Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet endorses Luddington Village Design Statement  

Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet has endorsed the Luddington Village Design Statement (VDS) as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications.  

The VDS has been prepared by a team of volunteers working on behalf of the community and Luddington Parish Council.  It sets out key design principles that the District Council should use to inform decisions in respect of planning applications for new development.  

Cllr Daren Pemberton, Planning and Building Services Portfolio says: "The Luddington VDS is a very useful reference source on local character, history and design for the local community, District Council and all those involved in the planning process.  It will now provide very useful guidance when considering future planning applications."


Village Design Statements (VDS) emerged from work by the Countryside Commission (now Natural England) in 1993. They are intended to provide a context for new development, based on local character and sense of place.

A VDS should provide a clear statement of the character of a particular village, against which planning applications may be assessed.

A VDS should:
Be developed, researched, written and edited by local people.
Be representative of the views of the village as a whole, and involve a wide section of the village community in its production.
Describe the visual character of the village and demonstrate how local character and distinctiveness can be protected and enhanced in new development.
Be compatible with statutory planning system and local policies.
Be about managing change in the village, not preventing it.