The South West Design Review Panel

How can the South West Design Review Panel help you?

The Panel gives independent, expert guidance on major developments in the region

The Panel works with local authorities and developers to help the South West to achieve the highest possible standards of design in the built environment.

Design review by the Panel is part of a regional programme to promote good design in architecture and planning in the South West.

The Panel takes a broad view of design; it believes schemes should aim to be fit for purpose, sustainable, efficient, coherent, flexible, responsive to context, and good looking.

The Panel's guidance aims to bring about developments that make a positive contribution to the community and its environment - in other words, schemes that are good for people.

PANEL EXPERTISE

The Chair of the Panel is Peter Clegg, cofounder of Feilden Clegg Bradley of Bath and London which was recently named Architectural Practice of the Year. The Vice- Chair is MJ Long, architect of the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. Peter Clegg and MJ Long lead a 30-strong Panel that brings together a wealth of expertise in architecture, planning and urban design.

HOW THE PANEL WORKS

The Panel looks at selected schemes including commercial and residential developments, urban and rural regeneration, landscape improvements, engineering projects, heritage conservation, and cultural provision.

Although the Panel has an important role, it is not a part of the statutory planning process. Schemes are brought to the Panel freely and voluntarily and there is no obligation on any party to put forward a scheme for review.

The Panel welcomes suggestions for possible schemes it might look at from local authorities, public agencies, developers and their design teams, and others. The Panel itself decides what schemes it will accept for review.

A small group of Panel members review a case. The architect and client normally present the scheme and the local planning authority is invited to send a representative. The Panel may consider a scheme at detailed planning application stage but prefers to see a project at an early stage in its evolution. It will also look at development briefs and master plans. The Panel's guidance is given at the review and in a letter afterwards.

REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP

The Panel is a partnership between Creating Excellence and The Architecture Centre. Setting up the Panel was a key priority of an arm of Creating Excellence, Design South West - an alliance of organisations active in the region, who together promote design quality in the built environment.

Design South West (through Creating Excellence) commissioned The Architecture Centre in Bristol to set up and manage a panel for the region. The South West Design Review Panel was formed in 2005.

The Panel is thus part of the wider regional structure being developed under Creating Excellence to promote the highest quality of design in architecture and the built environment in the South West region.

The Panel wants to contribute to the wider encouragement of design excellence in the region and is discussing with Creating Excellence and Design South West how its experience of design review can inform related programmes or engender initiatives.

To find out more about the South West Design Review Panel, please contact

Timothy Cantell, Manager
South West Design Review Panel
Creating Excellence
Ground Floor, East Reach House
East Reach
Taunton
TA1 3EN

E: drp@creatingexcellence.org.uk
T: 01823 250801
Mob: 07900 916270