Community input needed to Design Code for the Lake District

Local people and visitors alike are being urged to contribute to the production of new design guidance for the Lake District National Park.

The Lake District National Park Authority has been allocated £120,000 to develop local design standards as a pilot for the National Model Design Code system. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Design Code Pathfinder Programme is aimed at empowering communities to have more influence on how development looks, including aspects such as specifying local building materials or informing the layout of streets, and to help ensure that developments enhance their surroundings and conserve local character. The result of the process will be design code document that is adopted as a supplementary planning document and will therefore carry weight in planning decisions.

The design codes created through this pilot scheme will be used as examples that communities across the Country can use to guide the creation of their own.

Friends of the Lake District has been invited to form part of the steering group that will guide the development of the design code. The steering group will guide the approach to consultation, the code content and the application of the code.

However, the success of this process is also reliant on communities getting involved and we strongly urge our members and supporters to take up the opportunities to contribute to the new design code.

Already, an app has been released that allows people to select locations/buildings that they feel represent good or bad design examples in the Lake District and add notes to explain why. The PlaceCheck app can be accessed here and you can find out more about how the app will contribute to the process here:
Put a pin on the Lake District map to help shape new design code: Lake District National Park

In addition, an online consultation hub will launch on 7^th November and the Lake District National Park Authority will host a stand at Keswick Market on 10^th November to encourage people to use the Place Check app and the consultation hub, and to explain a bit more about the design code process and what having a design code will mean for the National Park.

If people have any questions or want to send any photos/examples of good or bad design to Lake District National Park Authority, there is a dedicated email address too: [email protected]

A draft design code is expected before Christmas 2022 and, subject to meeting this target, it will be then subject to a formal public consultation during February and March. It is hoped that the final design code will be adopted by the National Park in June 2023, and from then will be taken into account in planning decisions.

You can find out more here: https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/planning/planningpolicies/design-code

Carlisle City Council has also been allocated £120,000 to create a design code for the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village area.

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