Design Review Panel

The Torbay Design Review Panel was established in 2008. Creative Torbay and Torbay's Cultural and Environmental Partnership played a major role in bringing the panel to life. It's primary aim to promote the highest possible quality of design in Torbay and to ensure that our built environment matches our stunning natural environment. Whilst it is funded by the council, it is a separate entity and gives independent advice. It has been set up in consultation with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) to ensure it meets with national best practice. The Torbay Panel is chaired by the local authority Design Champion appointed by Torbay Council.

Design Review Panel Role

The Design Panel has been established to provide a forum to promote design excellence offering peer advice to designers and developers in order to promote an enlightened approach and higher quality outcomes. The Design Panel's role is in an advisory capacity to Torbay Council. It has no statutory function. The advice given by the panel will be a material consideration in Torbay Council's statutory planning function in determining planning applications.

What does the Torbay Design Review Panel do?

The TDRP may consider the following design matters: Major development, infrastructure or public realm proposals or other major projects that are located within Torbay and involve significant design considerations; relevant strategic planning, design and transport issues. In certain circumstances, according to the nature of the application items may be referred instead to the  Devon, South West Regional or National review panels.

Who sits on the panel?

There are normally seven panel members. A core group of three including the chair and a secretary will sit at every meeting. Two further specialist panel members from disciplines such as or contemporary architecture, will also sit according to the requirements of the scheme being considered. To ensure independence these panel members will be drawn from respected regional, national and international practices based outside of Torbay. Also two local experts will be drawn from a pool of design professionals based withinTorbay to bring a understanding of the things that make Torbay's built environment so special. The membership of the panel will be reviewed every 12 months.

When and how is panel advice sought and what will it cost?

The Panel sits every 2 months. The chair, a member from the TDRP and the Executive Head of Planning & Development Services will meet on a regular basis to review incoming development proposals and select schemes which they feel could benefit from advice from the panel. There will be no charge for the first visit to the panel. Applicants can request that the Design Panel reviews a scheme more than once. The decision as to whether the item goes to the panel is at the discretion of the chair of the panel in consultation with the Executive Head of Planning & Development Services. In such cases a charge of £500 per review is payable in advance for this service. For particularly large schemes requiring more time, or for urgent cases, it may be possible to convene a special meeting of the Torbay Design Review panel at a cost of £2000 per session, again payable in advance.

Who attends the design review panel?

The following people attend panel meetings:
The Chair, Secretary and Panel Members
Conservation & Design Officer
Scheme Planning Officer
Scheme Architect and Applicant

What happens during a design review panel meeting?

The Panel will have received, a week or more prior to the meeting, information from the applicant describing the scheme and its wider context including an Access & Design Statement. This must be provided in an electronic format so that it can be circulated to panel members ahead of the meeting. This will be accompanied by a summary prepared by the Conservation & Design Officer and the Planning Officer. Site visits normally take place at the beginning of the day if required. The applicant/architect is invited to present the scheme to the panel members. Hard copy drawings and, even better, a 'working' model are the primary means for presenting to the panel, but a laptop and PowerPoint projector will be available and may be used in addition to these. The Chair will identify the key issues raised in the summary and will lead the panel in a discussion with the applicant. At the end of the discussion the Panel Chair closes the open part of the meeting and the applicants retire to allow the Panel members to compile their report. Whilst many issues will have been discussed at the panel meeting, it is the final writtenreport that will be considered as a material consideration in the statutory planning process.

How is the Panel's advice given?

A report based on the panel's comments will be prepared by the Panel's secretary and sent electronically to all attending members to confirm that the report accurately reflects the view of the panel. It will then be sent to Torbay Council approximately one week after the panel meeting. Torbay Council will then circulate the report to the project architect/designer. This information will then be published on our website http://www.torbay.gov.uk/ once a formal planning application is received.

CABE & Further information

For more information please go to the commission for the built environment website (CABE

http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=363
http://www.torbay.gov.uk/index/environment-planning/planning.htm