External Environment

2.22 General - The relationship of a housing development to the local natural and built environment is critical in establishing its success. The objective should be to generate a sense of enclosure and identity of place that fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility of the development by the residents, contributing to sustainability of the community. Residents need to feel safe and secure in their local area and have adequate privacy and freedom from noise.

A hierarchy of spaces - will enable the development to be more accessible to both visitors and residents, and enable the transition from public to private zones. The main technical standards for the site layout will be determined by the required or approved housing density, statutory legislation and in agreement with the DOE/DRD Planning/Roads guidance.

Optimising Site Potential - the layout of the scheme should ensure the optimum benefit is obtained for the residents from views, aspect, orientation and sunlight and that natural features, landscaping and buildings contribute to shelter and noise control. Designers should demonstrate best use of the site for energy efficiency and conservation. Environmental factors affect the response to the development by the residents through natural views, good daylighting/sunlight in their homes and well planned and managed external spaces.

The cost of achieving success - in all these areas may not be practical for all homes in a development but an optimum balance should be sought. It is essential in the provision of social housing to optimise dwelling density on sites:

To enable the housing need to be addressed in the most efficient manner;
To take account of the fact that good building land with development potential/permission is becoming more difficult to find;
To take account of sustainability and environmental issues in reducing the amount of land-take and resources required in housing development;
To provide the tenant with a manageable space (private open space) around the dwelling which can be easily maintained;
To avoid large communal open areas which may be difficult to maintain and supervise;
To provide value for money in cost terms (TCI and rent).

2.23 Density in Schemes - Land is a finite resource and Government policy is to make the best use of what is available by promoting sustainable housing developments. Central to this policy is the need to use land efficiently taking into account local circumstances, site location and planning policy objectives such as distances from public transport. It is not possible to apply a common density for all Northern Ireland social housing schemes as this will vary given the type/size of housing proposed and site location / constraints. In practice, there may be some locations, where part of the site is not capable of being developed, or where Planning Service puts a restriction on building or requires some open space to be provided. There may also be density variations due to the house types selected, type of development planned, contours, features, car-parking requirements etc.

In the majority of schemes location is a major factor in determining the scheme cost, and hence, there follows the necessity for the density to ‘match’ the location / cost. For social housing purposes, densities normally range from 35 family Dwellings/ha on semi-rural sites to over 200 Dwellings/ha on inner city sites. To be economically viable, each site must achieve an acceptable density.

Note:

(i) As an example, for General Needs family housing use, Inner City developments – e.g., Brownfield with good local facilities, including good transport links –may need to provide a minimum density of: 55-60 Dw/ha in Belfast City Council Area and 35-55 Dw/ha in other Council Areas to be economically viable.

(ii) If an Association is unable to achieve the required density through the provision of purely social housing, consideration should be given to the building of additional units for sale through, for example, co-ownership. Costs need to be fully apportioned out across any private and public areas.

Further detailed information on density matters can be found at Density & Housing/Planning Issues.

Housing Associations should refer to Density Guidance in requesting support for schemes. More information can be found in the Assessing Housing Need section.

2.24 Landscaping – where appropriate, should make the most of existing features and the selection of materials, components and planting should enhance the development, but with due consideration for durability, low maintenance and security. Environmental impact should be addressed in the use of both soft and hard landscaping within the curtilage of dwellings to foster responsibility for landscaping by the residents.

2.25 Vehicular and Pedestrian Access/Circulation - should be integrated as part of the overall design of the development and appropriate for the residents’ needs in terms of safety, convenience, security and scale. Layout of roads and footpaths will generally have to comply with DOE/DRD (NI) requirements and be adopted by DRD (NI) Roads Service on completion of the works.

2.26 Play and Recreation Areas - responsibility for the provision of children’s play areas belongs with the local City/District Council and contact should be made in this respect in the first instance. Where the need for play and recreation areas has been established it should be appropriate to the long-term needs of the residents, be safe and convenient for use, and not create a nuisance to adjacent dwellings. Provision will normally depend on the number of family dwellings and the proximity of any such public facilities. Responsibility for providing, maintaining and insuring any play areas and equipment provided must be resolved at an early stage of a project.

2.27 Car Parking - should be adequate for the need and be both convenient and secure. Car parking provision should be in accordance with DOE (NI) Planning Service standards applicable to the location and need. Car parking provision:

Will normally be in the form of open hard-standings, immediately adjacent and preferably to the front of dwellings, where there is direct supervision from habitable rooms.
Should preferably be in-curtilage or limited to small communal spaces to discourage parking from other than residents.
Should not compromise defensible space and the impact of in-curtilage parking requires careful consideration to reduce its intrusion into the development.
The use of landscaping and parking areas should be, if possible, directly associated with the dwelling private space.

2.28 Defensible Space - residents need to feel safe in and around their homes and in public areas of the development. It is important to ensure that public areas are suitably related, but clearly delineated from private and semi-private space to create a zone of defensible space over which the resident has both responsibility and control. Also:

Spaces between dwellings should be designed to minimise the amount of public open space and reinforce the feeling of territoriality and personal ownership by the residents.
The area of defensible space will normally be in the form of semi-private and private spaces around all self-contained houses and bungalows.
Rear gardens should be designed to back onto each other for mutual protection and rear access paths/public open spaces should be avoided. Provision of external clothes drying facilities, outside water tap and outside light to be provided as appropriate. In the treatment of boundaries it is essential to provide a clear distinction between private and public space to avoid abuse or vandalism

2.29 Refuse, Fuel and External Storage - refuse and fuel storage should be designed without excessive carrying distances and to the maximum convenience of users and comply with the requirements of Local City/District Council/fuel delivery service. External storage, where provided, should be convenient and secure but, where practicable, be located in an inconspicuous position or integrated with the design of the buildings.

2.30 External Noise Control - the main sources of external noise are: road, air and rail traffic, industry and neighbours. If noise is a problem, action should be taken at the design stage through the layout of the site, design of site features and orientation and design of dwellings to reduce this to acceptable levels. Constructional details are available for noise control, e.g. double glazed units with acoustic ventilators.

Note: sound insulation against traffic and similar noise is provided when a dwelling is subjected to an external noise level (L10) greater than 68 dB (A). The installation is to be such to reduce the internal noise level (L10) with windows closed to less than 50 dB (A). Advice on sound insulation measures is contained in BRE Digests 338 and 379.

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