The publication of the Manual for Streets (MfS) by the
Department for Transport in March 2007 prompted a review of the
Kent Design Guide 05/06. A review, facilitated by CABE Space, was
carried out by Stuart Reid, one of the authors of the Manual for
Streets. The conclusions reached included:
"This review has found the existing Kent Design Guide to be an
extremely high quality document which effectively summarises
accepted good practice. There is little in the Guide which is not
intrinsically in accord with the MfS and almost nothing that could
not be fully in line with MfS with intelligent interpretation."
The publication of Planning Policy Statement PPS3: Housing in
November 2006 prompted a review of residential parking guidance
contained in the Kent and Medway Structure Plan Supplementary
Planning Guidance SPG4. This exercise was aligned with the Kent
Design Guide review because of the emphasis on good design.
Acting on behalf of the Kent Design Initiative, we
were involved with the pre-publication research behind MfS and
PPS3, so the Kent Design Guide was, to some degree, prepared for
the future. Only a few aspects required immediate attention so a
decision was made to issue Interim Guidance Notes rather than
undertake a full review.
The Interim Guidance Notes were subject to consultation through
the Kent Design Initiative network and have been approved by the
Kent Planning Officers' Group. They are supported by a growing
evidence base of residents' opinion surveys.
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Interim Guidance Note 1 on Quality Audits (PDF,
331k) enlarges upon the Development Team approach
encouraged by the Kent Design Guide and relates the process to the
Building for Life standards that are now being used to assess
quality.
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Interim Guidance Note 2 on Visibility (PDF,
364k) presents the guidance on sight lines
contained in MfS, superseding the values contained in the Kent
Design Guide.
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Interim Guidance Note 3 on Residential Parking (PDF,
363k) uses the growing evidence base to offer
guidance on expected levels of car ownership for a range of
locations, while putting good design ahead of just satisfying
numerical standards. It is recommended to Kent's district councils
for adoption for development control purposes and preparing
residential parking policies, for their Local Development
Frameworks, in accordance with PPS3.