Village Design Statement

Village Design Statements (VDS) are prepared by local people in order to guide new development in their villages. If approved by the local council design statements are adopted as Informal Planning Guidance and used in assessing applications for development and other changes.

A VDS is an expression and description of what the local community believes to be the factors and features that make their particular village or town unique. It uses those factors/features to outline a series of planning and design guidelines which can be used in early discussions with developers and designers to help them design in a way that responds to and enhances those valued features.

An approved VDS is important to local people because it:

• Raises community awareness about the surrounding landscape, environment and assets
• Provides the community with a ‘tool’ to ensure that future developments and changes are sympathetic to local distinctiveness and character
• Links with the planning system so that planners can reference it to understand the local context and raise the local distinctiveness of design proposals
• Gives the community a recognised voice in the planning processes that affect the visual quality or character of the village
• Supports and strengthens the role of the Parish Council when consulted over planning applications
• Is a representative view of local people of the character of the village
• Demonstrates local commitment to high quality design and appropriate development that will improve the quality of life of the village
• Contributes to securing a thriving and viable future for the village
• Enables local priorities to be considered in the development process
• Enables local people to be able to respond in an informed and professional manner to planning and development proposals in the village
• Is applicable to all villages and settlements, not just conservation or specially designated areas.

Work on the production of a Village Design Statement for Barton Stacey was initiated by the Parish Council following the 2013 Annual Parish Assembly

Following adoption by the parish council at their meeting of Tuesday 19th January 2016 the prepared statement was submitted to Test Valley Borough Council.

The statement was adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on 29th June 2016.  Adoption of the statement by TVBC marks the culmination of a three year process of consultation and drafting to ensure that the document is representative of the views of local people. The statement is posted on the TVBC web site and can also be downloaded from the links below, together with the public consultation statement that supports it.