16.1 Good design is important to ensuring that Salford and its neighbourhoods retain and enhance their local character and identity. This can help to increase the attractiveness of a place to potential investors, but is also of enormous importance to residents. Careful design can make a very significant difference in the degree to which local communities welcome and accept new developments, and therefore to the success of those schemes.
16.2 High quality design will be an essential component in helping to convince developers, businesses, residents and tourists that the city is a place that will have a successful long-term future and therefore is a safe and profitable place to invest. Any short-term savings that might be made by compromising on design quality would be likely to be hugely outweighed by the long-term negative impacts on the city’s economic, social and environmental sustainability. Securing high quality design is therefore a vital element of the overall strategy for Salford.
16.3 It will be essential that all aspects of design are properly addressed, ranging from broad issues such as the layout, scale and massing of buildings, to more detailed issues such as the architectural coherence and use of materials that are fundamental to the quality of local townscapes.
All development should be of a high quality design, contributing to Salford and its individual neighbourhoods having a positive and distinctive character.
Good design will be important in all locations, with the highest standards required for developments:
Development should be designed to be:
Reasoned justification
16.4 The aim of delivering a beautiful and welcoming city is fundamental to the vision for Salford. It is essential to it being seen as a modern city that is able to compete at an international level, whilst also being critical to securing the high quality of life that Salford residents deserve. Design has a central role to play in this.
16.5 A very large amount of development is proposed for Salford in the Local Plan, which could potentially significantly alter the character of the city and some of its neighbourhoods. It will be vital to Salford’s success that new development has a positive impact, and as a result all developments should be well-designed. This need not result in extra costs for developers, and indeed may actually lead to savings particularly over the long-term.
16.6 In order to secure good design, there are several important principles that all developments should follow and balance. It will be important to ensure that developments are able to properly fulfil their primary function, but also that they minimise their impact on the environment, promote social inclusion, maintain a high quality appearance, are able to adapt to changing needs, provide a positive and safe experience for occupiers/users, and provide inspiration and interest.
16.7 Although good design should be secured everywhere, there will be some circumstances where the quality of design will be especially important. For example, tall buildings generally have a greater visual impact than other buildings, as they can be seen across large areas and the implications of poor design can be very significant. The character and image of an area can be heavily influenced by buildings in prominent locations, such as on key transport routes, heightening the importance of design quality. Particularly careful design will be required in sensitive locations, such as where development would affect conservation areas or the setting of listed buildings. Developments should respond positively to any historic context, and avoid poor quality imitations of past styles. All development schemes that will have a significant and long-lasting impact upon the character of the city and the townscape and where the quality of the design is especially important, will be encouraged to be considered by a formal design review panel prior to its determination by the city council.
16.8 More detailed design guidance is provided in the other policies in this chapter, as well as in a range of supplementary planning documents. There are also policies in other chapters of this Local Plan that have significant design implications, such as the transport hierarchy.
Development should protect, enhance and respond to any positive character of the local area, and contribute towards local identity and distinctiveness. It should be a positive addition to the surrounding area, being integrated within the townscape and landscape.
In particular, development should have regard to the following characteristics of the local area:
Development should not inappropriately copy the design features or materials of important landmark buildings in a way that would detract from their prominence to the detriment of local character.
A certain level of incompatibility with the positive character of the local area may be considered acceptable where it can be demonstrated that:
A) The incompatibility arises from specific elements of the design which makes it highly sustainable; and
B) Any incompatibility has been minimised as far as possible.
A deliberate contrast to prevailing local characteristics may occasionally be acceptable, but only where this would provide a demonstrably greater contribution to local distinctiveness and design quality than following those local characteristics.
Where there is no discernible or well-developed local character, developments should contribute to the creation of a distinctive, integrated and coherent place.
