South Kesteven Design Code Draft

Glossary

Active frontage: Ground floor uses that create interest and activity.

Active travel: Making journeys in a physically active way e.g. walking and cycling.

Adopted highway: A road or path that is publicly maintained by the local highway authority (Cheshire West and Chester).

Adoption: The process by which land for open space, landscaping or highway use is transferred to a local authority to maintain.

Air quality: Term used to describe the levels of pollution in the air. Higher levels of pollution lead to lower air quality.

Area type: Parts of the local area that share common features and characteristics. Common rules and parameters can then be applied to each area type.

Bay window: A window structure that projects outward from the main walls of a building, forming a bay in the interior space. Often used to increase natural light and provide panoramic views.

Best Practice: an example of an agreed best solution, Verb: to pursue the best approach.

Biodiversity: Effectively it is synonymous with the term “variety of wildlife” where wildlife means all plants and animals.

Biodiversity Net Gain: The natural environment is measurably improved in terms of ecological value.

Blocks: A group of buildings, or area, enclosed by streets.

Blue-green corridors: Networks of water (blue) and vegetated (green) spaces that enhance biodiversity, climate resilience, and connectivity.

Borough wide design code: A high level code that applies across the whole borough, rather than a specific development site or area. The code sets design parameters and rules to guide development, often with legal weight in the planning process.

Build outs: A raised section with kerbs built out into the carriageway to narrow it or demarcate parking. Normally contains trees, planting and / or street furniture.

Building line: The building line is created by the primary front face of buildings along a street and is a key element of design codes.

Built Form: This is the main issue that varies by area type referring to density, grain, building line and height.

Car Club: A pool of cars that people and businesses can pay to use on a per trip basis.

Carriageway: The section of a street surface used mainly for vehicle movement.

Casement windows: Attached to the frame by one or more side or top hinges, opening outward or inward like a door.

Central island: A raised section with kerbs in the middle of the carriageway, narrowing driving lanes over a short distance.

Character: The unique qualities that define the look and feel of a building or area. This includes architectural style, materials, size, and how buildings relate to each other and their surroundings.

Chicane: The use of staggered build outs to introduce horizontal deflection in longer straight sections of roads. Can be used in one-way or two-way configurations.

Cladding: A material applied to the external surfaces of buildings to provide insulation, weather resistance or decorative finish. Common materials include timber, brick slips, metal, or stone.

Compliance checklist: A tool used to assess whether a proposal aligns with the mandatory and recommended design requirements of a design code.

Connectivity: In relation to transport, this means the effectiveness of the transport network at getting people from one location to another.

Contraflow cycling: Cycle lane provision that allows cyclists to travel against the direction of one-way vehicle traffic.

Density: How many homes there are in a given area. Often expressed as dwellings (homes) per hectare.

Design principle: One of the basic design ideas at the heart of an urban design framework, design guide, development brief or a development.

Design vehicle: A standard-sized vehicle used in tracking analysis to test road layout and turning space (e.g. refuse truck or fire engine).

Desire Line: An imaginary line linking facilities or places that people would find it convenient to travel along.

Dropped kerb: A lowered section of kerb allowing easier access for wheelchairs, prams, and pedestrians.

E-bike: A cycle with an electric battery to assist or replace pedalling.

E-scooters: A scooter with an electric motor which propels it forward.

Edge friction: Features on the edge of a carriageway, such as on street parking or street trees, that encourage slower speeds by making it uncomfortable to drive at higher speeds.

Electric Vehicle (EV): EVs are vehicles that are powered by electricity, usually with a battery. EV chargers can also charge Plug-in hybrid vehicles which have both internal combustion and electric motors.

Enclosure: The use of buildings, trees and hedges to create a sense of defined space. Enclosure ratio refers to the width of the street in comparison to the height of the buildings.

Feature tree: A tree selected for its distinctive appearance, seasonal interest, or landmark function in the public realm.

Footpath: The section of the street primarily for pedestrians and wheelchairs.

Forward visibility: The distance at which a driver has a clear view ahead. Reducing forward visibility helps reduce driving speed.

Ginnel: A narrow pedestrian alley, often between buildings, used to increase walkability and permeability in neighbourhoods.

Hedgehog highways: Openings in fences or walls allowing hedgehogs and other small wildlife to move between green spaces.

Horizonal deflections: Measures that alter the line of the carriageway over a short distance, such as narrowing or chicanes.

Kerbs: The raised edge of a pavement or other feature. Normally delineates vehicle and pedestrian areas of the street.

Landmark buildings: A building or structure that stands out from its background by virtue of height, size or some other aspect of design.

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA): A technical study assessing the visual and landscape effects of a development proposal.

Last Mile: The last leg of a journey, either for a person or goods being delivered.

Layout: The way buildings, routes and open spaces are placed in relation to each other.

