This week we delivered the first of a series of Design Surgeries for Mole Valley District Council to help the development management team to assess the quality of applications across the borough. The surgeries were preceded by a training event for the officers to explore the meaning of good design and the relationship between design and planning, focussing in particular in this case on design considerations within the context of Dorking town centre’s Conservation Area.
Design Surgeries are an effective way of strengthening internal capacity, enabling efficient and effective development management and supporting officers’ confidence and understanding of good design. Surgeries generally last four hours, during which five or six schemes are reviewed and written notes provided. If you are interested in DSE delivering Design Surgeries on an ad-hoc or more regular basis, please contact David Tittle, Head of Design Advice at david@designsoutheast.org.
