Dover

Dover district is located on Kent’s east coast at the narrowest point along the English Channel. It covers an area of 320 square kilometres and has 32 kilometres of coastline. There are two main urban areas – Dover with its ports in the south and Deal to the east. Dover district enjoys spectacular landscapes and coastlines including Kent’s only stretches of heritage coast and an extensive area of chalk grassland AONB. It also enjoys a particularly significant archaeological and historical heritage of national and international importance including the Dover Castle complex, and other defensive sites along the White Cliffs, the mediaeval town of Sandwich, and the Roman fort at Richborough – where the Romans first landed in Britain. The emerging Dover District Local Plan aims to support and strengthen these natural and built assets through thoughtful expansion and good design.

Place making and high quality design

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that the creation of high quality buildings and places is fundamental to what the planning and development process should achieve. Good quality, inclusive design is essential in creating and maintaining places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. Good design is not just about making places visually attractive. It has a fundamental role in achieving sustainable development, helping to create flourishing economies and diverse, vibrant and attractive local communities.

Dover District Council:

• Delivers development that achieves design excellence, that is of the right type, and in the right location, and that adds to the existing high quality natural and built environment.
• Will produce a local design guide to provide clarity over what constitutes acceptable design quality for different parts of the district, and thereby provide a level of certainty for developers and the local community alike.
• Forms Dover’s place making policy which will address design considerations through key themes of context and identity, built form, movement, nature, public spaces, uses and lifespan (of buildings and places).

The district contains many established, attractive areas which are highly valued by residents and which are worthy of protection. Where there is capacity to accommodate new development in many parts of the district, it should only occur where proposals are of a scale, density and design that would not cause damage to the qualities, character and amenity of the areas in which they are situated. Such development will need to provide attractive high quality buildings and public realm that positively contributes to its area, in accordance with good urban design principles. Where appropriate, the use of contemporary or modern architecture and design will be embraced, and innovation will be supported.

Where significant design implications are identified on major proposals these will be referred to a design review panel.

To translate Dover’s emphasis on design into delivery and meaningful change, a strategic sites and place team has been created to oversee major development proposals on an ongoing basis.

Scroll down for examples of good design in Dover District

Ness Point, St Margaret’s Bay; Tonkin Liu (above)

A RIBA house of the year finalist, which takes its form, let alone influence, literally from the iconic Dover landscape in which it is located.

Image Credits: Darren Bridgett, Dover District Council, and Nick Guttridge

Buckland Mill, Dover (above)

Regeneration of the former paper mill, once a key employer in Dover, with sympathetic conversion, and new build elements, to provide residential and commercial uses, and retain a part of the Dover story.

Image Credit: Darren Bridgett, Dover District Council