Supplementary Planning Documents

The Residential Design Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides guidance on the implementation of housing policy, to ensure well designed housing is delivered across the borough. It protects and enhances the character of Kingston whilst promoting local growth by providing more detail about Core Strategy policy with regard to the design of:

• new residential development
• household extensions or alterations

The Residential Design SPD is organised into two sections to set out our expectations for residential development and provide greater clarity and certainty for:

• architects, and builders undertaking new residential development within the borough
• householders, their architects and builders undertaking extensions or alterations

The Residential Design SPD provides guidance to create well designed neighbourhoods that:

• respond to the local context whilst creating an identifiable character of its own through the application of innovative design strategies where appropriate
• are of the highest standard in terms of innovative design, resource efficiency, environmental performance, visual appearance and its relationship with the surrounding public realm
• deliver high standards of communal and private amenity space
• address the need for well laid out pedestrian environments  and accommodate vehicular movement (parking and servicing)
• promote design that improves safety and security levels in the development and the surrounding neighbourhood
• safeguard the privacy and amenity of neighbouring occupiers
• deliver an appropriate mix of housing types and sizes

Public consultation on a draft SPD took place between December 2012 and February 2013, and a Statement of Consultation was published, setting out the representations received and our response, including changes to the document following the consultation.

We adopted the Residential Design SPD at our Place and Sustainability Committee on 9 July 2013. The guidance took effect from Monday 16 July 2013 and applies to all new planning applications for qualifying development submitted on, or after, that date. (The document was amended in November 2013 due to a spelling error in the policy guidance on page 96. This supersedes the previous published version.)

Paper copies of the adopted SPD, Adoption Statement and Statement of Consultation can be viewed in public libraries.

Adoption statement

In accordance with Regulations 14 and 35 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England)  Regulations 2012, notice is given that the Royal Borough of Kingston formally adopted the Residential Design supplementary planning document (SPD) on 9 July 2013. The SPD is supplementary to the Royal Borough of Kingston Core Strategy (adopted in 2012). 

The purpose of the SPD is to provide additional detail and guidance on how the Council will, as the local planning authority, implement relevant policies from the adopted development plan. Any person with sufficient interest in the decision to adopt the SPD may apply to the High Court under Regulation 11 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 for permission to apply for judicial review of that decision. Any such application must be made no later than 3 months after the date of adoption, namely by 9 October 2013.