-
A
- Access: The point(s) of vehicular or pedestrian entry/exit to a site.
- Active Frontage: The interface between buildings and streets is characterised by multiple entrances and windows, which allows interaction between public realm and the premises facing the street.
- Amenity Space: External space for recreational purposes.
-
B
- Biodiversity metric: A biodiversity metric is a calculator which quantifies the existing biodiversity value of a site and compares it to the likely biodiversity value after an intervention (land management, building works, etc.). Biodiversity metrics are used to demonstrate whether developments can achieve a biodiversity net gain.
- Biodiversity mitigation hierarchy: First, avoid adverse ecological impacts wherever possible. Then, mitigate impacts that are unavoidable. As a last resort, compensate for residual impacts which cannot be avoided or mitigated.
- Block: A form of development where the perimeter is defined by streets.
- Botanical surveys: When early investigations suggest that a valuable habitat or rare plant species may be present on a development site it’s often necessary to complete a more detailed botanical assessment. This may take the form of specific surveys to detect a particular species or species group or it may be appropriate to use the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) survey technique to obtain an accurate picture of plant communities.
- Building Line: The line defined by the frontages of buildings along a street or road.
- Building Interface: The area between the back of foot way on the street and the building line.
- Built Form: Buildings and structures.
- Bulk: The combined effect of volume and shape of a building or group of buildings. Also called massing.
-
C
- Character: The combination of features of a building or a place that give it a distinctive identity.
- Character Area: An area with distinct and recognisable pattern of elements that occur consistently to give the area a distinctive identity.
- Character Study: A process of analysis to determine the elements and features that contribute to the unique character of a place.
- Conservation Area: An area that has been designated as having special architectural or historical interest.
- Consoles: Type of bracket or corbel, particularly one with a scroll-shaped profile: usually an ogee (S or inverted S curve) or double-ogee terminating in volutes (spirals) above and below. A console projects about one-half its height or less to support a windowhead, cornice, shelf, or sculpture.
- Context: The physical setting for a development.
- Contextual analysis: The process of gathering information to understand a place.
- Cul-de-sac/private drive layouts: Streets that are closed at one end, also known as no-through roads.
-
D
- Datum line: A line to which dimensions are referred on engineering drawings, and from which measurements are calculated.
- Density: A measure of the number of dwellings or people per hectare.
- Design: The creative process of making spaces and places.
- Design and Access Statement: A document that sets out the design approach proposed for a development. The document will also address any site constraints and opportunities
- Design Code: A set of illustrated design rules and requirements, which instruct and advise on the physical development of a site or area. The graphic and written components of the code are detailed and precise, and building upon a design vision such as a masterplan or other design and development framework for a site or area.
- Design Guidance: Documents that provide guidance on the appearance of development in a given area.
- Design Principle: A statement that summarises design guidance.
- Design Review: The Design Review process is a well-established way of improving the quality of design of developments and it is recognised in the National Planning Policy Framework. This is essentially a means for reviewing schemes with an independent, multi-disciplinary panel of built environment experts. Schemes can be reviewed at all stages of the planning application process but the ideal time for a review is at the concept/pre-application stage to benefit most from the review, adding value to the design. There are existing Design Review panels who could provide this service. Please contact the Council for more information.
- Drawing trail: An itemised list of drawings required for a development proposal.
-
E
-
F
- Façade: The external face of a building or group of buildings that face the public realm.
- Fenestration: The placement of windows on the exterior of a building.
- Figure ground diagram: Two-dimensional map of a settlement that shows the relationship between built and unbuilt space. It is used in analysis of urban design and planning.
- Focal point: A point of interest which makes a place unique and memorable in the public realm.
- Footprint: The 2 dimensional shape created by a building or group of buildings on the ground.
- Form: The physical appearance of a development – its 3-dimensional shape.
-
G
- Grain: The general shape and direction of building footprints.
- Green and blue infrastructure: All the natural features such as landscape and water.
- Green infrastructure (GI): Green Infrastructure (GI) is a planned and managed network of multifunctional green spaces which can provide a healthy and rich environment. These can include: allotments, gardens, including communal green spaces within housing areas, green corridors, brownfield and greenfield sites, urban parks and gardens, registered commons, village and town greens, children’s play space, natural and semi-natural habitat for wildlife, playing fields, cemeteries, pocket parks, country parks, woodland, nature reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Scheduled Monuments. It is a multifunctional landscape that incorporates the widest range of functions an open space can support to unlock the greatest number of benefits.
-
H
- Habitable rooms: Any room that is used for living and/or eating, cooking or sleeping. Enclosed spaces such as bath or toilet facilities, service rooms, corridors, laundries, hallways and utility rooms are excluded from this definition.
- Heritage assets: A range of geographical components of the historic environment which have been positively identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. These include listed buildings; old buildings that are not listed but still have local historical importance; scheduled monuments; war memorials; historic wreck sites; parks; historic gardens; conservation areas, archaeological sites and so on.
- Hierarchy: A logical sequence of spaces, streets or building forms, increasing or decreasing in size or density throughout a development.
-
I
-
J
-
K
-
L
- Landmark: A building or structure that stands out from surrounding buildings.
