To get the right answers
ask the right questions

Placecheck in the countryside

Use these Placecheck questions if you are hoping to develop ideas for protecting or improving a country lane or village street.

You can also use this Placecheck to contribute to a:

Village design statement.
Rights of way improvement plan.

Step 1: Choose a route

Each path, bridleway, lane or road is part of a wider network of routes. Think about the network of routes, how they are used, and by whom. Examples are:
- Tourist routes which bring trade into the community.
- Routes used by farm vehicles and delivery lorries.
- Commuter routes to nearby towns or railway stations.
- Routes to schools, pubs, local shops and churches.
- Routes for recreation/leisure purposes, such as walking the dog, evening walks, long-distance rambles, bike rides and horse riding.
Choose one route within that network to Placecheck.
Think of the route in two ways: as a route, but also as a series of places.

Step 2: Placecheck

Before you start, consider

Who needs to be involved? How can you involve them?
What resources are available?
Who is in a position to make a difference?

Travel the route and answer the questions

1. What do you like about the route?

2. What don’t you like?

3. What needs to be improved?

Review your answers.

Step 3: Implement the findings of the Placecheck.

Create an action plan
Action

Work together to implement the action plan and try to draw more people into the project all the time

Detailed questions

1. How can we make this a more valuable route?

What is it used for?

Who uses it?

Who could use it?

2. How can we make this a more special route?

Maintenance

Is the route well looked after?

Are there accumulations of litter or agro-industrial waste?

Are fly-tips or dumped/burnt-out cars removed within one week?

Are verges being damaged by vehicle over-running?

Are eyesores being tackled?

Are stiles maintained?

Are surfaces safe and in good repair?

Is drainage attended to?

Magic

What can be done to make the place look special?

Are there valued buildings along the route? Are they well looked after?

What local styles of building, hedge and field craft are there? What types of vegetation and farming can be found?

Should the history of the route be marked in some way, or reflected in the way the route is managed?

Can skylines, vistas or beauty spots be improved or created?

3. How can we make the route safer for people on foot, cycle or horse, or for farm and other animals?

Are there opportunities to create safer conditions?

Reducing the speed of traffic?
Providing alternative routes?
Protecting or separating other users from traffic?

Is it difficult or dangerous to cross the road?

4. How can the route be made better connected, or new routes created?

How can the route be better linked in with the network of routes?

Safe routes to school?
Safe routes to stations?

Rural quiet lanes, greenways or Village home zones?

What are the options to improve the value of this route by making changes to other routes?

For all types of users, is there a satisfactory range of:

Leisure routes and circular walks – would new links increase the range of walks (for example by negotiating with land owners the creation of permissive footpaths)?
Direct, safe links to shops, stations, bus stops, etc?
All-season links – should some footpaths be made more easily usable in the winter?

5. How can we make the route more attractive?

Reducing noise

Is noise a problem, eroding tranquillity or interfering with wildlife?

Can traffic speeds be reduced?

Can a low-noise road surface be used?

Is there room to introduce noise barriers or earth banks, without adversely affecting appearance?

Are there very local problems that can be tackled – such as noise from traffic accelerating away from a tight bend?

Can the volume of traffic be reduced?

Are there other sources of noise that need to be tackled?

Sensitive lighting

Is lighting effective, attractive and energy-efficient?

What does the lighting look like when seen from local viewpoints?

Can shorter columns be used?

Can trees be planted to screen streetlights from long-distance viewpoints?

Is light pollution (and hence energy use) minimised?

What impact does highway lighting have on the view? Are long distance views of the night time views of countryside marred by insensitive lighting of through-routes. Can less intrusive highway lighting be used?

Does privately owned lighting contribute positively, or is it a source of light pollution?

Less clutter

Is there an accumulation of objects around the road that are making the place unattractive?

Can unnecessary road markings be removed?

Can the road be narrowed?

Can the road surface be changed to a more natural-looking material – for example, local stone surface dressing?

Do direction and other road signs reflect local traditions? (Click here for DfT Guidance 2005)

Can signs and street furniture be mounted on common posts or columns?

Can unnecessary signs be eliminated?

Can the colour of columns be varied?

Improving the look of boundaries

Can the appearance of boundaries, including hedges, walls and banks, be improved by introducing more natural or traditional treatments?

What are the traditional local ways of providing boundaries in fields and woodland, and within villages?

If suburban-style boundaries are being introduced, why is this happening? How can people be made more aware of traditional local boundary styles?

Can suburban-style close-boarded fences be removed, reduced in size, or softened in appearance by growing plants in front or over them? Are people aware that standard close-boarded fences are ineffective at reducing traffic noise, provide only a minor barrier to criminals, and prevent surveillance?

Can property entrances be made more attractive or less intrusive?

Rivers, rills, streams and ditches

Are there any watercourses along the route?

Could they add to the routes attractiveness?

Are they easy to see from footpaths?

Are they being managed sensitively?

Buildings and gardens

Is new development reinforcing the character and attractiveness of the area?

Is the area covered by a village design statement?

Do new buildings reflect local styles and materials?

Does new development contribute to the local network of lanes and footpaths?

Are excessive visibility splays at junctions and entrances destroying hedging or walling? Can the requirement for large splays be eliminated by reducing traffic speeds?

Are small changes being well managed?

Do gardens complement the surrounding countryside, or provide a contrast to it, for example by introducing large non-native trees and hedging?

6. How can the place better adapt to change?

Changing agriculture and forestry

What effect are changes in agriculture or farming having on the appearance of the local countryside?

To get the right answers ask the right questions

Placecheck in the countryside

Use these Placecheck questions if you are hoping to develop ideas for protecting or improving a country lane or village street.

You can also use this Placecheck to contribute to a:

Village design statement.

Rights of way improvement plan.

Step 1: Choose a route

Each path, bridleway, lane or road is part of a wider network of routes. Think about the network of routes, how they are used, and by whom. Examples are:

Tourist routes which bring trade into the community.

Routes used by farm vehicles and delivery lorries.

Commuter routes to nearby towns or railway stations.

Routes to schools, pubs, local shops and churches.

Routes for recreation/leisure purposes, such as walking the dog, evening walks, long-distance rambles, bike rides and horse riding.

Choose one route within that network to Placecheck.

Think of the route in two ways: as a route, but also as a series of places.