Draft Papworth Everard Village Design Guide SPD

Varrier-Jones Foundation (VJF) are generally supportive of the Papworth Everard Village Design Guide SPD. It provides for a fuller understanding of the village and provides a common steer for all new development to take into account. There are a number of positive points to note within the Design Guide that we are supportive of including but not limited to the following:

* The aspiration for high quality accessible housing, in line with the legacy of the village.

* The need to bring vacant or derelict sites back into use.

* The recognition of the need to promote future business uses in the village is welcomed. The vacation of Papworth Hospital reinforces the need to review where future employment uses can be provided in the village.

* Improving connectivity throughout the village is key to ensuring the village remains a vibrant and easily accessible place to live.

* The need to protect natural capitalwithin and around the village.

* A unified approach to enhance the character and quality of the village.

We would however suggest an amendment to Figure 10 (Chapter 5), in which 'key views' are shown around the whole village.

The relationship between the village edge and the surrounding countryside should be recognised. The document can guide that any new development should respect the physical and visual connection between the village and the countryside and to enhance that connection where possible, thereby not to have the visual arrows as they are so plentiful that they lose their value.We therefore consider that the arrow signs are removed within Figure 10 and rather the document should utilise the supporting text to be clear that 'New development should respect and create views out into the countryside, or into existing green spaces, wherever possible and enhance the connection between the village and the surrounding countryside'.

Varrier-Jones Foundation (VJF) are generally supportive of the Papworth Everard Village Design Guide SPD. It provides for a fuller understanding of the village and provides a common steer for all new development to take into account. There are a number of positive points to note within the Design Guide that we are supportive of including but not limited to the following:

* The aspiration for high quality accessible housing, in line with the legacy of the village.

* The need to bring vacant or derelict sites back into use.

* The recognition of the need to promote future business uses in the village is welcomed. The vacation of Papworth Hospital reinforces the need to review where future employment uses can be provided in the village.

* Improving connectivity throughout the village is key to ensuring the village remains a vibrant and easily accessible place to live.

* The need to protect natural capitalwithin and around the village.

* A unified approach to enhance the character and quality of the village.

We would however suggest an amendment to Figure 10 (Chapter 5), in which 'key views' are shown around the whole village.

The relationship between the village edge and the surrounding countryside should be recognised. The document can guide that any new development should respect the physical and visual connection between the village and the countryside and to enhance that connection where possible, thereby not to have the visual arrows as they are so plentiful that they lose their value.We therefore consider that the arrow signs are removed within Figure 10 and rather the document should utilise the supporting text to be clear that 'New development should respect and create views out into the countryside, or into existing green spaces, wherever possible and enhance the connection between the village and the surrounding countryside'.