Shopfront Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document consultation (phase two)

Background

We are passionate about our heritage in County Durham and this draft SPD sets out guidance to promote good shopfront design, restoration, and refurbishment especially for historic buildings and in conservation areas. It supports a range of policies in the County Durham Plan (CDP) which provides a framework for new planning developments and helps to assess planning applications.

What the SPD includes

It covers:

• principles to ensure good design and how best to incorporate signage including corporate logos, canopies, lighting, maintenance and security
• key elements of shopfront design
• advice on planning requirements

Key proposed changes

The initial draft of the SPD was generally supported by those who responded in the first round of consultation. Nevertheless some valuable feedback was received and a number of changes have been made to the document, for example around modern shopfronts, shutters, and  encouraging retention and restoration over replacement and adding further examples of 'good' design to show what can be achieved.

Read the updated Objective: Shopfront Design SPD.

Have your say

What happens next

Responses to the consultation will be considered in drafting a final version of the SPD. Once approved, the SPD will be adopted and will be used to provide guidance on changes to shopfronts and help to assess planning applications.