Individual developments should ensure ease of movement for pedestrians and cyclists as a priority. In residential developments, in particular, it is important that designs permit the independent and safe movement of children throughout. The aim should be to distribute traffic as evenly as possible throughout the development, keep speeds to a minimum and avoid creating opportunities for rat-running. Developers are advised to refer to the City Council’s Highway Design Guide (currently being revised).

The movement of pedestrians and cyclists on routes beyond the immediate development should be considered. For certain developments, such as large residential schemes, contributions may be sought towards a Safe Routes to School project or for a related cycle or pedestrian route scheme.

The site layout should be determined according to the following hierarchy, with priority for access and movement being given to pedestrians and cyclists (benign travel modes).

1) Pedestrians:

• provide convenient routes, which are easy, safe and attractive to use;
• provide clear signposting and lighting where appropriate;
• ensure that routes are accessible to disabled people, particularly wheelchair users;
• ensure that there is good, direct permeability throughout the site;
• link routes to local facilities, public transport nodes, open spaces and longer distance footpaths;
• design for slow traffic speeds to improve safety and reduce noise;
• provide conveniently located pedestrian crossing points on busy sections of road;
• avoid steep gradients;
• provide a pleasant microclimate through planting to provide shelter and orientation towards the sun, although care should be taken to ensure that routes are safe for all to use;
• provide wayside seating at appropriate locations;
• ensure that development provides a lively and varied environment at street level through appropriate ground floor uses.

2) Cyclists:

• oprovide direct, safe and attractive routes - segregated from general traffic only where cyclists cannot safely be accommodated within the carriageway;
• ensure that routes are as continuous as possible, avoiding frequent stops or diversions;
• link routes within developments to the wider cycle network;
• measures to assist and ensure the safety of cyclists should be provided at major junctions and all junctions should be of cycle friendly design;
• separate cycle tracks may be an option for large developments, if they can rejoin the road network safely;
• provide a pleasant microclimate, particularly low wind speeds, through landscape and site layout;
• provide prominent, secure cycle parking which should be close to building entrances or inside buildings and should avoid the need to carry cycles on steps;
• employers should provide a high standard of secure long stay cycle parking together with appropriate changing and shower facilities;
• joint pedestrian and cycle facilities may be considered only in circumstances where separate facilities for cyclists within the carriageway is not feasible, although pedestrian safety must not be compromised.

3) Public transport and service vehicles:

• adequate penetration for potential bus services and effective access for service vehicles should be provided. This should not however, be at the expense of the safety and free movement of benign travel modes;
• layouts should be to the minimum possible geometric standard commensurate with safe access for buses and service vehicles in order to prevent excessive traffic speeds;
• passenger facilities, such as bus shelters and timetable information, should be provided, where appropriate, in consultation with Metro;
• other public transport enhancements may be required as part of the City Council’s Quality Bus Partnership initiative;
• for large developments adjacent to the existing rail network the potential for providing new rail stations should be considered in consultation with Metro;
• where a development will generate additional demand which justifies or requires improvements to the public transport system a contribution towards improving public transport provision will be required.

4) Private vehicles:

• new roads serving development should be engineered using geometric designs for an average speed of 20mph or less, particularly at junctions and pedestrian/cycle crossings, and should ensure the dominance of benign travel modes;
• traffic speeds in residential development should not exceed 20 mph;
• provide traffic free areas wherever possible.

Green Travel Plans (Company Travel Plans)

Increasingly it is being accepted that how people travel to and from work is, in part, the responsibility of their employer. For many employers preparing a plan and introducing incentives to encourage staff to travel by means other than the private car makes good business sense, often by freeing up areas used for car parking for more productive uses. Nationally the move towards the the more explicit taxation of car parking spaces belonging to firms and businesses will provide added incentive to this process and those firms that plan ahead will benefit.

Through the Travelwise campaign the City Council is committed to increasing awareness of the impact of personal travel patterns. As such the City Council is keen to see much wider use of Green Travel Plans and the Leeds Travelwise Manager is able to provide advice on their advantages and preparation. Businesses are also encouraged to contact and join Business Link Leeds who are able to provide advice on a range of environmental issues. In certain circumstances a Company Transport Plan could be pursued as part of a planning permission. This may be achieved through the use of planning obligations.

