As part of the emerging Calderdale Local Plan, The Placemaking and Design Guide (as it will be known) will provide guidance to ensure that all developments in Calderdale deliver a consistent and high-quality standard of design creating a legacy for the future. The document will set out what well-designed streets, neighbourhoods, places and buildings should look like and how development should respond to and reinforce the distinct character of Calderdale. The Guide will also include advice on how to prepare and submit planning applications.

Alongside local councillors, the launch welcomed a wide range of representatives from local community groups, landowners and developers who were all invited to join a tour of Halifax town centre to contemplate how the Design Guide would work and be put into practice. The aim was to consider how the Design Guide could align with Calderdale’s Local Plan and the Council’s priorities to reduce inequalities, create thriving towns and places, and tackle the climate emergency.

A series of public events with the local community together with an online platform is now being organised to invite local people to share their thoughts and help shape the emerging Guide, whilst also raising awareness of how it will benefit the planning process for applicants and the whole community. The events will be in Halifax, Brighouse, Elland and Hebden Bridge.

For more information about the Calderdale Placemaking and Design Guide and the upcoming community engagement events, please email community@jtp.co.uk or visit the public website here – www.calderdale.gov.uk/vision