Islington Urban Design Guide

Adoption

The Islington Urban Design Guide (IUDG) was adopted as a supplementary planning document (SPD) by the council’s Executive on the 7 December 2006. It now forms part of Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF is a set of planning documents that the council is developing.. Until the Local Development Framework is complete most of the policies in the existing Unitary Development Plan (UDP) will remain in place. For more information contact the Planning Policy Team (Sakiba Gurda 020 7527 2402 or Elliot Kemp 020 7527 2618).

Any person aggrieved by the SPD may apply to the High Court for permission to apply for judicial review of the decision to adopt the SPD; and any such application for leave must be made promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the date on which the SPD was adopted, (Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 2204 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004).

Hard copies of the Islington Urban Design Guide and the Consultation Statement are available to view at the council’s offices at 222 Upper Street as well as all the local libraries. The current document will be produced in a more presentable/user friendly version in April.

A Summary

The IUDG is a supplementary planning document, which provides design principles and standards for the whole of the borough. It aims to influence:

• how buildings look and fit with their setting

• the layout and organisation of public spaces

• the appearance of street frontages
  

Urban design is about making better places. There are two underlying elements: places should be pleasing in appearance, and should function properly.

The guide has been organised into three sections, to address both these elements of urban design:

• section one sets out the wider background

• section two addresses the need for new buildings to fit in to their setting and reinforce local distinctiveness

• section three addresses the layout and organisation of places; how spaces and buildings affect the way they are used
  

The IUDG states the important role of urban design in making connections and identifying shared solutions, which resolve various different, and sometimes competing, demands. In particular, it can positively contribute to community safety and regeneration objectives by designing out crime, and contributing to the economic vibrancy by creating a high quality environment and sense of activity that makes people want to live, work and visit.

Consultation Statement

In accordance with statutory requirements, the public consultation has followed a two-stage process. Approximately 1,000 letters were sent out to everyone on Planning Policy’s list of consultees at the beginning of both consultation exercises. The draft IUDG was also put on Islington’s web site (with a short summary translated into eight languages). Hard copies were sent out to people who requested them.

As part of the initial consultation exercise, which took place from 21 June to 14 July, a presentation of the IUDG was given to the Conservation and Design Panel who were unanimous in their support of the IUDG. Six individual letters/ emails have been received which have contained positive and negative responses in equal measure. Three respondents were concerned that the guide was too restrictive and one of them suggests that it was not in line with existing policy. However, other responses support the need for clearer guidelines to prevent the repetition of past mistakes. The draft IUDG was amended at the end of July/ beginning of August to take on board this feedback - in so doing, it sought to strike a balance between these positions. Section 1 and 2 have been revised by more clearly setting out the scope for exceptions. The importance of good design has been re-emphasised, as well as the identification of where a building that stands out can positively contribute to the urban environment.

The revised draft was subject to statutory consultation between mid-August and the end of September. In addition to the above consultation measures, a statutory notice was put in the 17 August edition of the Islington Gazette for the statutory consultation, and hard copies were sent out to all the libraries. Quarter-page advertisements were placed in the Islington Newsletter on 19 August and Islington Tribune on 1 September, to ensure that it reached people who were away during the August break.

As part of this consultation, the IUDG was presented to all four area committees in September, where its contents were noted. A further sixteen letters/ emails (with one repeat from the initial consultation feedback) have been received. Again there has been a fairly evenly balanced range of views with marginally more positive responses than negative ones. The main debate again centres around those who feel that the IUDG would help to control the worst of the development proposals. At the same time, it cannot limit the creativity of good architects, compared to those - including the GLA’s Partnership and Policy Directorate - who feel it is too restrictive, prescriptive and undermining of creativity and regeneration. In addition, the GLA have also stated that its position on building heights would be in conflict with London Plan policy.

The feedback also included the following points:

• a concern whether the IUDG standards would be enforced

• support sections on reducing walking distances / creating safe routes

• it is addressed to laymen and does not sufficiently take account of the skill of an architect

• it does not distinguish between the scope for change between front and back

• renewable energy needs to be more positively supported

• needs to have more emphasis on larger buildings

• possible conflicts with secure-by-design standards
  

These negative comments were nevertheless not reflected by those who attended the meeting with the local branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the North East Thames Architects Society (NETAS) that was specifically convened to discuss the IUDG. They nevertheless encouraged more emphasis on high quality contemporary design.

The attached draft IUDG is for submission to the Executive on 7 December. It takes on board the above feedback - in so doing, it has sought to strike a balance between these two positions, while also being consistent with the Unitary Development Plan and emerging Local Development Framework policies. The IUDG now more clearly promotes creative, high quality contemporary design, while ensuring that the standards and principles are suitably caveated. The changes also include the following:

• more good examples of high quality contemporary schemes

• less prescriptive about the use of facing materials

• acknowledges there is generally more scope to adapt/extend at the rear than the front within residential terraces

• more strongly supports the use of solar panels and wind turbines

• refers to following the principles of secure by design in line with the need for open frontages

• makes a distinction between modelling domestic elevations and larger buildings with longer street frontages
  

The IUDG supplies the detailed design standards for the borough and will be used to help support or refuse planning applications, and enforce against unauthorised work.

The guide necessarily sets out some principles that may be understood by many architects. However it has not been drafted purely for architects, but for the benefit of Islington's residents, planning inspectors and the wider council, as well as planning applicants, many of which are not architects. For instance, it is hoped it will be useful for people who wish to make comments on planning proposals.

The IUDG is available to download at the bottom of this page.

Contact

For further information please email or write to:

Michael Asselmeyer
Principal Conservation and Design Manager (Acting)
Environment and Regeneration
London Borough of Islington
Room 402, Municipal Offices, 222 Upper Street, London N1 1YA

Email: michael.asselmeyer@islington.gov.uk

To obtain a printed a copy of the IUDG for £45 please contact:

Janet Sheehan
Phone: 0207 527 2229
Email: janet.sheehan@islington.gov.uk