Charnwood Borough Council is interested to know what you think about buildings, streets and public spaces across the borough.

The Council’s emerging Local Plan sets out various policies for how our communities will grow and change over the coming years. As part of the Local Plan, the Council have committed to producing a ‘Design Code’.

What is a Design Code?

Design Codes are a way for local planning authorities to set design quality expectations of new developments. The easiest way to think of a design code is to think about the Highway Code. The Highway Code sets out instructions to road and street users, such as “you must drive on the left”. A Design Code sets out design instructions to developers and others looking to obtain planning permission.

The government requires local planning authorities to create their own design codes, and it anticipates that design codes will improve the quality of new developments whilst also helping to speed up the planning process.  

The first stage of producing a design code is to engage local communities and other stakeholders to discover what people like, what people don’t like and what people think could be better in terms of the design of streets, buildings and other public spaces.

To do this, we have a dedicated website where anyone can share their thoughts and ideas. The website allows you to drop a ‘pin’, make some comments and (should you wish to) add a photograph.

To make your contribution, visit www.shapingcharnwood.co.uk before 30 April 2025.

An instructional video on how to use the website can be found below:

Drop-in sessions on Thursday, 17 April 2025

We are hosting two drop-in sessions on Thursday, 17 April at the following times and locations:

  • 10am until 1pm – Sock Gallery @ Loughborough Town Hall, 39-40 Market Place, Loughborough LE11 3EB
  • 3pm until 5pm – Brookside Suite @ Syston Town Council, Community Centre, School Street, Syston, LE7 1HN

The drop-in sessions are a great opportunity to use the website, talk to officers, share your thoughts about buildings and places and learn more about the Design Code.

If you are unable to use the website or require additional support for any reason, we recommend visiting one of the drop-in sessions.

When will we see the Design Code?

The first stage of the project is to understand what people think about streets, public spaces and buildings from the website and drop-in sessions.

A draft Design Code is expected to be published in 2026.

Last updated: Tue 11th March, 2025 @ 09:23