Trafford has been handed £160k from the government to design its towns, two years after a similar scheme for its villages was thrown out by the council.
Following resident backlash, plans to put a shop-front design scheme in place in Hale and Sale Moor villages were shelved by Trafford council in 2020.
At the time, local groups labelled the plans to introduce a village-wide uniform look as ‘fundamentally flawed’.
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Now, residents are going to be able to get involved in designing their local areas into the future, funded by central government cash.
As part of plans to ‘level up’ communities across the country, Trafford has been awarded £160,000 to help residents set their own standards for design in their local area, which could include everything from architecture and building materials to standards for sustainability and street layout.
Under the proposals, Trafford council is set to produce a borough-wide ‘design code’ to cover the design of 25,000 new homes being delivered in the area.
The design code will be a collection of design principles that will guide local areas to deliver ‘more beautiful, sustainable and liveable places and communities’ – even down to specifying the use of local building materials or deciding the layout of streets.
Housing Minister Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP said: “We want to give local people, including those in Trafford, power over what their neighbourhoods look like and make sure all new developments enhance their surroundings and preserve local character and identity.
“Whether that’s choosing red brick for new buildings in our industrial heartland cities or choosing to set standards for sustainability for new-build homes, our Pathfinder Programme will help turn visions of greener, more beautiful homes and places into standards which developers adhere to.”
The design codes produced in Trafford and other areas of the country are then set to be used as examples that communities across the country can draw on to produce their own, with support from government.
The 25 areas, including Trafford, will share £3 million funding.
The National Model Design Code (NMDC), published last year, will be used to help guide selected local councils and neighbourhood planning groups on important design features such as street character, building type and layout, and use of public space.