Legibility: The degree to which a place can be easily understood and moved through.

Local distinctiveness: The positive features of a place and its communities which contribute to its unique character and sense of place.

Mixed-use: A mix of uses, usually complimentary, within a building, on a site or within a neighbourhood. ‘Horizontal’ mixed uses are side by side, usually in different buildings. ‘Vertical’ mixed uses are on different floors of the same building.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS): A system through which people can access information, plan and pay for their journeys in one simple place e.g. on a mobile app. This app can cover multiple different ways to travel e.g. bus, rail, cycling and car share.

Mobility Hub: A high quality, accessible space bringing together access to different modes of transport.

Modal filter: A street which prevents some vehicles, often private cars, from driving through whilst allowing pedestrians, cycles and other users.

Mode Shift: A change in the way people travel for a specific journey. For example, from a car to a bus.

National Model Design Code (NMDC): A national framework providing structured guidance on the design of new development, forming the basis for local design codes.

Neighbourhood: Within a town or city, an area of distinct character usually on a scale that makes internal movement easy for pedestrians.

Neighbourhood Plan: A community-led planning document guiding development in a local area, often including design guidance or codes.

Nodes: Points at which routes for public transport and other modes of movement intersect. Places where activity and routes are concentrated. Often used as a synonym for a junction.

On-curtilage parking: Parking within a building’s site boundary, rather than on a public street or space.

Pavement: The section of the highway reserved for pedestrians only, also known as the footway.

Permeability (streets): The degree to which an area has a variety of pleasant, convenient and safe routes through it.

Pilaster: A shallow, rectangular column that projects slightly from a wall, giving the appearance of a supporting column but primarily decorative. Often used in classical and traditional architecture.

Plot frontage: The boundary between a plot or building and the public street.

PROW (Public right of way): A legally protected path that members of the public have the right to use, even if across private land, such as footpaths and bridlepaths.

Public realm: This is the space between and within buildings that is publicly accessible, including streets, squares, forecourts, parks and open spaces.

Public Space: The character of each type of street will vary by area type.

Rain garden: Shallow vegetation designed to intercept and filter surface water runoff.

Red line boundary: The defined boundary of a development site shown on a plan, used in planning applications.

Render: A coating applied to external or internal walls, typically made from cement, lime or modern synthetic materials. It provides a smooth or textured surface and protects masonry from the elements.

Right tree, right place: A principle promoting the planting of trees appropriate to site conditions for long-term success and low maintenance.

Rumble strips: A section of rough surfacing that alerts drivers through vibrations when driven over at speed.

Sash window: A traditional window type made of one or more movable panels (sashes) that slide vertically (or occasionally horizontally). Common in Georgian and Victorian architecture.

Scale: Scale is the height, width and length of each building proposed within a development in relation to its surroundings.

Setback: The distance that buildings are set back from the edge of the highway (usually the back of pavement).

Speed cushion: A speed hump that doesn't cover the full width of a lane. These are normally wider than the wheel base of a standard car, but narrower than a bus and other wide vehicles.

Stonework: The use of stone as a primary construction or facing material. It includes rubble, ashlar and dressed stone and is often associated with local vernacular architecture.

Street furniture: The collective name used for all furniture, fittings and objects in the external areas of buildings, landscapes and streets for the benefit of the public. This can include benches, post boxes, cycle stands, traffic lights, street lamps, traffic signs, outdoor sculptures, and waste bins that are seen on the street.

Street hierarchy: The classification of streets based on function and traffic, ranging from primary to tertiary routes.

Street typology plan: A required plan showing the proposed street types in a development, aligned with the design code's hierarchy.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): SuDS are designed to manage rainwater and surface runoff. This can include permeable surfaces, green roofs, retention ponds and raingardens.

Sustainable Transport: Forms of transport that have a low impact on the environment.

Tactile paving: Textured paving designed to assist visually impaired pedestrians in identifying crossing points and hazards.

Tilt/turn windows: Versatile, European-style windows that open in two ways via a single handle: tilting inward from the top for secure, draft-free ventilation, or swinging wide open from the side like a casement window.

Timber: Wood that has been processed for use in construction, either structurally (e.g. beams, joists) or as a decorative material (e.g. cladding, window frames, joinery).

Traffic calming: Self enforcing street design characteristics which encourage slow and considering driving and improve the experience for other street users.

Vertical deflections: Changes in the height of the carriageway over a short distance, such as speed humps.

Vision-led approach: A planning methodology required by the NPPF that begins with a desired outcome for people and place, shaping development to meet these goals.

Wheeling: Wheeling refers to use of wheeled mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walking frames. It also includes prams, buggies and other modes of transport which may travel on footways.

Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV): A map showing areas from which a development is theoretically visible, based on topography and line of sight.