Paragraph 80

Building a new home in the countryside

Andy has been a design review panel member for Design: Midlands for 11 years and has recently become a member of the Design Yorkshire and Sheffield design review panels. Design Review is a respected method of improving the quality of new development by offering constructive, impartial, and expert advice. 

During his time as a panel member Andy has been involved in the review of a range of projects from factory extensions, housing developments to new build “paragraph 80” homes. Although all the projects are interesting and challenging it is these new build houses that Andy find the most inspiring.

What is a Paragraph 80 Home? 

Briefly, a Paragraph 80 home is an isolated new dwelling built in the open countryside that is of exceptional architectural design.

Building an isolated home out on the countryside would be many peoples dream. However, in general the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is written to encourage sustainable development close to existing areas of development, existing services, transport and populations. An isolated country home will struggle to meet these requirements and therefore Local Planning Authorities will generally resist and refuse such proposals.

However, within the NPPF special circumstance are set out that allow new isolated homes to be built in the countryside, subject to certain requirements. Until recently homes built in the open countryside were nicknamed “Paragraph 55” or more recently “Paragraph 79” houses after the section in the original NPPFs published in 2012 and 2018 that described the requirements that a design would need to meet.

In July 2021 the government published its revised National Planning Policy Framework - the 'NPPF 2021'.  The section that now contains the policy for new houses of exception design quality of design in the countryside is paragraph 80. Now any proposed design needs to be reviewed against the following criteria:

80. Planning policies and decisions should avoid the development of isolated homes in the countryside unless one or more of the following circumstances apply:

(a) there is an essential need for a rural worker, including those taking majority control of a farm business, to live permanently at or near their place of work in the countryside;

(b) the development would represent the optimal viable use of a heritage asset or would be appropriate enabling development to secure the future of heritage assets;

(c) the development would re-use redundant or disused buildings and enhance its immediate setting;

(d) the development would involve the subdivision of an existing residential building; or

(e) the design is of exceptional quality, in that it:

• is truly outstanding, reflecting the highest standards in architecture, and would help to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas; and

• would significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.

As can be seen, there are 5 criteria that can be considered if you want a home in the countryside. However, it is proposals that look to meet the criteria “e” that are often taken to design review.

There was a subtle change in the wording of criteria “e” that has had an impact on how new homes looking to meet the requirements of paragraph 80 are viewed. The old paragraph 79 stated that designs would need to reach the bar of being either “truly outstanding or innovative”. Now the reference to innovation has been removed. This may be an attempt to move away from schemes that relied heavily on technical innovation to try to meet the design requirements sometimes at the cost of other key areas of the design being found wanting. It may also be a reflection that the “innovative” houses of 10+ years ago that met Passivhaus certification or used on site power production technologies are now no longer outliers and that houses that meet high levels of sustainability and environmental performance are expected in all cases. Therefore, recently it was becoming harder to pull your design away from the crowd and demonstrate true innovation. Our view though is not that the need for innovation is now no longer a requirement only that there is now an assumption that for a design to be truly outstanding there will be a strong theme of innovation within the narrative that will include the highest standards of sustainability.

So how can the criteria be met?

As you can see, section “e” in the new paragraph 80 of the NPPF is far from straight forward and describes four or five parameters (we’ll argue five) that need to be met to successfully apply for a new build home in the open county side.

Truly Outstanding – so not just good or even excellent, but utterly brilliant! At a design review the panel would be looking for an exceptional design.

Significantly enhance its immediate setting – the first of two criteria that look to address the site and locality of the design. With most developments, it will be the aim of the architects and planners that the design does not, on balance, harm the site or local area. The quality of design required for a paragraph 80 home means that the site and locality should be improved by the addition of the design – it’s better than it was before and make the most of the site characteristics.

Be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area – the second of the site and locality criteria requires that the design is site specific and fully understands what makes the site and local area special and explicitly of that place. To get a project over the line for these latter two criteria a detailed understanding of the immediate and wider local area is needed. This may include but not be limited to its history, geology, biodiversity, ecology, hydrology, farming methods, soil type, social history, climate, views, movement of people etc - anything and everything needed to establish an understanding of “place.”

Reflect the highest standards in architecture and would help to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas - we have taken this out of order as it appears in the criteria listing as it sums up all the other criteria. What this criterion does underline is how high the bar is set to achieve the quality of the design necessary. However, if the design has met all the criteria above it should be well on the way of achieving this level. Do note the stress on “rural areas”. Our countryside is under a number of economic and environmental pressures and how designs can look to be part of a view of the future of our countryside is important.

