A2 Our Vision Objectives

A2.1 Designing for Wakefield District’s future

The Design Code contains six Vision  Objectives which will further enhance and support our Local Plan to achieve a cohesive vision across the district. Creating places that are attractive, well-designed, sustainable, welcoming, and safe, for everyone to enjoy.

The Local Plan sets a clear ambition: to support growth that benefits all communities, protects our environment and heritage, and delivers well-designed homes, jobs, and places.

This Design Code will help set a clear process in achieving good design, which in turn will help turn our vision into a reality. The six Vision Objectives set within the Design Code have been selected to help shape and create higher quality design of new buildings, streets, places and public spaces.

The six Vision Objectives focus on:

1. Strengthening local character and context

Celebrating our District’s distinct character and identity which has been created and shaped by the people and the diverse industries in which they worked.

2. Sustainable and resilient places

Enhancing our existing blue and green networks. Encouraging and supporting healthier, sustainable and resilient places that can change and adapt in the context of climate change.

3. Welcoming places

Creating places for everyone to enjoy. Where public places and green spaces are rooted at the heart of our communities and local industries.

4. Streets for people

Making streets inclusive, accessible, greener, and safer for all.

5. Healthy and inclusive homes

Providing homes that can adapt and change to meet people’s needs to support and enrich all family life within our district.

6. Attractive places to work

Building attractive, sustainable, and welcoming places, that support our local people.

By meeting these objectives, we can ensure that the district grows in a way that enhances its identity, supports local people, and prepares for the future.

Strengthening local character and context

Our vision is to create vibrant, attractive, and well-designed places by preserving and appreciating the unique character of our District.

Wakefield District has a distinct character ranging from famous castles, the remnants of our medieval past, a wealth of Georgian and Victorian architecture and many characterful village settlements such as Heath, to the architecturally imposing Civic Quarter in Wakefield City Centre.

This character was created by the people and the diverse industries in which they worked: from coal production, glassmaking, engineering and textiles to rhubarb and liquorice production.

The coal seams beneath our feet connect our communities; our network of canals, railways, and roads have taken goods, people and ideas, to all corners of the world; and in return people have come to Wakefield to shape its future. We take pride in our historic settlements and surrounding environments which contribute to the distinct identity of our District.

• new developments will focus on creating positive design features which will further strengthen our local communities

• buildings will be created and designed to reflect and elevate local character

• we will protect and celebrate our local heritage and culture where new and re-purposed buildings will respect existing character to preserve local identity

• developments will enhance and respect our built and natural surroundings, achieving higher quality and distinct places within our district

Sustainable and resilient places

Our vision is to enhance our existing green and blue networks to create environments for both people and nature to connect on a day-to-day basis. We want to encourage healthier, more sustainable and resilient places that also support people’s mental health and wellbeing.

We will create strong landscaped developments to weave in opportunities for new habitat creation to support our biodiversity and post-industrial nature recovery.

The protection, enhancement, and extension of existing networks is an important opportunity for the district. Including our water infrastructure, our wildlife habitat networks, and our existing local wildlife sites.

New developments will support and improve local environments to create high quality routes, providing sympathetic landscaping alongside existing natural features. We will ensure resilience to variations in weather and climate change as well as risks such as flooding to promote sustainable places.

• new developments will create linkages to our existing natural networks to support and encourage active travel whilst supporting health and wellbeing

• sustainable drainage systems will support local wildlife as well as reduce flood risk for residents and businesses

• We will ensure that our trees, hedgerows, and wider landscapes are protected and enhanced

• we will create places and buildings where people can stop and rest, taking shelter from heat, wind, and rain

• open spaces and public areas will be well designed, attractive and continue to be maintained and managed over time

Welcoming places

Our vision is to create places for everyone to enjoy. Where public places and green spaces are rooted at the heart of our communities and wider local industries.

This is especially important where our communities are not in close proximity to Wakefield City Centre or the Five Towns to ensure that there are places to come together as a community.

We see our district as a collection of thriving and inviting places shaped by our diverse communities.

New development should create a distinct identity, rooted in our people, industries, culture, and natural landscapes.

Places that include natural features such as woodland, wetlands and wild meadows help create environments for nature to thrive. Whilst creating vital open spaces that provide people opportunities to walk, run, wheel and cycle whilst connecting with nature.

• the creation of new places and spaces will bring people and communities together to help create positive shared experiences

• new places will be welcoming and safe environments for all to enjoy

• spaces will be designed to be memorable, healthy and easy to find your way around

• public spaces will invite creativity, sparking curiosity and play whilst benefiting nature

• new developments will expand and enhance on our existing connections and routes by creating active streets with clear visual cues to ensure that sites are easy to move around and through

Streets for people

Our vision is to create lively streets that encourage and support walking, wheeling, and cycling across the district. Bringing together active travel and streets for people. Creating safe and well-connected communities. Where children can safely play and where people can actively socialise.

Our streets will make the most of positive site features such as views, distinct focal points, and natural landscapes. Connecting key destinations such as local transport hubs and waterside areas to the wider public realm.

Designs that include details such as street trees and attractive planting, can help create areas of differing character and provide positive local features to achieve streets for people. New developments will seek to make use of the vast major leisure corridors which already exist across the district to enable and encourage active and safe travel

• new developments will create connected neighbourhoods and streets for all

• the design of streets will manage speed effectively, limit street clutter and discourage poor parking

• developments will create more opportunities to provide natural features that add visual and sensory experiences along the way

• streets should encourage social interactions and feel safe and comfortable for all

• our streets should be green and provide further flexibility including seating to rest and opportunities for informal play

Healthy and inclusive homes

Our vision is to ensure that homes will be designed to enable people to flourish supporting and enriching all family life within our District. We will create practical homes which can adapt to meet differing needs for all. We will aim to provide comfortable, welcoming places where families can grow and thrive, making lasting memories.

Providing meaningful and high-quality open spaces can help to provide local people with vital green spaces to foster a sense of community and create a focal point for people to gather

• developments will prioritise making best use of land to create thriving communities

• they will provide a flexible mix of uses and indoor and outdoor spaces that meet peoples’ needs and enable them to live a healthy and productive lifestyle

• new developments will create areas of meaningfully varied character through varying housing mix, heights, and streets

• new homes will balance nature, learning, play, and relaxation to balance health and wellbeing

• homes that are adapted or extended will be designed to be respectful of neighbours and the surrounding environment

Attractive places to work

Our district has a proud history of trade and manufacturing, shaped by key transport routes like the M1, M62, A1, significant rail infrastructure and the Aire and Calder Navigation, and the River Calder.

These corridors and routes continue to offer significant opportunities, with new employment allocations to be developed for research, industry, storage, and distribution as well as facilitating access for the local workforce.

Areas such as Normanton industrial estate, Newmarket (and Castlegate), Langthwaite and its extension, City Fields and the significant employment opportunity south of the M62 at Knottingley will all further support our district and local economy.

Our vision is to design these spaces to sit well within the wider landscape and respect their surroundings. Parkland-style campuses, such as Calder Park help showcase how nature and businesses can thrive together as one.

• new developments will provide opportunities for active travel and sustainable methods of transport to support sustainable places

• workplaces will be designed to be welcoming and support healthy behaviours - providing green spaces for exercise opportunities, places to prepare healthy meals and outside areas to sit and rest

• we will prioritise high-quality design for buildings, parking, and service areas, ensuring they look good to passing drivers and nearby communities

• large buildings will balance technical requirements whilst considering scale and how the building is seen within its surroundings

• new natural features and routes will be created to expand and enhance movement corridors for local wildlife