Placecheck for planning, urban design,  highways and parks

The full Placecheck method reflects the approach described in the ODPM/CABE design guidance By Design. People who initiate a Placecheck may have a clear idea of where it will lead, or they may use it simply as a means of understanding the place and deciding the next step. Some Placechecks will prepare the ground for the sort of documents that councils, regeneration partnerships, developers and local communities produce to guide future development in an area:

• The council's local development framework, setting out overall planning and design policies.

• An area action plan, urban design framework, master plan or design code, setting out and illustrating planning and design principles to apply to an area, an urban quarter, or a whole village, town or city.

• A development brief, setting out and illustrating planning and design principles to apply to a specific site.

• A design guide, setting out and illustrating planning and design principles that relate to a specific topic or a particular area. 

• A masterplan, providing the framework for the development of a new estate or a whole new community. (See the bottom of this page for an example)

• A neighbourhood plan.

• A town, village or neighbourhood design statement or character assessment, showing how development can be carried out in harmony with the local setting.

• A conservation area appraisal carried out by the local authority.

• Residents’ street improvement and management plans.

• Industrial estate improvement strategies.

• Ideas for creating new parks and greenspaces, or the refurbishment of existing ones.

Placechecks can play a vital role in creating ideas for highways-related schemes, including:

• Pedestrianisation.

• Traffic-calming schemes and home zones.

• By-passes, other new rural roads, and rights of way improvement plans.

• Dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes.

• Street management codes.

Placechecks can also be used to support other specific objectives

• Involving local communities in planning and producing statements of community involvement.

• Helping town centre management initiatives bring together property owners, residents, businesses and others with an interest in the future of the town centre by agreeing a shared vision, creating a strategy and implementing an action plan.

• Working together to put in place local projects to improve an area through a town improvement scheme.

• Developing tailor-made community strategies by local strategic partnerships involving local businesses, local authorities, community groups and other stakeholders.

• Preparing local authorities’ community plans.

• Helping to build community capacity.

• Helping to form public, private and voluntary sector partnerships.

A Placecheck can also help in:

• The work of design review panels.

• Assessing development proposals.

Using Placecheck in masterplanning

Here is an example of where Placecheck can be used in the production of masterplans: