We were commissioned to produce a new design code for Great Yarmouth Borough Council as part of their Local Plan review, and in response to issues with design quality in the borough. The Design Code was adopted in February 2024 as a Supplementary Planning Document.

Great Yarmouth has a huge range of character areas, from the remnants of the extraordinary 'rows' in the town centre, to large post-war estates, plotlands, historic villages, industry and holiday parks. Careful consideration for the borough's unique heritage and environmental conditions was our starting point in creating a design framework for future development. We worked with a wide range of stakeholders and local groups to understand their perspectives on the borough's built and natural landscapes; and the common problems with development proposals that are brought forward in the area. In particular there was a focus on street design and the integration of SuDS and trees with development.

The new Design Code is clear, practical and easy to use by all audiences. As always, we were careful to supplement rather than supplant other policy and guidance, and to create a structure that is simple to update and evolve through feedback and as national and local policy is updated. We focused the code detail on sites and areas where there is likelihood of significant change in the future and where current policy and guidance is lacking.

We developed clear graphics, including typical street cross-sections and illustrations of a wide range of different locally specific design challenges, along with use of plentiful photography of the local area and illustrations of best practice from both Norfolk and further afield.