Why should new housing look the same whether it's in the Cotswolds, Cumbria, or Kent? The answer of course is that it shouldn't. Settlements and buildings in the Kent Downs are distinctive from village to village and have a definite Kentish look through the use of local materials and design. Such local distinctiveness is a part of Kent's built heritage that is greatly valued by residents and visitors alike. So how can we protect it?

The Kent Downs AONB wish to protect and enhance built heritage through the promotion of Village Design Statements. These allow local people to say what they value about the design characteristics and settlement pattern of their village or parish and to draw up design principles which will be used by the local planning authority when assessing planning applications in that village.

Village Design Statements can ensure that any new developments respect and enhance locally distinctive character. Developments guided by Design Statements can be of any size and range from new windows to new housing schemes.

Town and Country Planning Act 2004
New legislation issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has created confusion over the future status of Village Design Statements. On the one hand the new guidance actively promotes the use of community led documents such as Village Design Statements. At the same time, local authorities are now subject to new requirements before Village Design Statements can be adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents.

The Kent Downs AONB is currently engaged in research to assess the effectiveness of Village Design Statements and their likely future in the new planning context. The current outlook for Village Design Statements is optimistic with several possible ways to afford them a continued formal role in the planning system.

Village Design Statements to Date

Many communities throughout Kent have already completed Village Design Statements and these have been approved as Supplementary Planning Guidance by the local authority. Some of the benefits of producing a Design Statement, according to local people, include an improved relationship with the local planning authority and greater influence over the materials and designs of new developments.

Local planning authorities that have been involved with Design Statements have also stated how much the process has helped them. They too benefit from an improved relationship with local communities, and many feel that having a Village Design Statement in place in a village helps to ensure a high quality of development and a smoother passage for development proposals through the planning system.

If good design is agreed between local planning authorities, communities, and developers from the start, everyone benefits as less time and money is wasted through planning objections or at a planning appeal.

If you would like more information about Village Design Statements please contact us at kentdowns@kent.gov.uk.