Latest news

Building on our recent engagement workshops to help shape a new ‘Design Code’ for the Redhill to Horley corridor, we are now inviting local people to take a short survey which seeks views on the vision.

The deadline for completing the survey is Tuesday 31 January 2023.

The design code will help to guide important design features such as street character, building type and layout, use of public space, and the sustainability of new development. It will also ensure that new development encourages sustainable travel, including walking and cycling.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is hosting a second round of engagement events to get further community input into the development of the Redhill to Horley Design Code.

The Council hosted initial engagement events in August, along with a public consultation to find out what people value about the Redhill, Salfords and Horley, what could work better and where there might be opportunities for change. Thank you to everyone who took part.

In this next ‘visioning stage’, the Council’s Planning Policy team and their specialist design consultants are hosting roundtable discussions in Redhill, Salfords and Horley to seek your views on the draft vision for the design code area. The discussions will be centred around your views for the area based on the feedback and analysis completed so far and will be an opportunity to express your design vision for what you want to see in the local area.

Please email the Planning Policy team at: LDF@reigate-banstead.gov.uk if you wish to attend any of the following events:

• Salfords: Monday 21 November 5.30-7.30pm - Village Hall, 5 Honeycrock Lane RH1 5DG. This event has been cancelled due to lack of attendance - you can book to attend at Horley event instead.

• Horley: Tuesday 22 November 5.30-7.30pm - Regent Hall, 52 Albert Road, RH6 7JA

• Redhill: Thursday 24 November 6-8pm - The Harlequin Theatre, Warwick Road, RH1 1NN

The purpose of the design code is to:

• make the area work better for pedestrians and cyclists

• improve access to open spaces and parks

• raise the quality of design and

• identify opportunities for development.

Don’t forget to give your views to help us develop a new ‘design code’ that will shape new development and create a ‘green corridor’ between Redhill and Horley.

The Council is asking local people for their views to help develop a new ‘design code’ that will shape new development and create a ‘green corridor’ between Redhill and Horley.

The code aims to:

The design code will help to guide important design features such as street character, building type and layout, use of public space, and the sustainability of new development. In particular, it will ensure that new development encourages sustainable travel, including walking and cycling.

Get involved

Cllr Richard Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy and Place Delivery, said: “We are in the very early stages of developing the Redhill to Horley Design Code, which aims to preserve local character and identity and make sure that new developments enhance their surroundings, while taking sustainability and the wellbeing of communities into account.

“We are keen to work closely with the community to make sure that the code reflects what local people want to see in their local area. At this stage we want to know what people value about the Redhill, Salfords and Horley areas, what could work better and where there might be opportunities for change, as well as how they use them, such as a place to live, work or visit. So do get involved by taking our brief survey to tell us your views – you can even upload pictures.

“Following feedback from this first stage of engagement, a set of draft design principles will be drawn up, which we will bring back to the community to seek views on in the autumn and upon which the development of the code will be based.”

Survey

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is one of 25 areas that will benefit from a share of £3 million funding as part of a Government pilot to support the development of local design codes.

The Council will receive £120,000 for the preparation of a code that sets design standards for the development of a green corridor connecting Redhill and Horley.

The design code will help to guide important design features such as street character, building type and layout, use of public space, and the sustainability of new development. In particular, it will ensure that new development encourages sustainable travel, including walking and cycling.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced the funding on 11 March 2022. It follows a successful bid by the Council to become a Design Code Pathfinder Authority.

To support the delivery of new local design codes and develop local skills, the Government is working to develop a number of pilots, of which Reigate & Banstead is one.

The Government introduced the National Model Design Code (NMDC) in 2021 to help improve the quality of new development and to provide certainty to local communities. Whilse design codes are used abroad, they are rare in this country.

Cllr Richard Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy and Place delivery said: “It’s great news to hear that we’ve been successful in our bid to become a Design Code Pathfinder Authority.

“The development of this design code will help to make sure that new developments enhance their surroundings and preserve local character and identity, while taking sustainability into consideration.

“Over the next few months, we will be bringing together a range of partners including planners, local councillors, designers, ecologists and transport planners to prepare our code.

“An important element of our design code preparation will be local engagement. Once we have the mechanisms in place, we will be asking local communities and stakeholders to get involved.”

The draft design code will be prepared by the end of March 2023. The code will then set the standards that developers must adhere to.

The design codes from the pilot areas will be used as examples of good practice that other local councils and neighbourhood planning groups across the country produce their own, with support from the Office for Place.

Last year, the Office for Place supported 14 local councils and communities to set standards for design in their area, using the National Model Design Code.

More information