In February 2025, Charlotte Lewis, our Group Design Director was published in planning journal, Placemaking Resource, championing the merits of outline planning. Here’s what she had to say:
“The creation of high-quality, beautiful, and sustainable buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve. Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, creates better places in which to live and work, and helps make development acceptable to communities. Being clear about design expectations, and how these will be tested, is essential for achieving this. So too is effective engagement between applicants, communities, local planning authorities, and other interests throughout the process.”
So begins section 12 of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out guidelines ‘to help create beautiful and distinctive places with a consistent and high-quality standard of design’. But with an emphasis on delivery reiterated at every turn, a shift in tone around ‘beauty,’ and the closure of the Office for Place, the need for robust, resilient masterplans has never been more pressing, argues Charlotte Lewis, Group Design Director at leading land promoter, Richborough.
“The Government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes and major infrastructure projects over the next five years is both ambitious and essential and although the pace of delivery and resource required to fulfil our housing targets continues to be discussed at length, it shouldn’t be at the expense of good design.
“I recently attended a planning event which debated whether outline planning really serves a purpose in setting standards for design quality. Some argued the broad parameters used to capture the vision of an outline design simply aren’t enough to avoid them being unpicked or diluted at the detail stage. Conversely, others viewed that outline designs do not deliver tangible outcomes and often gloss over technical site considerations, resulting in fixed parameters that translate badly after planning consent and hinder efficient use of land.
“At Richborough, we follow a simple three-step approach to ensure our sites overcome these issues. Designs must firstly be founded on a robust baseline, which involves really getting under the skin of a site and its environs, undertaking local and technical due diligence on aspects such as topography, flood risk, utilities and ecology. So too is a thorough understanding of local policy requirements for aspects such as housing mix, type, size and tenure which have a bearing on proposed density, layout and the way new places stitch into their surroundings.
“Secondly, the foundational role that outline planning can play in design is often overlooked and scoping out and knowledge sharing at the earliest stage is also key to good design. Digital tools and platforms are improving communications with Councils, communities and stakeholders. They are encouraging wider audiences to be more actively involved in planning and to have more influence, which in turn, is helping to establish minimum design standards and obligations. If this determines that site design coding is appropriate, then Council support on the role, content and structure of the code is absolutely key to avoid unnecessary delay during application preparation and determination.
“Our third step is to optioneer and test the preferred design. The NPPF is explicit in its support for the use of Design Review Panels and assessment frameworks such as the National Design Guide, National Model Design Code and Building for a Healthy Life. These tools are helping to improve placemaking and design quality in development; but they are also valuable resources for decision makers and local planning teams who have been increasingly strained since the austerity years.
“We take the testing layout process further by ensuring all outline masterplans and design codes are underpinned by proving layouts. Whilst the detail is held back from the outline planning application, it provides confidence that site constraints have been properly addressed, the outline masterplan is robust and efficiently laid out, and the parameters relating to the amount of development quantum are both deliverable and right. The process avoids sites and designs being over-simplified, as nuances can be the reason why some outline concepts don’t always carry through to the Reserved Matters stage as well as they should.
“Outline masterplans and codes must be clear on key objectives, principles and set strong, deliverable design frameworks. For larger sites, our designs equally consider aspects such as longevity, phasing, infrastructure delivery and changing trends in housebuilding, all of which are greatly informed via the testing process.
“Testing also supports the preparation of design codes, which can sometimes be overly complex and prescriptive, usually when a site is design sensitive or legacy is involved. In these circumstances, increased detail is not always the answer and can lead to the quality benchmark being set too high for housebuilders to fully realise the outline design vision; another reason why outline designs aren’t always fully implemented to their best. When coupled with sound parameters and well-considered masterplan, a degree of coding flexibility usually encourages designers to explore creativity and innovation at the Reserved Matters stage, delivering better design quality and the original vision.
“Embedding a rigorous design approach is working very well at the Reserved Matters stage and doesn’t slow delivery. Last year, sites within our Eastern Division were averaging 16 months from receipt of outline permission to works starting on site.
“Masterplans and codes are absolutely the right tools to deliver design quality and value at the outline planning stage, however more focus is required on how we overcome resource challenges and scarcity of design skills at local authority level, that can sometimes result in design governance being poorly enforced or scrutinised. At a time when the pace of housing delivery could easily overshadow the nuances of good design, outline planning is an anchor that holds the vision steady.
“Now more than ever, we should champion its power to set realistic and achievable design quality benchmarks and shape our communities for the better.”