One part of the wording of paragraph 80 that has led to a lot of discussion and interpretation is the term “isolated” including in the High Court and Court of Appeal. Paragraph 80 sets out the criteria for isolated homes in the countryside. But before asking whether any of the criteria can be met it is important to establish that the house or site is truly isolated. Each project needs to be taken on a case-by-case basis and a detailed site investigation should be carried out and discussed with the local authority at an early stage. However, in very general terms the following should be considered:

·        whether or not it is located within the settlement boundary.

·        proximity to other dwellings.

·        proximity to local services and facilities.

·        access to public transport services.

·        physical and visual separation from the settlement.

So how do successful designs meet these needs? Through his role in design review, Andy has been privileged to study and critique a range of house designs and approaches that have been successful and unsuccessful in obtaining permission. From this we have been able to start to make our own conclusions on how Thread would approach a paragraph 80 home design.

The right site

Although there are many important elements and considerations in a successful design there is one that overarches all the others – the site. In simplest terms, for a design to be exceptional, the site must also be exceptional. It is the one element of the design that can not be changed. At the earliest stage of a project a site appraisal should be undertaken to ascertain whether a given site has the potential to become an outstanding location of an exceptional design. Thread Architects, in conjunction with other qualified and experienced partners are able to offer this service to enable your design.

Strong narratives

The most successful schemes embrace two narratives within their designs – these are the narratives of the site and of the client.

The narrative of the site comes from a full understanding of what makes it special and distinct. To discover this narrative all characteristics of the site must be analysed. This could include the history, geology, use, orientation, views, movements, topography, ecology and arboriculture characteristics to name but a few. There may also be stories about the site from the Client or that are locally known that can be recorded. The important consideration is to keep an open mind and not exclude anything found too early in the process but then to hone down and identify what are the important characteristics

The narrative of the Client is of equal importance and may require as much effort to understand. Although the usual brief is important such as the number of bedrooms, living rooms etc, the understanding must go deeper than that.  The most successful schemes contain a thorough and detailed description of how the Client wishes to live on and be part of the site. The Client must have a special and individual bond with the site. This could be a direct relationship with the Client wishing to make a living on the site (such as a small holding) or a clear link between how the Client wants to move around and live on the site and the nature of the spaces and connections to the landscape that are possible.

The important aspect is that these two narratives are then intertwined and inseparable so that the final design could only be created on a one site for one Client – one narrative. How does the nature of the site and how this links with how the Client wishes to life make them a perfect match?

The final design must be a home that could only be created from one site for one Client and would not work anywhere else for anyone else. Both the design team and Client must buy into this. In fact, the Client must be an integral part of the design team.

The right team

There is a very important other consideration that needs to be part of the narrative will have a huge impact on whether a project will be successful or not – the right team. Each project will be different depending on the site and brief. However, the majority of design teams will include at least an architect and landscape architect. When choosing the right team you should consider three things:

·        Do they have the knowledge and or experience the project needs – have they completed similar projects (not necessarily paragraph 80) or have the skill sets needed?

·        Do they “get” you and your ideas – are they going to be able to integrate themselves into your narrative and be as excited as you?

·        Do you get on? Working on a successful paragraph 80 project requires a lot of hours or work, commitment, stress and time talking (about good news and bad). As Client you are an integral part of the team and you need to feel you will be able to work with your team for the months of time the process may take.

Avoid a tick list approach – Integration is key

The description of the narratives above starts to show how interwoven the design should be. This should continue to be the case for all elements of the design. It is tempting when presented with a list of criteria to attempt to tick each off as a separate element and approach. However, once the narrative has been identified every idea that is part of the project’s development should be integrated into the narrative. This can mean that, as the designer, a strong editing process must be adopted as if the idea does not fit the narrative it should not be included. This is where the innovation required for the project can grow from rather than be bolted-on or added meaninglessly at a later moment. The innovation can come from the form, materials, structure, layout, performance or integration of the design and should completely buy in to the larger idea of what the design is, what the design’s heart is.

Show your working

As all good school pupils will know, almost as important as getting the right answer, it is crucial that design team record and illustrate the method of how they got there. This is important for several reasons:

·        It allows the design team to reflect on and check their process to ensure that there is a clarity of thought and process;

·        It allows the Client to understand and reflect on the design and be an active part of the development;

·        It allows the planners, design review panel, planning committee or whoever needs to judge the design from outside the design team and Client group to buy into the process and design.

Conclusion

So, although the criteria for a successful paragraph 80 house is onerous and the quality of design bar set high our conclusion is that the best approach to the design is, as any design, one of clarity that stems from an in depth understanding of the site and the Client. This requires a shared ownership and authorship of the design by all members of the design team, be that architect or Client. Together you and your team are looking to create an extraordinary home that is utterly unique – a collaboration between the client and Design Team that is an integral part of the site’s “place”- a home that if put anywhere else for any other client would just not work. This is therefore how Thread looks to develop any of their designs and would do the same if presented with the opportunity to work on a house in the open countryside.