Company Travel Plans should seek to introduce a package of measures aimed at reducing car usage for commuting and work related journeys. These measures may include:

• providing assistance for cycle and travelcard purchase;
• encouraging and offering incentives to employees to use public transport;
• providing cycle allowances at rates in line with car allowances;
• providing secure, all weather cycle parking;
• offering incentives and benefits to those willing to share cars or providing specific parking spaces for car share vehicles;
• providing pool cars for work related journeys.

The City Council will encourage the development of car free residential areas in appropriate locations. These will generally be sites within the urban area with good access to public transport, cycle and pedestrian routes and close to a range of facilities, such as schools, shops and other amenities. Developers may be encouraged to contribute to the establishment and operation of shared car use or ownership schemes where such developments are proposed. Provision will also be required for an agreement with owners/tenants that they will not own a car to ensure that off site parking problems do not result.

A number of such schemes are currently being developed in the UK and throughout mainland Europe.



Services should be designed to provide maximum flexibility for the future and to minimise the impact on existing vegetation and habitats. Consideration should be given to any off-site impacts of services, such as drainage.

Particular care should be taken to ensure that trenches do not have an adverse impact on trees and important wildlife habitats. Service infrastructure will also have an impact on the area available for tree planting. Routes, therefore, need to be carefully planned and co-ordinated.



The layout of the site should take account of possible future combined heat and power (CHP) or district heating systems. Both CHP and district heating have been successfully applied in the UK and more extensively in continental Europe. Excess heat from power generation and/or waste heat from industry is piped to the local area. Metering is an important element to encourage efficient consumption.

It is important that provision is made for the necessary infrastructure within the site layout although, where the pattern of development is appropriate, the necessary infrastructure can be added at a later date.

Developments which facilitate the introduction of CHP and district heating schemes are those which:

• adopt a grouping and density which reduces installation and transmission costs;
• are located close to the potential power/heat source;
• comprise a mix of uses (eg. housing, offices and leisure) to balance demand for power/heat over the day and night and throughout the year.
  
  
  
  
  
  

UDP Policies:	N23-N25	landscape design
	LD1 (Vol.2)	landscape design

Landscape features and greenspace associated with development should be considered as an integral part of the design process. As well as providing a setting for the buildings, landscaped areas and greenspace can provide useful areas for amenity and wildlife, infiltration areas for surface water and an opportunity to retain existing features such as trees and hedgerows.

The site layout should seek to provide a hierarchy of spaces from public to private. Structural landscape works or features should be used to modify microclimate and to reduce noise from roads. Rear gardens should be designed to have maximum privacy and, where possible, to provide space for food growing and kitchen waste recycling.

UDP Policies: N39 culverting and canalisation of watercourses

The impact on the water environment should be a consideration at the site identification stage. This includes impacts on water quality, protecting the flood capacity of watercourses and protecting features such as ponds and wetlands.

The site layout should seek to minimise impacts on the water environment by reducing the quantity and improving the quality of surface water run off. Developers will be expected to make provision for the long term management of water conservation measures.

NB: Illustrative guide only. Each site should be considered individually .
A combination of measures may be used.

The following guidelines should be considered:

• the culverting and canalisation of watercourses should be avoided wherever possible, and opportunities to re-establish natural watercourses, channels, margins and wetlands should be maximised;
• the amount of non-porous hard surfacing should be minimised to enable infiltration;
• downstream watercourses should be protected from the adverse effects of excess surface water run-off, both in quantity and quality;
• landscape areas should incorporate such features as swales and filter strips to reduce the volume of piped surface water run off;
• infiltration methods, such as soakaways, should be used wherever possible and where soil conditions permit ;
• where surface water cannot be absorbed on site provision should be made for open balancing ponds (NB. These should be designed to maximise their wildlife value);
• where site drainage is to a combined sewer the impact of any increased flow on combined sewer overflows should be considered and minimised;
• install oil interceptors and silt traps to improve the quality of any surface water discharge to watercourses and/or soakaways;
• provide facilities for rainwater collection for re-use;
• where possible, site landscaping should utilise plant species which do not require a lot of water.

