Vision

Nottingham will be walkable, accessible and inclusive. Streets and parking spaces will be convenient, land-efficient and durable. Cars will not dominate the street scene; greenery and sustainable drainage will be incorporated to achieve significant impact, and not as a token.

NOTE: “The design of streets, parking areas, other transport elements and the content of associated standards reflects current national guidance, including the National Design Guide and the National Model Design Code…give priority first to pedestrian and cycle movements, both within the scheme and with neighbouring areas…avoid unnecessary street clutter, and respond to local character and design standards. Planning policies and decisions should ensure that new streets are tree-lined, that opportunities are taken to incorporate trees elsewhere in developments (such as parks and community orchards), that appropriate measures are in place to secure the long-term maintenance of newly-planted trees, and that existing trees are retained wherever possible.” (NPPF 9.114, 116 & 12.136).

Design Criteria- Streets

NS.1 Connections - The scheme integrates well with its surroundings by reinforcing existing connections and creating accessible, inclusive new ones, linking to main routes, public pathways and public transport facilities. Pedestrian links follow the shortest routes and desire lines. A connected network of protected cycle tracks is provided to serve all parts of the development, and this leads directly to off-site routes.

NS.2 Highway network - The street pattern forms perimeter blocks of optimum dimensions to ensure land efficiency, with buildings contributing positively to the public realm. Large perimeter blocks must be avoided; when a block-dividing street is not a feasible option, wide, accessible, overviewed pedestrian-cycling links across large the block must be provided. Deep perimeter blocks that lead to the creation of courtyards and mews will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and when there is no other alternative; proposing these might lead to planning delays and potential refusal. The overall highway network must be easy to remember and navigate; its legibility must make it easy for pedestrians to create a mental map of the area.

NS.3 Efficiency - Streets designed for the worst-case scenario, oversized and over engineered, will not be approved. Layout track testing demonstrates how family vehicles and large refuse vehicles will move and manoeuvre. This tracking informed the design of the tightest possible radii and street widths.

NS.4 Hierarchy - The street pattern has a distinctive hierarchy. All streets follow Nottingham City’s Street Classification and are connected forming a clear network with each street designed according to its function, scale, character and feel.

NS.5 Walkability - Crossings give priority to pedestrians with accessibility-friendly continuous level paving on 20mph streets. Crossings are positioned to make walking routes shorter, easier and more amenable. The radii, curvature, width and materials of roads and streets have been designed to make the environment more walkable. Walking routes consider the needs of all, including children on bikes and scooters and people with mobility aid equipment. Benches are provided every 100m along public footways connecting with green/recreation areas. Streets provide direct frontage access to homes for pedestrians and cyclists.

NS.6 Speed - In residential environments, streets are designed with level surface and clear accessibility-friendly demarcation of footways unless otherwise agreed with City Council officers. Conventional streets (with kerbs and footways) are only designed for Street-Hubs, which could potentially host public transport (now or in the future). Engineered traffic calming measures have been avoided and are only used if agreed with all the departments of the City Council. Streets that have been curved and/or curled to reduce speed will not be accepted; the idea that curving a street makes it softer is a myth, the result of street curvature is a compromise on land efficiency, which Nottingham cannot afford. Streets should be straight and naturally calmed with green and blue infrastructure, using nature to create a softer feel.

NS.7 Durability - Tarmac is acceptable for all street types. Block paving must be used only in small amounts and in short, straight stretches. Block paving on curves and corners will not be accepted. Demarcations indicating zones (e.g. parking space, footway, etc.) must be made with inset stone/pavers. Painted demarcations will not be accepted. Streets adjacent to a green open space must include knee railing to avoid parking on/driving onto greenery.

NS.8 Services - The street network must be designed with circuits for waste collection with ‘in’ and ‘out’ points. Turning points must be avoided, these would only be acceptable when there is no other feasible option. Reversing tracking must be done using these specifications. Service runs must be located in dedicated zones, easy to access for repairs but these must be an integral part of the design and not an addition.

