Our new community-led Bournville Estate Design Guide has been shortlisted in the Royal Town Planning Institute’s West Midlands Awards for Planning Excellence 2022.
The new design guide was launched in July last year to conserve and enhance Bournville – one of Birmingham’s ‘greenest’ suburbs named amongst the best places to live in the UK.
We consulted over 7,000* residents before reshaping the Guide, which was first published 36 years ago.
The comprehensive Guide offers advice on everything from making alterations to listed buildings and Bournville’s conservation area to gardens and building materials.
Available to read here, the Guide places a much greater emphasis on protecting the environment and encouraging bio-diversity, two areas residents said were important to them.
The sensitive installation of solar technologies and car charging points is encouraged as is wildlife planting, creating microclimates and preserving gardens, hedges and trees.
Three distinct zones, based on architectural character, age and historic significance, make up the new Guide for the Bournville estate, included in the Sunday Times’ 2021 list of the best places to live in the UK.
This offers some households greater flexibility in making alterations to their properties, with guidance for property alterations varying depending on the zone.
We worked with specialist architects and designers Building Design Partnership (BDP) and Birmingham City Council’s Planning and Conservation staff to create the new Guide.
BDP’s team of urban designers, architects, planners and conservationists have won awards for their approach to producing Design Guides in other communities in England.
To find out more about the awards, go to www.rtpi.org.uk/events-training-and-awards/awards/awards-for-planning-excellence-2022/