The layout of a site will have a direct impact on the potential for maximising both passive and active solar gain in any development. Passive solar gain alone can save up to 10% of heating demand and does not impose significant additional costs or design constraints on a development.

The following principles should be applied:

• residential roads should run east-west wherever possible to enable the orientation of dwellings to face within an angle 30o of due south;
• consider the impact of trees, other buildings, walls and fences on overshadowing. This will reduce the scope for passive solar heating, particularly on north facing slopes;
• maximum use should be made of south facing slopes which will allow closer spacing of buildings and trees whilst still avoiding overshadowing;
• taller buildings should be located to avoid overshadowing neighbouring buildings;
• generally all buildings should be spaced to avoid overshadowing;
• car parking areas and garages should be located to the north of buildings;
• consider the use of active solar technologies, such as photovoltaics;
• on residential sites, house types can easily be modified to achieve passive solar gain objectives.

The shelter afforded to a building, particularly from prevailing winds, will affect the degree of heat loss. A sheltered microclimate can be achieved by:

• grouping buildings to avoid long uninterrupted passages and short gaps between buildings;
• joining buildings, particularly housing, to create shelter and reduce the external wall:volume ratio;
• building to a uniform height;
• the use of densely planted shelterbelts, but take care to avoid overshadowing;
• avoiding development in frost pockets or on exposed hillcrests;
• designing large buildings to avoid increasing air speed and turbulence
  

UDP Policies N49-N53 nature conservation

The importance of nature conservation has been recognised by the City Council in its Nature Conservation Strategy. All new development should ensure that there is no net significant negative impact on the district’s wildlife and habitat resources. Developers will be encouraged to carry out surveys to identify the ecological impacts of proposals. Where adverse impacts are identified a detailed mitigation package will be required.

1) Protecting Existing Wildlife Resources

• development should seek to avoid adverse impacts on designated nature conservation sites;
• consider the impact of the development on species listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Ensure that there is no adverse impact on such species;
• existing features of wildlife value should be retained and enhanced where appropriate;
• the culverting and canalisation of watercourses should be avoided;

2) Creating and Managing Wildlife Habitats

• an ecological approach to site landscaping and greenspace should be adopted. This should reflect local semi-natural vegetation types where appropriate;
• seek to enhance resources for wildlife through habitat creation and management and through creating and improving links between areas of habitat;
• all new planting should reflect local variations across the district;
• opportunities to re-open culverts, re-establish natural watercourses and enhance the wildlife value of watercourses should be maximised;
• peat based composts should be avoided;
• developers will generally be expected to make provision for the long term management of nature conservation resources. Future management of the site should be considered at the design stage.

UDP Policies:	N1-N11 urban greenspace, allotments and open land.
	N41 woodlands

All development should seek to minimise overall consumption, especially the consumption of non-renewable resources, including land. Care should be taken to reduce the amount of waste arising both during and following development.

1) Protecting Existing Landscape Features and Greenspace

Information from the site appraisal will be invaluable in determining which features on a site should be retained and enhanced. The following guidelines are applicable:

• greenfield sites should be avoided wherever possible as their development results in the irreversible loss of greenspaces, and often of biodiversity;
• compact developments which reduce land take will be encouraged;
• identify all areas of vegetation and landscape features to be retained and protect with temporary fencing during construction;
• pay particular attention to the desirability of retaining mature trees and hedges on site. Buildings and services should avoid damaging tree roots;
• seek to reintroduce traditional management techniques, where appropriate, for existing features, such as hedge laying, hay making and coppicing.

3) Waste Management

• A key issue for sustainability is the need to reduce the amount of waste entering the environment.
• the appropriate treatment of contaminated sites to enable development will be encouraged;
• maximise the re-use of existing buildings and structures on site or, where existing buildings cannot be re-used, utilise the materials as part of the new development. Materials such as stone, slates, tiles, timber, paving and bricks are generally suitable for re-use;
• excess material arising from construction should not be disposed of on site;
• provide facilities for the collection of materials for recycling; eg. bottle, can and paper banks;
• provide facilities for the collection of organic waste for composting;
• composting toilets and reed bed systems for the treatment of foul water should be considered.