Introduction
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The City and County of Swansea would like to thank Natural Resources Wales for its financial support in the development and production of this document. introduction • purpose & scope of the guidance 1 • aonb designation & the importance of 2 placemaking & good design • status of the guidance 5 • how to use this guidance 7 gower aonb design guide section 1 introduction 1 purpose & scope of the guidance 1.1 The Placemaking Guidance for the Gower AONB (hereafter ‘The Guidance’) provides “Good places are more than collections of architecture; they are memorable and Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) distinctive, well used and cherished by the people who live in them, work in them and in support of the Council’s planning visit them” policies and placemaking aspirations, “No Place Like Home”, Design Commission for Wales, June 2010 with the overarching aim to raise the standard of design across the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Guidance assists the key objective of maintaining and enhancing one of the most naturally beautiful landscapes in the UK, and ensure that new development successfully integrates into the sensitive landscape within which it sits. 1.2 The Guidance provides a practical design tool to be used by all involved in the design and development process, whether planning permission is required or not. It sets out the placemaking objectives and design principles that should be followed to ensure that development respects the distinctive character of both the natural and built environment of Gower. The Guidance should be used at all stages of the development process, from conception to implementation, in order to help to continue to conserve, enhance and inspire both the natural and built environment of this unique and special area. Above: Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Boundary [source: City and County of Swansea] Opposite page: Three Cliffs Bay gower aonb design guide section 1 introduction 2 aonb designation & the importance of good design 1.3 The Guidance includes specific design 1.5 The Guidance is intended for all modules covering the more common those involved in the design and types of development seen on Gower, development process. It is a starting namely: point for all types of development • residential; in Gower, ranging from general • agricultural; maintenance and refurbishment • commercial and tourism; of existing buildings to new build • conversions; and development. • chalets It also provides guidance on matters 1.6 The Guidance encourages those relating to landscape design; repair involved in the design process to take and maintenance; and lighting. a holistic approach through considering local context, site opportunities and 1.4 The Guidance applies to all parts of the constraints and key design objectives AONB, which encompasses a variety from the outset of the project. of character areas from some of the most open, undeveloped landscapes within the County to locations that have been substantively ‘suburbanised’ through built development. The Guidance may also be applied to certain locations outside the AONB boundary, within the adjoining rural ‘Gower fringe’ areas, particularly where such locations have similar characteristics to the AONB and/or where development is considered to have a bearing on its setting. Above: View across Great Pill from Landimore gower aonb design guide section 1 introduction 3 aonb designation & the importance of good design 1.7 Gower AONB was the first AONB to be designated in the UK in 1956, and its beauty lies in the variety of outstanding landscape and coastline captured in one relatively small area. The Gower AONB Management Plan (2017) usefully describes the nature of Gower’s varied landscape: “It ranges from the south coast’s superb carboniferous limestone scenery - be- tween Worm’s Head and Oxwich Bay - to the salt marshes and the dune systems in the north. Inland, the most prominent features are the large areas of common, dominated by sandstone heath ridges including the soaring sweep of Cefn Bryn. Secluded valleys have rich deciduous woodland and the traditional agricultural landscape is a patchwork of fields charac- terised by walls, stone faced banks, and hedgerows”. Gower AONB Management Plan 2017 Above: View across Oxwich Bay gower aonb design guide section 1 introduction 4 aonb designation & the importance of good design 1.8 The primary purpose of the AONB 1.9 The fundamental importance of managing designation is to “conserve and enhance” the change within the AONB to the wider natural beauty of the designated area. Poor South West Wales Region, as well as for design of new buildings, conversions and Swansea, is highlighted in Wales’ National extensions can be detrimental to landscape Development Plan: character, whereas good design can enhance its quality. Planning Policy Wales (PPW) “Managing the South West’s outstanding emphasises the importance of good design natural resources, which include the coast for successful placemaking: [and] the Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a priority for the region and it should be ensured they can be enjoyed by future gnerations and help provide economic “Good design is fundamental to creating benefits for the region’s communities. The sustainable places where people want region’s distinctive heritage should be to live, work and socialise. Design is not preserved and enhanced by high quality just about the architecture of a building but the relationship between all elements development.” of the natural and built environment and between people and places. Future Wales - The National Plan 2040, page 155 ...Meeting the objectives of good design should be the aim of all those involved in 1.10 This notion of the effective and sustainable the development process and applied to management of change is key to ensure that all development proposals, at all scales… the distinctive character of Gower’s natural “ and cultural landscape is not only retained through the conservation, refurbishment Planning Policy Wales, paragraphs 3.3 and 3.4 and maintenance of existing buildings, but also enhanced through good design in new developments. New development should aim to improve upon an existing building, and create a high quality development that integrates into the existing landscape. Top right: Lone house above Middleton Bottom right: Rhossili village with Worms Head in the gower aonb background design guide section 1 introduction 5 status of the guidance 1.11 The Guidance is a material consideration in • ER2: Strategic Green Infrastructure Network the determination of planning applications • ER 4: Gower Area of Outstanding Natural for development in, and in some instances Beauty (AONB) adjoining, the Gower AONB. It provides • ER6: Designated Sites of Geological Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) Importance to the Council’s adopted Swansea Local • ER 7: Undeveloped Coast Development Plan (LDP). • ER 8: Habitats and Species • ER9: Ecological Networks & Features of 1.12 The first Gower Design Guide was adopted Importance for Biodiversity as SPG to the now superseded City and • ER 11: Trees, Hedgerows and Development County of Swansea Unitary Development • CV 1: Key Villages Plan (UDP) (2008). This new version of the • CV 2: Development in the Countryside Above: The village shop prior to conversion Guidance will formally replace the first Gower • CV 3: Replacement Dwellings in the Above and Below: The Store, Mewslade Cottage. Design Guide once adopted. Countryside Example of a restoration and conversion of an existing • CV 4: Conversion of Rural Buildings Gower building. 1.13 The Guidance provides SPG to augment • CV 5: Farm Diversification Below: The old gift shop has been converted to a a number of policies in the Swansea LDP, • TR 1: Tourism, Recreation and Leisure traditional dwelling and the village store converted to which include: Development tourism accommodation, using a contemporary design • PS 1: Sustainable Places • TR 2: Developed Coast and Waterfront and materials: • PS 2: Placemaking and Place • TR 3: Sustainable Tourism and Recreation @JemHowe @stayatmewslade Management Development in the Countryside • H 5: Local Needs Housing Exception • TR 5: Holiday Accommodation Sites • TR 13: Residential Use of Holiday • H 6: 100% Affordable Housing Exception Accommodation Sites • RP 3: Air and Light Pollution • H 8: Ancillary Residential Accommodation • RP 4: Water Pollution & the Protection of Water • HC 1: Historic & Cultural Environment Resources • HC 2: Preservation or Enhancement of • T5: Design Principles for Transport Measures Buildings and Features and Infrastructure • T6: Parking gower aonb design guide section 1 introduction 6 status of the guidance 1.14 The Guidance takes account of the most up to date legislative and strategic planning context that have arisen at both national and local level. This includes the latest Gower Management Plan (2017), Future Wales: the National Plan 2040, Planning Policy Wales (PPW) and relevant supporting Technical Advice Notes (TANs) produced by the Welsh Government. 1.15 Key placemaking and design related national planning policy and LDP policies that have particular relevant to this Guidance are provided in Appendix 1. Matters relating to placemaking and design are clearly not the only considerations in the determination of planning applications. Applicants will need to demonstrate compliance with other policies in the LDP, and with national guidance and other material considerations, when applying for planning permission. 1.16 This draft