Urban Design Officer - Teignbridge and South Hams District Councils

When the Government's 2003 Sustainable Communities Plan called for a step change in the quality of design in new developments, urban design moved centre stage in the government's drive for sustainable communities.  The initiative centred on how to achieve high quality, sustainable developments that are safe, attractive and well designed, and where people want to live, work and spend time while simultaneously meeting the fast growing demand for housing.

For relatively small local authorities whose districts combine both urban and rural areas, the need for specialist in-house design skills presents a considerable challenge in terms of commitment and resources. 
While some authorities have responded to the challenge by offering additional training and qualifications to their existing planning team, two South West based local authorities, South Hams and Teignbridge, decided to appoint jointly an urban and rural designer, splitting the new resource equally between them.

Background

Nationally, widespread recognition of the need for well designed, popular and flourishing new neighbourhoods with good integrated public facilities and a clear sense of place, as well as simply ‘more houses', had highlighted urban design as a crucial discipline in delivering an enhanced built environment.  However, there had been concern about the level of urban design expertise within local government, and increasing pressure for local authorities to retain an urban design expert ‘in-house'.

For the small rural authorities of South Hams and Teignbridge, offering the level of specialist expertise necessary to drive both the national and local planning agenda presented something of a challenge.

Although both areas are predominantly rural, urban design is as relevant here as it is in the region's other main centres.  Both areas need to plan for significant growth in housing and employment.  Urban design plays a key role in the master planning of new development, showing how proposed new projects could fit together with the pattern of an existing settlement.  This work can provide a framework for whole urban extensions, or where significant change is envisaged, making it as vital to developments in hamlets and villages as it is to schemes in towns and cities.

In 2002, South Hams' review of planning priorities identified six corporate priorities, with the list headed by affordable housing and high quality jobs.  Sensitive development and protection of the environment, hitherto believed to be the overriding consideration when considering applications, was ranked third.  Simultaneously, the Countryside Agency (now the Commission for Rural Communities) published ‘Driving Up Quality', challenging local authority planning departments to ensure every scheme is of sufficiently high quality to approve.

In response to the new directive, independent planning consultancy The Planning Cooperative challenged the Countryside Agency to help fund the resources needed to develop concept statements for all the land allocations in South Hams Local Plan, seeking to identify new housing sites and define design principles to sustain the local landscape.  The concept statements were designed to stimulate engagement with the local community rather than to provoke objections to proposals. Site specific, they set out an agenda for landowners and the local community, and were extremely successful in terms of reducing objections to proposals.  However, budget constraints made unsustainable the costs of developing concept statements for every site on an ongoing basis. 

South Hams also wanted to involve the consultancy arm of the Princes Foundation in advising on Sherford, the urban extension on the eastern side of Plymouth where 4,500 new homes will have been built by 2016.  In short, the authority was deriving benefit from employing the principles of urban design, and wanted to continue, but also needed to control its costs.

However, South Hams was uncertain that it could sustain a newly created full time post to carry the work forward.  Equally, as a small authority, it could not justify the costs involved in such a move.

The authority had already established good relationships with neighbouring Teignbridge, and together the two authorities agreed to jointly appoint and fund an urban designer, to be on the staff of one, but with half of his available time and resource to be contracted to the other.

Detail

With a background in landscape architecture, public realm enhancement and development control work, and a post graduate qualification in urban design, Mark Harris took up the post as urban and rural designer for both authorities in September 2005.  To simplify employment procedures, he is a full time employee of South Hams, which has contracted half his time to Teignbridge

Mark's remit covers advising on a wide variety of design issues across the two local authority areas and negotiating improvements with public and private sector partners to ensure the achievement of high quality and locally distinctive design.

His work is extremely varied, with a more urban remit for Teignbridge where the major town is Newton Abbot.  South Hams has more rural characteristics, but has some very fine historic towns and includes much of Sherford, the urban extension on the eastern side of Plymouth where 4,500 new homes will have been built by 2016.

The pressures associated with advising on urban and rural development are very different.  In urban areas, while there is greater pressure for change, there is also more capacity and resources to accommodate it.  In Teignbridge, Mark's focuses are split between development control consultations, strategic policy work and enhancement projects.  

In South Hams, much of his time is absorbed in work associated with the new community at Sherford, and his remit has included design policy sections for the Area Action Plan.  However, the small scale developments typical of a rural area also require development control advice and negotiation skills.

He sits on the South Hams design panel, which reviews the most significant development schemes in the area, either in terms of scale or location.  The panel is made up of locally based and highly respected architects, designers and planning officers.  Its purpose is to influence proposals towards high quality, locally distinctive design before they go into the planning process.  He has floated the idea of launching a similar scheme in Teignbridge, but currently uses the South West Design Panel to fulfil a similar remit for the area.

For both local authorities he is responsible for integrating design issues into district-wide and site based policy.

Although the arrangement has its drawbacks - shifting from job to job can break concentration and focus, the occasional clash of deadlines and a doubling in the amount of administration which needs to be done - Mark thinks that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.  Although he's working for different organisations, the culture of both is similar, and both are at broadly similar stages in their Local Development Framework.  Experiences and expertise developed at one local authority are transferable to the other, and there is considerable cross-over in the partners and influencers with whom he works for each authority.

"For personal development it has been excellent in terms of the range and scale of work I have been exposed to, and of course it means that each local authority has access to the skills they need," said Mark.  

Results

Working within the budget constraints of a small local authority, South Hams and Teignbridge have added an additional specialism to their planning departments, and one which supports their aim of shifting the planning process towards a front ended process.

Map of Sherford Action Plan

In South Hams, the appointment has contributed to the planning department's work on the Area Action Plan for Sherford, and its integration of concept statements into the Local Development Plan.

This authority has found that the broader aim of greater focus on policy development rather than development control has upped the level of local community engagement with plans, generating support for developments rather than ‘NIMBY' type objections.  Increased support and understanding among key stakeholders such as parish councils has also helped in the drive to develop a user friendly way in which to engage interested parties.

One tangible result of the new approach taken to planning in South Hams has been the use of departure procedures to green light two much needed mixed housing developments.  One, of 38 units in a live/work development, has been featured as an editorial case study, and has won beacon status for the delivery of affordable housing.

In Teignbridge, the appointment has led to a heightened awareness and consciousness of design issues within the authority.  The bar previously set for design standards has been raised and exemplar developments are now being delivered.  A more proactive stance to securing improved design has been adopted by the authority, with early involvement of the urban designer in major schemes.  This approach has helped to fast-track decision making and improve service performance standards.

Having successfully trialled the job share approach, the two local authorities are replicating this approach in appointing a joint officer for climate change.

Conclusions

"The appointment of an urban designer is just one strand in the shift towards creating a more user friendly and efficient planning process, with greater community understanding and buy in to what we are trying to achieve," says South Hams' community strategic director of planning Alan Robinson.

"The post has supported our new approach and given us access to a new specialism within the department.

"Raising Council Tax by 1% would deliver £45K to our budget, so it's crucial for us to find ways of responding to the new requirements of the planning process within a very constrained budget." 

Steve Robinson, service lead for planning, design and property at Teignbridge commented:

"Our district has an excellent track record of stewardship of our wonderful array of natural assets.  The appointment complements this work and is helping to secure improved standards within the built environment so that the area remains an attractive place to live, work and visit."

Dos and Don'ts

Do

• Agree terms of engagement, have a clear job description and service level agreement, and discuss set up, ongoing and exit costs.  Formally document these.
• Ensure that line managers are structured about deadlines and effective project management in order to make the job share work effectively.

Don't

• Underestimate the time and effort required for an effective induction process.  Even in two similar organisations, there are double the number of new processes and people as usual, and line managers also need time to absorb the new way of working.

Find out more:
www.southhams.gov.uk
www.teignbridge.gov.uk
www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk
www.plancoop.co.uk
www.udg.org.uk