Ebbsfleet’s Design Criteria have been developed to help inform the briefing of designers working on parks projects within Ebbsfleet, whilst helping to improve the efficiency and design performance of the design and consenting process.

The criteria pull together EDC’s design standards and guidance for outdoor space within Ebbsfleet into a single place, to provide a brief for design teams, and an assessment checklist for Ebbsfleet’s planning applications. They will;

1. Provide a consolidated checklist of EDC’s key design requirements

2. Safeguard the delivery of Ebbsfleet’s future parks and ensure a consistent approach to the quality of design.

3. Signpost design teams to the detailed relevant EDC guidance.

4. Improve the efficiency of the design consenting process.

How can the criteria be applied?

The design criteria are applied to all City, Local and Neighbourhood Parks. The design criteria are structured following the nine public realm health-check indicators established in Ebbsfleet’s Public Realm Strategy, ensuring consistency in assessment of all planning applications.

The framework can be used at numerous stages in the design process, from the initial project brief through to the assessment of planning applications, and post completion audits.

The criteria have been developed with the intention of guiding the initial park project brief, ensuring that EDC’s key ambitions for parks and open spaces are set out clearly, whilst helping to manage design consistency, quality and expectation between the applicant and design team. However, once a designer has been appointed the framework can then also be applied as a checklist to inform the design process.

The structure of the framework provides a set of principles and prompts, setting out Ebbsfleet’s design requirements and ensuring the park design delivers against EDC’s wellbeing, biodiversity and sustainable objectives, in addition to creating cohesive and functional spaces.  

The framework should therefore lead to a smoother process between the applicant and design/planning team, as there are a clear set of ambitions and design principles established from the start.

How do the parks criteria relate to the Building with Nature tool & Ebbsfleet’s Public Realm Strategy already established? 

The Park Design Criteria establishes a series of overarching principles that relate specifically to Ebbsfleet’s context and growing community needs. To ensure consistency with how we already assess park design performance the Park Design Criteria has been structured to reflect Ebbsfleet's 9 Public Realm Health-Check Indicators. The key principles from Building with Nature are also incorporated within the design criteria framework, ensuring that all park design related assessments  remain in one place.

The structure of the criteria ensures that the evaluation of the park design criteria can be easily translated into a reporting mechanism.

How will schemes be assessed?

EDC’s planning team will use the criteria below to assess how well the park meets the design performance requirements. 

Compliance with the nine standards will then inform the outcome of the formal Building with Nature report and will also be incorporated into the assessment of category 11 ‘Green & Blue Infrastructure’ within the Building for a Healthy Life design tool, and reported to planning committee.