DEV10 - Delivering high quality housing

Housing development should be of a high quality in terms of its design and resilience, and provide adequate space to achieve good living standards. The following provisions will apply:

1. Housing developments should be designed to be integrated with the adjacent developments and not appear to be an unrelated addition to the rest of the town, village and neighbourhood. This is to be achieved in the quality of the building design, materials and layout. The development should provide good pedestrian, cycling and public transport connectivity to existing developed areas, open spaces and local services such as schools and shops, as well as visually relating well to adjacent greenspaces to prevent hard urban edges.
2. Development proposals should look for opportunities to design out crime and the fear of crime in the layout of the development.
3. Affordable housing should be indistinguishable from other homes on the site, reflecting the type of housing on the development as a whole.
4. Residential annexes will be supported where they are within the same curtilage and ownership as the principal dwelling. Annexes should be clearly ancillary to the principal dwelling via a functional link, with no separate demarcation or boundary.
5. New dwellings (including conversions of existing properties into flats) should be of sufficient size and layout to provide good quality accommodation to meet the needs of their occupants, with developers required to meet Nationally Described Space Standards. Sufficient external amenity space or private gardens should also be provided.
6. To protect the quality of the urban environment and prevent 'town cramming', development of garden space within Plymouth and the towns will only be permitted where it does not adversely affect the character and amenities of the area, and where the proposal can demonstrate that it contributes to the creation of sustainable linked neighbourhoods.
7. Conversions of existing properties into flats and Houses in Multiple Occupation will only be permitted where the development will not harm the character of the area having regard to the existing number of converted and non-family dwellings in the vicinity, and in the case of flats, where the accommodation is self-contained.
8. Houses in Multiple Occupation will only be permitted where the proposal:
   1. Provides adequate communal space for future residents including sufficient space to accommodate cooking, dining, bathroom and toilet facilities.
   2. Provides a good standard of accommodation and living.
   3. Will be adequately managed, including external maintenance and upkeep of the building and curtilage.
   4. Does not lead to levels of activity that cause excessive noise and disturbance to other residents in the locality.
   5. Incorporates adequate refuse provision and facilitates bin container storage that will not have a detrimental effect on the mobility of pedestrians or vehicles.
   6. Is located within walking and cycling distance of local services and infrastructure.
   7. Provides for levels of on-street parking that can be reasonably accommodated, and sufficient and secure on site cycle storage for residents.