ABSTRACT
The mechanisms of design control, guidance and advice are not solely confined to the development plan, and indeed are much more commonly outside it. Whereas the development of design policies in development plans has been very dramatic since 1991, supplementary design guidance has been steadily emerging over the last 25 years, particularly since the passage of the Civic Amenities Act (1967) and the publication of the Essex Design Guide (Essex County Council, 1973). Recent research has shown that two-thirds of authorities have published some form of district-wide guidance (an average of eight or nine items each), while probably significantly more than this have produced development briefs from time to time (Chapman and Larkham, 1992). In fact, until 1991 it could be confidently asserted that vastly more thought and effort had gone into preparing design guidance than into considering design policy at large.
