7 Cross-cutting issues G Housing design standards such as bedrooms and lounges do not abut directly
ACCESS AND SECURITY
on to the party walls or where they do that they adjoin
7.81 All new housing needs to be designed to be safe
rooms of a similar use.
and secure and there is a lot of detailed guidance on this subject, including Safer Places and Secured
BIKES AND BINS
by Design. The most relevant security issue related to
7.78 The policy objectives of encouraging both cycling
higher density housing is access arrangements and the
and recycling can require the provision of significant
baseline guidance on shared circulation included in the
storage space at ground floor level for bikes and bins.
draft Housing SPG (3.2.2) requires that:
Cycle storage areas need to be covered, secure, integrated and accessible - to encourage use. Refuse
“An access core serving 4 or more dwellings should
storage, including green waste and recyclables, needs
provide an access control system with entry phones in
to be accessible to residents, sufficiently ventilated and
all dwellings linked to a main front door with electronic
located within reasonable distance from vehicle access
lock release. Unless a 24 hour concierge is provided,
points for collection by refuse trucks. In flatted schemes
additional security measures including audio-visual
in particular, these facilities are space hungry at ground
verification to the access control system should be
floor and are difficult to integrate in ways that ensure the
provided where any of the following apply:
creation of attractive, legible and safe entrance areas.
i. more than 25 dwellings are served by one core, or ii. the potential occupancy of the dwellings served by
7.79. There are some advantages to locating facilities
one core exceeds 100 bed spaces, or
in undercroft car parking or basement areas, where
iii. more than 8 dwellings are provided per floor.�
these are provided. However, location of refuse storage in basement areas, which requires mechanical
7.82. The above should help ensure that people living in
ventilation and the collecting borough having the
high density flatted homes are safe and secure and also
right lifting equipment, is more costly and will not be
feel safe and secure.
viable in many schemes. The location of bike storage in basement car parking areas, where provided, often makes it less convenient and attractive to use and is not encouraged. 7.80. The requirements of bike and bin storage often have a disproportionate impact on small schemes, where there is limited ground floor frontage area available and undercroft or basement options are often physically not possible and/or unviable. Such facilities also have a major impact on high-density residential towers, which have a small footprint relative to the number of homes provided. Waste management in larger high-density schemes often requires the help of a caretaker service, with this adding to on-going service charges.
125 Housing Density Study