Village design statements (VDS) and neighbourhood design statements (NDS) 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 or Neighbourhood Design Statements have been adopted by Leeds City Council for
- Adel
- Bardsey
- Bramhope
- Chapel Allerton
- East Keswick
- Far Headingley
- Hawksworth
- Headingley and Hyde Park
- Horsforth Design Statement
- Parish of Collingham with Linton
- Roundhay NDS
- Thorner VDS
- Thorp Arch
- Tranmere Park
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 links to other web sites on the right.
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.
Current consultations
-
Oulton and Woodlesford Design Statement - consultation closes 31 October 2011
-
New Farnley Village Design Statement - consultation closes 31 October 2011
The draft NDS files and response forms are available for download on this page.