Reasoned justification
16.9 Local identity and distinctiveness are important elements of successful places, helping to engender pride in an area. There is a risk that neighbourhoods will become increasingly indistinguishable as the function of places evolves and the economy becomes ever more globalised. Protecting and enhancing the local character of areas therefore becomes particularly important, and design has a central role in this.
16.10 As a result, it will be important that developments are designed to protect and take advantage of any distinctive characteristics that make a positive contribution to an area. The first priority should be to contribute to a successful place overall, rather than considering the design of the development in isolation.
16.11 Respecting local character will often involve reflecting factors such as the existing scale of buildings and their design features and materials in new developments. However, this may not always be appropriate, for example where it would draw attention away from a listed building or any other important landmark that is distinctive and a major contributor to local identity. There may also be situations where a contrast to prevailing characteristics can actually enhance appreciation of those characteristics rather than detract from this, but such developments need to be very carefully designed to ensure that they are a positive rather than a negative feature and do not appear incongruous.
The layout of spaces and buildings should be designed to ensure that developments:
Reasoned justification
16.12 The careful layout of highways, public spaces, private spaces and buildings is a vital component of high quality design. It can ensure that new developments function as an integral part of the wider area rather than being separated from it.
16.13 Good layouts can help to promote walking, cycling and public transport use, and are easy for people to find their way around. A layout based around a grid, or distorted grid, will normally be appropriate and the use of cul-de-sacs should generally be avoided wherever possible.
Development should protect and where possible enhance public views, particularly:
This policy does not provide any protection for private views.
Reasoned justification
16.14 New developments can have a significant impact on existing public views, and this can adversely affect the design quality, attractiveness and functionality of an area unless carefully managed. Wherever possible, developments should be designed to have a positive impact on public views by introducing attractive features into the townscape, providing new landmarks that help people orientate themselves within the city, and using buildings to frame existing views.
16.15 The position, size and silhouette of buildings should reflect the type of public view that is being created or affected, for example in terms of whether it is a strategic or local view, and whether it is a wide or more contained view.
Spaces should be designed to have a clear purpose and role, which is apparent to all potential users.
Development should clearly distinguish between private, semi-private, communal and public spaces. Boundary treatments should be carefully used, providing visual permeability where this is compatible with the function of adjoining spaces.
Public spaces should allow for natural surveillance and encourage a variety of uses that can be enjoyed by the whole community both day and night. Street furniture should be carefully located and designed to avoid unnecessary physical or visual obstacles within public spaces (particularly taking on board the requirements of visually impaired persons) and the spaces should be attractively lit to ensure users feel safe at all times.
Surface car parking areas should not dominate or detract from the streetscene or waterside locations.
Reasoned justification
16.16 Spaces make an important contribution to the character and attractiveness of the area. However, poorly defined and poorly lit spaces that have no clear function can detract from environmental quality, reducing safety and security. The relationship between different types of space needs to be carefully managed in order to avoid any confusion or conflict over their roles. Boundary treatments can play an important role in this, but need to be sensitively designed to ensure that they do not appear unduly dominant or oppressive. Allowing people to see through boundary treatments can assist in this, where it is compatible with maintaining privacy.
16.17 Public spaces such as streets and squares can be especially important in contributing to local identity and supporting community interaction, but if poorly designed or without a clear function then they can undermine the coherence and safety of neighbourhoods. The design of public spaces needs to be seen as an integral part of the overall design process rather than something separate. The provision of street furniture should form part of that design process, and should be coordinated to ensure that it does not detract from the use of public spaces.
16.18 Car parking can have a highly detrimental impact on the appearance of an area unless it is carefully located and designed. The use of high quality boundary treatments and the integration of significant levels of green infrastructure can help to minimise any negative impacts.
16.19 All spaces should be designed to maximise the amount of green infrastructure as far as possible, in accordance with Policy GI2.
New buildings should:
Reasoned justification
16.20 The purpose of this policy is not to specify which architectural styles should be adopted, but rather to ensure that the architectural design of buildings is of a high quality and contributes to an attractive and useable townscape. Individual elements of a building may seem appropriate in isolation, but if they do not work together successfully then the building may detract from rather than enhance the surrounding area.
16.21 The scale, height and massing that is appropriate will vary between different parts of the city, for example with taller buildings more likely to be acceptable within and around the Regional Centre. It will be important to ensure that buildings do not appear so large that they dominate views or appear imposing, to the detriment of the overall area. Providing a scale which people can relate to will be particularly important, and this may relate to the size and shape of buildings, as well as the use of architectural detailing to break up the overall mass.
16.22 Developments that turn their backs on important public spaces tend to reduce the amount of natural surveillance, visual interest and activity, affecting the usability and attractiveness of those spaces. It is important that people can easily understand and navigate their way around the built environment, and this is aided by locating entrances on principal frontages.
Alterations and extensions to existing buildings should:
This does not preclude the use of innovative designs or contrasting materials, which in some circumstances may be more appropriate than copying the approach in the original building.
Reasoned justification
16.23 Alterations and extensions are an important way of ensuring that the city’s built environment can adapt to changing needs and requirements, reducing the need for demolitions and redevelopments. They constitute a significant proportion of the development activity within Salford. One of the benefits of adapting rather than replacing existing buildings is that it retains existing elements of character with which people are familiar. Developments should therefore avoid the loss of, or damage to, significant architectural features.
16.24 As with new buildings, it is important that existing buildings that are extended have a high quality overall appearance, rather than appearing as a poorly thought through collection of different elements that do not work together. This may be achieved in a variety of ways, and in some circumstances it may be appropriate to provide a contrast to the original building, provided that this results in an attractive and coherent overall structure.
The materials used in developments should:
Reasoned justification
16.25 The quality and type of materials used can make an enormous difference to the appearance of a building and whether it enhances or detracts from the character of an area. Materials should be carefully selected to ensure that they both meet the functional requirements of the development and enable it to fit into the surrounding townscape/landscape.
16.26 The durability of materials is a particularly important issue, and poor quality or poorly maintained materials can lead to an initially positive development gradually detracting from the surrounding area. Materials should therefore be resistant to weathering, designed to weather attractively within an urban environment, and/or be subject to a regular maintenance regime as required.
Development should ensure that it:
Amenity includes, but is not limited to, issues of:
A) Space, both internal and external
B) Layout
C) Aspect
D) Privacy
E) Sunlight
F) Daylight
G) Temperature
H) Pollution
The following minimum distances should be maintained from the principal windows of habitable rooms in dwellings:
Shorter distances will only be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that an appropriate level of amenity for occupiers would be provided. Longer distances may be required where one of the buildings is more than one storey higher than the other.
For the purposes of this policy, habitable rooms are defined as principal living rooms, principal dining areas, bedrooms, and, in dwellings where there is no separate dining room, kitchens.
Reasoned justification
16.27 If buildings and spaces in Salford are to be popular and successful then it needs to be ensured that they provide a high level of amenity for their occupiers. Low levels of amenity may result in high vacancy levels in buildings and only limited use of public and private spaces. New buildings and spaces need to be designed not only to ensure that their own users and occupiers have a good level of amenity, but also that they protect the amenity of the users of other developments.
16.28 The issue of overshadowing is likely to be of particular concern where tall buildings are proposed, as this can affect the usability of spaces as well as buildings. Applications for tall buildings should assess their shading impact at different times of the day and year, as this can vary substantially.
16.29 The privacy distances should be used as a starting point for designers, and the most appropriate amount of separation will depend on a wide range of factors including site levels, the orientation and use of existing buildings, the precise location of habitable room windows, and the presence of screening features such as walls and hedges. It is recognised that it may not be possible to achieve the separation distances on some sites, particularly in higher density locations such as the Regional Centre, but it will still be important to ensure a high level of amenity.
Development should be designed to ensure that it:
A wind assessment should be submitted with planning applications for tall buildings and other proposals that could be likely to have significant wind implications.
Reasoned justification
16.30 Maintaining and enhancing the comfort of the local microclimate is an important aspect of making places attractive and usable. Tall buildings in particular can have a significant negative impact on the spaces around them due to the air turbulence and wind eddies that they can create. However, buildings and landscaping can be positively used to make places more comfortable to use, for example by sheltering spaces from the elements.
16.31 The ‘heat island effect’ describes the way in which urban features such as buildings and roads retain more heat than open land. This can result in urban areas having higher air and surface temperatures than surrounding rural areas, with the temperatures tending to increase with the density of development. These higher temperatures can increase ill health and mortality on very warm days, and such events are likely to become more frequent due to climate change. It is essential that developments are designed to minimise the impacts of this heat island effect and to provide respite from the higher temperatures, for example through the incorporation of significant quantities of green infrastructure and shaded spaces.
Development should be designed to:
In particular, development should be designed to:
A) Allow for natural surveillance of public spaces, means of access and parking areas;
B) Encourage activity within public areas;
C) Avoid new, and where possible remove existing, places of concealment; and
D) Avoid having a hostile appearance.
Reasoned justification
16.32 Crime and the fear of crime can have a major impact on quality of life and the success of individual developments and places. Increasing security and minimising opportunities for crime are therefore important objectives, but it needs to be ensured that they are not delivered in a way that reduces the attractiveness of neighbourhoods for example by resulting in a hostile appearance that actively gives the impression of significant crime problems. This can be overcome through careful design that integrates crime prevention features into the overall design of a building or space, rather than adding them on at the end.
16.33 Human activity and the overlooking of spaces can help to discourage crime by effectively providing surveillance. For the same reason it is important to avoid concealed places where people can hide. All of this requires careful consideration of lighting levels as well as the siting and design of buildings and landscaping. It will be important for developments adjacent to public open space to be designed to have a positive relationship with, and maximise natural surveillance of, the space.
Development adjacent to the River Irwell, the Manchester Ship Canal, Salford Quays, the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal should provide:
Where appropriate, such development should also accommodate:
A) A larger waterside space to act as a focal point for public activity; and
B) A crossing over the waterway.
Where the provision of a waterside pedestrian and cycling route would be impracticable, or incompatible with the commercial role of the waterway or the protection of the historic environment, then an alternative route should be provided as near to the waterside as possible and linked into key routes including any existing waterside routes in the local area.
Reasoned justification
16.34 Salford’s waterways make a significant contribution to the character, identity and environmental quality of the city, and help to attract investment. The provision of waterside routes for pedestrians and cyclists is an important way in which the benefits of these waterways can be maximised for the whole community, increasing leisure opportunities and promoting healthy activities.
16.35 There may be some circumstances where it is not practicable to provide a waterside route, or where to do so would compromise the historic interest of the waterway. For example, the commercial nature of the Manchester Ship Canal, particularly in terms of freight handling, may mean that it is inappropriate to provide direct waterside access in some locations. It will be important to ensure that such circumstances do not result in parts of the waterside route becoming disconnected from each other, and connecting routes away from the waterside should be provided in order to address this.
16.36 If the full potential of Salford’s waterways is to be realised, particularly within the Regional Centre, then it will be necessary to provide additional public spaces alongside them and bridges across them. Individual developments may be required to accommodate these where they are planned, to ensure that the wider area functions successfully.
16.37 It will be particularly important for waterside development to accord with Policy D4 in terms of protecting and enhancing views of the waterway, Policy D5 in terms of the careful use of boundary treatments and location of surface car parking, Policy D6 in terms of providing a scale, height and massing sufficient to provide a sense of enclosure, and providing visual interest to the waterway, and Policy D11 in terms of allowing for natural surveillance of the waterway.
Monitoring
16.38 The main indicators that will be used to monitor this chapter are:
| Indicator | Target |
| Number of schemes that have been considered by a design review panel | Increase |