Village Design Statements

A Village Design Statement (VDS) looks at the village character and its surroundings, and what makes it different and special. It also gives guidance to make sure that any new development, or any other change, fits in with its local context.

New - Little Baddow Village Design Statement

The Little Baddow Village Design Statement (VDS) was adopted on 20 November.

The Little Baddow Village Design Statement describes the qualities and characteristics that people value in Little Baddow parish and sets out guidance on how to care for those qualities, and how development and changes can be designed and properly managed to respect the village setting.

You can view the adopted VDS via the link in the list below.

Adopted VDS

The VDS is not about whether development should take place. Most importantly the VDS guidance influences all members of the community making changes to buildings and spaces.

Many of the VDS are adopted by the Council as informal guidance, but some have recently been adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents. All are taken into account by planning officers when deciding planning applications.

To find out more, please follow the links in the list below.

You can ask for a printed copy of a Village Design Statement – please contact the Planning Design Team.

Neighbourhood Plans

In the future, this type of information will no longer be in a VDS, but as part of a neighbourhood plan which will help communities to have a bigger say in the future of their area. The existing VDS will still be used, unless they are replaced by a new neighbourhood plan.

The Rural Community Council for Essex has published some useful guidance on neighbourhood plans.

You may also be interested in the planning changes set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and Localism Act.