- Landscape appraisal: This is the consideration of the physical aspects of the site in order to identify key constraints and opportunities.
- Landscape character: The distinct and recognisable pattern of elements and features in the landscape that makes one landscape different from another.
- Landscape strategy: Includes the features to be retained on site, their intended function including public usage and the proposed height of vegetation including hedgerows.
- Landscape structure: This incorporates existing landscape features and provides new ones to enhance and integrate the development and mitigate impacts.
- Layout: The arrangement of buildings, streets and spaces in a development.
- Legibility: The degree to which a place can be easily comprehended by its users so that navigation through that space is easily achieved.
- Local distinctiveness: Similar to character – the features that define an area or development.
-
M
- Massing: The volume of a building or group of buildings.
- Masterplan: An evolving plan that establishes the framework and key elements of a site including routes, spaces, uses and so on.
- Mixed-use: The combination of complementary uses within a building, site or area.
- Movement: The passage of people and vehicles through buildings, places and spaces.
- Movement network: The term “movement networks” refers to the physical infrastructures that allow people to navigate between land uses or destinations.
-
N
-
O
-
P
- Passive surveillance: The monitoring of public space through the placement of buildings and activities in such a way as to maximise visibility and foster positive social interaction.
- Perimeter Blocks: Development blocks where buildings front onto streets and spaces and back onto rear gardens.
- Permeable: Easy to move through.
- Permeability: The degree to which a residential development can be penetrated by foot, cycle and vehicle and the connectivity of the development to adjacent developments.
- Pilasters: A rectangular column, especially one projecting from a wall.
- Place: A space in the built environment that has some meaning for people due to the activities and uses which characterise the space, or the quality of the space itself.
- Place-identity: Refers to a cluster of ideas about a place and identity in the fields of geography, urban planning, urban design and landscape architecture. Place-identity is sometimes called urban character, neighbourhood character or local character. It refers to the meaning and significance of places for their inhabitants and users.
- Placemaking: Creating the physical conditions that residents find attractive, safe, neighbourly and legible.
- Public Art: Public Art is complementary to good urban and building design, as part of social investment in new housing, the design and use of community and public spaces. Public art can be anything physical, that is made by a professional artist or crafts person, is bespoke and of high quality. Public art can be a stand-alone work of art (a sculpture or statue) or other artistic representation including or integrated within street furniture, paving, hard and soft landscaping or architectural detailing.
- Public realm: Any publicly owned streets, pathways, rights of way, parks, publicly accessible open spaces and any public and civic buildings and facilities.
- Public and private space: Private space might be described as space that is owned and maintained by a single individual, family or institution. Public space is space which is not only in the public domain but in public ownership. Space, that is, which is assigned to and maintained by the community, whether in the form of the parish, the town, or the city.
-
Q
-
R
- Root Protection Area: A minimum area around a tree deemed to contain sufficient roots and rooting volume to maintain the tree’s viability and where the protection of the roots and soil structure is treated as a priority.
- Rooting/soil volume: The amount of soil available to a newly planted tree. e.g. for a tree to reach its growth potential it will need to have access to sufficient volumes of soil. For a larger tree species such as an Oak you will need to provide at least 25m3 of soil in a form usable for the tree.
-
S
- Scale: The size of a building relative to neighbouring buildings.
- Science Vale UK: Science Vale UK (not to be confused with Vale of the White Horse) is a significant area of economic growth and is a global hotspot for enterprise and innovation. Spread across the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts, it is home to a significant proportion of the region’s scientific, research and development, and high technology businesses.
- Sense of place: A property of space with strong identity and character that is deeply felt by local inhabitants and visitors.
- Space: Abstract term referring to a location that has not had a specific human value or purpose attached to it. This is as opposed to a ‘place’ which has an identifiable character, or a ‘location’ which has geometrical certainty. An area of land which is not occupied by buildings.
- Street furniture: This includes street signs, posts, lighting columns, seating and items that are placed within streets and spaces.
- Street hierarchy: The order or ranking of a street within a development. A standard hierarchy normally contains the following: primary street, secondary street, tertiary street.
- Streetscape: The character and appearance of the street environment.
- Sun path/angle diagram: Sun path diagrams are able to show you how the sun will impact your site and building throughout the year.
- Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): A more natural way of draining surface water from a site than routing the water through a pipe to a watercourse.
-
T
- Townscape: The overall effects of the combination of buildings, spaces views and features (the urban equivalent of landscape).
- Termination, terminated view: A building or other feature which is placed at the end of a view down a street or square, to aid enclosure or provide a landmark.
- Topography: A description of the shape of the land.
- Tree Pit: A site specific planting pit design that will provide suitable growing conditions for a tree to be planted and become established, and in time grow to maturity. It should provide sufficient volume of soil in an oxygenated, hydrated and uncompacted form to promote healthy root establishment. The design of a tree pit will very much depend on the planting environment e.g in soft open ground, or within a hard surfaced area.
-
U
- Urban Design: The process of making places, incorporating the design of buildings, spaces and details.
- Urban Grain: The pattern development in a settlement.
- Use Class Order: Most land and buildings in England are categorised depending on their purpose or use and these categories are set out by the use class order.
-
V
-
W
-
X
-
Y
-
Z
-
Other