Comment

Representation ID: 15824

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA)

As part of the Planning Delivery Fund, the Combined Authority were successfully awarded funding to provide strategic support in partnership with Leeds City Region Local Authorities to ensure investment in design quality in development plans. It is in this capacity that the following comments relating to Urban Design are made.

The Combined Authority is supportive of the inclusion of policies relating to urban design. We welcome the ambition to significantly improve quality in housing and neighbourhood design, and to create inclusive, accessible, distinctive and healthy places. Bradford’s high population of children and young people is reflected in policies that prioritise green space, doorstep play and safe routes to play destinations.

Policies could be further strengthened by including welcoming and safe routes to schools as a requirement.

The wording of Policy SP10 (Green Infrastructure) and SP15 (Creating Healthy Places) could be stronger, moving from text such as ‘The Council will seek to...’ to more explicit requirements such as ‘development proposals must show how they will provide...’ and ‘it is expected that developments will...’