Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Design in the Dales 3.0 Housing 4.0 Householder development 5.0 Commercial buildings 6.0 Converting a traditional building 7.0 Agricultural buildings 8.0 Signs and advertisements Appendices: A Materials B Planning for wildlife C Landscaping D Renewable energy E Glossary 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Aim of the Design Guide 1.2 Area covered by the Design Guide 1.3 The National Park 1.4 Planning policy The guide gives freedom for innovation imagination and creativity but 1.1 Aim of the Design Guide still provides clarity and detail where needed. General advice is given at the beginning of the guide on what are considered to be key The Yorkshire Dales is a unique place of great landscape beauty and components of good design in the National Park context. The chapters ecological diversity, rich in iconic buildings and picture-postcard that follow address the most common forms of development in the villages and towns. It is also a working landscape, shaped and National Park. Each chapter is split into two sections – ‘Design sustained by farming, as well as a place of recreation for millions of approach’ and ‘Design details’. visitors. Both activities underpin the local economy. The farmers, landowners and dales communities are the stewards of this distinctive The Design approach section sets out the key principles that heritage. The area is rightly protected for the benefit of all, as a designers need to address to ensure their proposals are of the quality National Park. that the National Park Authority expects to see in planning applications. Designers with experience of working in the National It is therefore crucial that new development fulfils the needs and Park, and with a good understanding of its distinctive building expectations of residents, businesses and visitors without undermining traditions, should be able to use these broad principles as a the special qualities that make the Dales nationally important. This framework within which to design. balancing act is addressed by the National Park’s Local Plan, which Those who are looking for more guidance on how to address design sets out the strategy, and policies that guide decisions on planning issues will find advice in the Design details section. This gives applications. examples of good practice and successful case studies. This Design Guide is part of the Local Plan and is also a At the end of the guide are appendices containing detailed guidance Supplementary Planning Document giving advice to those seeking on materials, planning for wildlife, landscaping and renewable energy planning permission on the form of development that is likely to be that are common to all forms of development. At the end is a glossary acceptable. It is also a material consideration in determining planning of terms used in the document. applications and appeals and should be read in conjunction with the design policies in the Local Plan. Design approach key principles to The National Park Authority wants to see more innovative, imaginative and creatively designed development that makes a positive follow contribution to the rich built heritage of the National Park. That is why the guidance given here is not prescriptive. The guide is deliberately not a pattern-book or set of rules for how it should be done. However, some designers who undertake commissions in the National Park are not familiar with the architecture and building traditions that Design details advice on good make it such a special place. Others have asked for more clarity on practice what is expected from designers. 1.2 Area covered by the Design 1.3 The National Park Guide National Parks contain the most beautiful, spectacular and dramatic countryside in the UK. They are landscapes of national importance The Local Plan and the Design Guide cover the whole of the Yorkshire and their designation gives them the highest status for the Dales National Park within the boundaries designated in 1954. The conservation of landscape and scenic beauty. They also provide map on the next page shows this area. fantastic opportunities for recreation and millions of visitors enjoy their special qualities every year. The western boundary of the National Park was extended in August 2016. This Guide has not been produced to address these areas The Yorkshire Dales National Park was designated in 1954 and is one specifically but much of the advice within the Guide is relevant to of ten National Parks in England. It now extends to 841 square miles development in these areas. (2,179 sq km) of rural North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is the planning authority 1.3.1 National Park Statutory Purposes and duty for the National Park and is responsible for local planning policies and for dealing with planning applications within the Park. The Statutory Purposes of English National Parks are set out in Section 61 of the Environment Act 1995. These are: • To conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage of the national park • To promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities by the public The purposes are underpinned in law by the Sandford Principle that the first purpose should take precedence over the second in cases of irreconcilable conflict between the two. National Park Authorities also have a duty under Section 62(1) of the Environment Act: • In taking forward the national park purposes, [to] seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park The Statutory Purposes and the duty are taken into account in all Map of Yorkshire Dales National Park (2015 boundary in yellow). planning decisions within the Park. The Park has special qualities that justify its designation and which make it a distinctive place. Development proposals are considered against the degree to which In the south and west, the character is heavily influenced by the they affect the special qualities of the Park. underlying limestone alongside pastureland on the lower slopes. Although the National Park landscape enjoys the greatest protection, it Successful designers address the landscape characteristics of the is a home and workplace to 20,000 people and cannot be preserved in dale when producing plans. The best way to do this is to carry out a aspic if it is to thrive. In most cases, development can be managed to context appraisal of the site. See Chapter 2 for guidance on how to ensure that new building ideally has a beneficial or at worst a neutral do this. impact. This guide recommends an approach to designing new development based on understanding the context of the site and responding to it in a positive way. This section of the guide gives a brief description of the special qualities that are most likely to be affected, positively or negatively, by new development. A more complete list of the special qualities can be found in the National Park Management Plan (see 1.4.3 in this chapter and the National Park Authority’s website: www.yorkshiredales.org.uk ) 1.3.2 Landscape The area straddles the Pennines, the backbone of England. The geology, natural processes and human activity have created a hugely varied landscape of dramatic features and beautiful views. The area’s unique landscape character is a combination of many elements. They include managed moorland, pastures and valley grasslands, small woodlands, dispersed villages and farmsteads, local Askrigg in Wensleydale building materials, strong field patterns, drystone walls and field barns. Although the whole area shares some of these characteristics, the 1.3.3 Wildlife Park is dissected by dales that have their own defining characteristics and features. Almost 30% (50,000 hectares) of the Yorkshire Dales National Park is made up of nationally and internationally important wildlife habitats – In the north, the landscape is predominantly characterised by heather the largest area of any National Park. moorland on the fell tops with walls and field barns punctuating the lower fells. In the dale bottoms are flower rich meadows with small Rich and diverse wildlife and habitats are an important characteristic tightly knit villages. of the National Park. These include flower rich hay meadows and pastures which are scarce nationally, rare limestone habitats, extensive areas of moorland that are internationally important for wildlife and carbon storage, small areas of broadleaf woodland, native woodland in places and quantities that are sympathetic to the nationally important populations of a number of bird species, rare lime character of the landscape and will also benefit wildlife. loving plants, scarce invertebrates and important mammals. The open upland is an important habitat for ground nesting birds, and other species reliant on blanket peat, moorland and rough pasture. To conserve the wildness and tranquillity of these areas, planning policies limit development to works essential for their long term management. 1.3.4 Cultural heritage The National Park’s cultural heritage is based on an exceptional range of archaeology, distinctive traditional architecture, livestock farming with distinctive sheep breeds and upland cattle rearing, the remains of former rural industries, numerous small, attractive villages and hamlets as well as scattered farmsteads. One of the things, which make the Yorkshire Dales a distinctive place, is the unique built heritage of the area. Local building traditions and the predominant use of local stone in construction have produced a very distinctive dales architecture, which is described more fully in this guide. The area also has some distinctive building types such as the Limestone pavement traditional dales farmhouse with attached barn and various types of stone field barn. It is important to conserve this heritage, not just for Modern building practices can have a negative effect on wildlife as the the sake of the culture and identity of the area, but also for the benefit trend, sometimes required by regulation, is for sealed buildings.