Bolsover Successful Healthy Places SPD 2025
1. Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.1.1 Fundamentally, the purpose of this guide is about creating sustainable places that deliver a good quality of life for the people that live there and preventing poor design that comes at a cost to the environment. This requires that our neighbourhoods are designed around the linked concepts of good place making and sustainability.
1.1.2 The built environment is responsible for 40% of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions. There are many facets to this. The design and layout of our settlements has a major influence on our patterns of behaviour, movement and transport choices. The design and construction of the buildings themselves, also has a direct impact on the environment, in terms of their energy efficiency, water consumption/ management, health and well being. The right design choices at the outset can help create more sustainable successful and healthy places.
1.1.3 The Government places great importance on the design quality of the built environment, and believes that the planning system should promote good design that ensures attractive, usable and durable places and this is a key element in achieving sustainable development.
- Design Quality: To improve the quality of design and attractiveness of residential development.
- Low Impact: To promote design that is adapted to climate change and contributes to reducing the impacts of construction, maintenance and running of residential buildings on both the immediate and wider environment and on climate change.
- Build inclusive communities: An approach to providing for all of society, including the young and older people.
- Health and wellbeing: Promote healthy lifestyles through design layouts and landscapes that promote active travel.
- Local Distinctiveness: To ensure that the design of new residential development recognises and enhances the townscape, landscape character and local distinctiveness of the area including the setting of historic buildings and biodiversity.
- Context: To ensure that new residential development is designed on the basis of an understanding of its context and the site conditions so as to enhance the quality of existing settlements and townscapes.
- Quality of Life: To promote the design of residential development that provides a safe and secure environment and meets the practical and social needs of residents, creating places where people enjoy living.
- Accessibility: To ensure that the design of residential development facilitates safe, sustainable and convenient access for all users, are well integrated with their surroundings with good access to local facilities and that layouts and buildings are easily navigated and accessible to all.
1.2 Applying the Guide
1.2.1 The council has prepared this guide as a tool to support developers, their design professionals and agents in preparing proposals for residential development or mixed use comprising both commercial uses and housing.
1.2.2 It is also intended for use by local authority officers, councillors and communities to facilitate and inform the design discussions and assist them in the delivery of high quality, sustainable places to live.
The SPD should provide the platform for dialogue between developers and the local planning authority, supporting both applicants and decision makers in delivering successful places.
1.2.3 What type of development does this guidance apply to?
1.2.4 The guidance covers all forms of residential development including mixed use schemes that incorporate commercial activities and residential accommodation. There is an increasing need to produce mixed use scheme so people can walk to essential services.
1.2.5 Most residential development will take place within or on the edge of an existing settlement and thereby the character of the settlement will form the context within which it must be considered.
The range of development scenarios likely within the area covered by this SPD are:
Infill – proposals for infilling gaps or redeveloping existing sites within existing urban or rural settlements.
The Edge – proposals for town or village expansions, whether large or small.
1.2.6 Part 02 of this guidance outlines the design process which is expected to be followed in order to demonstrate that the development proposal is based upon a clear appreciation of the site and its wider context
1.2.7 It also identifies a number of tools that will be used to assist in the assessment of residential proposals, including Design Review, Building for level requirements.
1.2.8 Part 03 of this guidance sets out the place making principles that will be used for assessing proposals for residential development. Depending on the design issues the principles will apply at a range of scales. Some principles will only be relevant to larger scale schemes, while others are appropriate at all scales of development, including proposals of less than 10 dwellings. Whatever the scale of the proposal many of the principles will be applicable whether urban or rural.
1.2.9 Part 04 outlines issues in relation to management and maintenance to ensure that long term quality is maintained.
1.3 Policy Context
1.3.1 The guide supplements the requirements of national and local planning policy with the aim of producing consistently high-quality outcomes.
1.3.2 The Planning Act 2008 (s.183) requires local authorities to have regard to the desirability of achieving good design. This SPD contributes to meeting the duty placed on local authorities by the Act.
1.3.3 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (2024). recognises the importance and value of good design. The core principles at its heart are sustainable development, strong and prosperous communities, and protecting and enhancing the natural environment. You can find more information about the NPPF (2024) on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government website.
1.3.4 Bolsover – The Future 2024- 2028 is a visioning strategy which provide a commitment to enable housing growth by increasing the supply, quality, and range of housing to meet the needs of the growing population.
1.3.5 The SPD in the Local Policy Context The Local Plan for Bolsover District was adopted in March 2020. This set out the strategy for the development of the District up until 2033. In line with the Regeneration and Leveling Up Act 2023, the council will also be preparing Supplementary Plans and Design Codes for the district. This supplementary plan forms the baseline for the development of district wide design codes as shown in the Design Criteria section on Page 128.
1.3.6 The Bolsover District Local Plan 2020 has core objectives of Sustainability and Placemaking which are supported by a number of policies influencing the design of schemes.
1.3.7 The Local Plan's key design policy is Policy SC3 which specifically relates to the standard and quality of design expected. However, this policy is supplemented by a range of other key Local Plan objectives and policies and these are listed in Appendix 1.
1.3.8 The council has also several adopted Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD's) which provide more detailed guidance on issues that relate to design of housing layouts. These are:
Local Parking Standards SPD (Jan 2024) highlights the importance of carefully planned and integrated parking layouts within housing developments.
Historic Environment SPD 2006. Provides information regarding the built environment and heritage of the borough, highlighting vernacular and contextual architectural details associated with the area. This is useful for context and understanding of place.
Also, Planning Advice Note 1: Biodiversity Net Gain Consultation Draft. December 2023. Explains recent requirements to ensure enhanced natural and wildlife habitat creation within new residential development.
If you wish to take part in the Successful Healthy Places SPD Questionnaire, you can find it in Section 5 of this document, or by clicking the button below:
