DLA appointed to lead the Gedling Design Code Pathfinder

David Lock Associates, in collaboration with Proctor & Matthews Architects and Participatr have been appointed by Gedling Borough Council to prepare a Borough wide Design Code as part of a national Design Code Pathfinder project. Gedling Borough Council is one of twenty-five areas in England that have been awarded a share of £3 million to help them achieve locally distinctive, high quality design. Gedling Borough, which forms part of the wider Greater Nottingham area, is characterised by a variety of residential environments at the urban edge and in several villages; they range in their size and character from traditional settlements to former colliery communities, all within a varied landscape. Gedling’s tapestry of existing places will inform the design code requirements that will be tailored to individual localities to ensure that the built environment evolves in a positive way. A key objective of the project is to build a digital platform to empower communities to identify design issues and shape design requirements. Supported by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and involving the Office for Place, this important Pathfinder project will contribute to the development of a widely applicable design methodology that can be rolled out nationally. In this context a key aim is to create an exemplar that can be followed by other authorities who will, as set out in the Planning Bill, be required to produce Design Codes to ensure that the design of new development is able to create beautiful places.