NS.9 Greenery - Highway trees and planting should be of significant impact, incorporated as part of the traffic calming design and not a result of poor street geometry or bad definition between public and private areas. Small trees located randomly along streets/footways will not be accepted; trees must be of significant contribution to climate change mitigation, health and air quality, and must contribute substantially to increasing the city’s canopy cover. Trees in private gardens (front or rear) will not be counted as contributors to the urban greening factor. Avenue and Boulevard verges must be at least 5m wide; these will be adopted by the Parks and Open Spaces department - not by Highways - a detailed layout that would work at all levels is included in the Nottingham City’s Street Classification page. All new trees must have adequate root protection and sufficient root space (at least equal to their canopy potential). Sustainable drainage and green infrastructure provision must be considered from the outset - not as an afterthought. Green and blue infrastructure should be combined as much as possible.

Design Criteria - Parking

NP.1 Distribution - A car parking strategy must be prepared to indicate the modality distribution; in other words, the percentage - and number - of parking types (NP.2-NP.6) must be clearly defined and balanced, so that one type of parking does not dominate over others.

NP.2 Front parking - No more than six consecutive front parking spaces will be accepted; alternate greenery can be used to mitigate the impact of front parking. Boundary walls and other installations adjacent to front parking must be no more than 500mm high.

NP.3 Side driveway parking - No more than two consecutive driveway parking spaces (side by side) will be accepted, including situations when parking provision is for two different dwellings (e.g. semi-detached homes), in which case, a solid boundary definition is required to demarcate the end of each property (e.g. railing). No more than two parking spaces in tandem will be accepted.

NP.4 Rear parking - Spaces provided at the rear of dwellings must be located inside the plot and contained within the boundaries of the rear garden/patio, in this instances, an inward-opening gate should be provided. Rear - or remote - parking outside the property boundaries will not be accepted.

NP.5 On-Street parking - No more than three consecutive on-street parking spaces will be accepted; out-builds for trees/planters could be used to mitigate car dominance in the street scene. When necessary, Traffic Regulation Orders can be put in place to create ‘residents only’ parking areas. On-Street parking along both sides of the road (fronting each other) will not be approved.

NP.6 Courtyard parking - Clustered parking must be avoided or kept to an absolute minimum. If provided, it must be well overlooked, directly connected to homes and secured (for example, with gates). Wooden fences facing courtyard parking will not be accepted; see the Boundaries, page.

NP.7 Garages - Parking on garages will not be counted as parking provision. Garages must well positioned so that they do not dominate the street scene. No more than three consecutive dwellings with front garage will be accepted. Garages fronting each other (on both sides of the street) will not be accepted; alternating dwelling prototypes is a good way to avoid garage dominance.

NP.8 Future proofing - All new homes with parking on plot (front, side driveway or rear) must provide an in situ electric vehicle charger. If a car-share scheme is included in the transport strategy, car-share parking with electric vehicle charging points must be provided every 200m or less in all directions. On streets with single carriageway zones or when on-street parking prevents vehicles to pull out without blocking the road, lay-bys must be provided for delivery vehicles and potential drone/robot deliveries.

NP.9 Materials - All new and upgraded front parking zones within private properties must be constructed with durable, permeable driveway materials like permeable paving. All private streets must be built to adoptable materials specifications.

NP.10 Parking dimensions - Minimum dimensions apply and these are non-negotiable. For more information on these street types, including technical information, please refer to the Parking page.

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New Streets Appraisal Form - A PDF can be downloaded after completing the form.

Links

Street Classification: Avenue, Boulevard, Main Street, Street-kit, Co-street, Mews, Private Streets

CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE:

Active Travel England also provide advice and guidance on best practice when designing and implementing streets to ensure they are of the highest quality for walking and cycling. The Council when designing new infrastructure is required to refer to Active Travel England’s design guidance document LTN1/20. This design criteria will be referred to when assessing applications and we advise you review the documents and the guidance provided in the Active Travel England’s planning application assessment tool.

Please note that Active Travel England are a statutory consultee on all major planning applications or developments equal to or exceeding 150 housing units, 7,500 m2 of floorspace or an area of 5 hectares.

Cycle Infrastructure Design (LTN1/20)

Active Travel England: planning application assessment toolkit