct and indirect) on that significance must be reviewed.

The degree of detail and complexity of this assessment will depend on the size of the development and sensitivity of the site. However, it should be suitable to enable an informed planning decision and not be simply a list of sites and features.

The assessment must include:

Designated heritage assets: Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Registered Parks and Gardens, etc. (details can be found on the National Heritage List for England, the Local Plan interactive map and the World Heritage Site website),
Non-designated heritage assets – properties on the local list, archaeological sites, boundaries, historic street furniture, milestones, etc. (details can be found on the Historic Environment Record (HER))
The potential for any heritage assets not yet recorded, included below ground archaeology
Discussion on how the development will affect the setting of a heritage asset must be included. This goes beyond a consideration of purely visual impacts to look at how change effects the way an asset is understood and experienced e.g., impact of increased traffic on the peace and quiet of a churchyard, or the design of a farm conversion on the agricultural identity of a farmstead or hamlet.

See our guidance on Heritage Assessment and Information Requirements (2018) and Historic England’s Statements of Heritage Significance guidance for further information