Village design statements (VDS) are promoted by the Countryside Agency, produced by local communities and supported by Leeds City Council, as a means of fostering good design, appropriate to its local context. They may also be applied to parish plans and in neighbourhoods within the city’s urban boundary.
The six key aims of a village or neighbourhood design statement are:
- Enabling communities to analyse and define the value of their local environment
- Acting as a tool for assessing the local character of an area
- Assisting the City Council in steering future development to respond to and respect that character
- Guiding smaller changes ("permitted development")
- Prompting the scope for local environmental improvements and support community initiatives
- Becoming adopted and used by the Council as a material consideration in planning matters
Village Design Statements have been adopted by Leeds City Council for Bardsey, Bramhope, East Keswick, Thorp Arch, Far Headingley, Hawksworth and Adel. Copies of some of these can be downloaded from this page. Far Headingley can be downloaded by visiting the Far Headingley Village Society web site in the useful links on the internet section below.
A range of skills are needed in their preparation, including leadership, public consultation, report writing, visual analysis, photography, plan drawing / sketching, editing and desk top publishing. Detailed advice can be downloaded from this page.