Chapter 11 I Placemaking and Managing Development
Apartment Design
• Universal Design: Currently there are no national minimum quantitative standards for the proportion of dwellings that are required to be designed to universal design standards to future proof housing. Housing to this standard is either provided as a response bespoke to the requirements of individuals or for specialist older person housing. • Floor-to-Ceiling Height: In urban schemes floor-to-ceiling height will impact on a range of qualitative residential amenity factors, including daylight and sunlight, ventilation and overbearance. Floor-to-ceiling heights should ideally be increased to at least the minimum standard prescribed in the Building Regulations Part F: Ventilation to ensure design quality. • Private Amenity Space: Private amenity space shall be provided in the form of gardens or patios / terraces for ground floor apartments and balconies at upper levels. Where provided at ground level, private amenity space shall incorporate boundary treatment appropriate to ensure privacy and security. Private amenity space should be located to optimise solar orientation and designed to minimise overshadowing and overlooking. Balconies should adjoin and have a functional relationship with the main living areas of the apartment. In certain circumstances, glass- screened ‘winter gardens’ may be provided. In exceptional circumstances balcony space can be incorporated into the dwelling as additional space (i.e. added to the minimum floor areas) where climatic factors can be clearly demonstrated (e.g. tall buildings). • Cycle Parking: In addition to the defined quantitative standards and qualitative guidance, it will also be important that cycle storage areas are designed to encourage cycle use by being convenient and ergonomic. To this end best practice in the form of the Bike Parking Infrastructure Guidance (Dublin Cycling Campaign, 2017) and the London Cycle Design Standards (Transport for London, 2014) should be taken into account when designing cycle storage access in relation to minimum lift sizes, ramp design, maximum number of door thresholds, multi-level storage, and other design considerations not covered by the apartment guidelines or the National Cycle Design Manual.
11.90 Apartments will become increasingly important to the housing market with the compact growth priority to provide half of new homes within the existing built up areas. The proportion of housing being provided in the form of apartments will increase as higher density neighbourhoods and schemes are brought forward in accordance with Cork City’s growth strategy. Locations for apartments will correlate with the higher density locations defined in the Density Strategy.
Quantitative Standards
11.91 Government guidance in the form of Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments provides the current quantitative guidance for designing mainstream apartments in order to ensure design quality safeguards are in place to avoid the development of poor quality living environments. This provides quantitative standards for (references to paragraphs and SPPRs refers to the above-mentioned Guidelines): 1. Apartment Floor Area (SPPR 3) 2. Dual Aspect Ratios (SPPR 4) 3. Floor-to-Ceiling Height (SPPR 5) 4. Lift and Stair Cores (SPPR 6) 5. Internal Storage 6. Private Amenity Space (Appendix 1) 7. Communal Amenity Space (Appendix 1) 8. Children’s Play space provision (para 4.13) 9. Cycle storage (4.15-4.17) 10. Build-to-Rent schemes (SPPR 7 & SPPR 8) • Play Space Quantum: In applying the play space standards the City Council will seek to introduce a bespoke Cork City Child Yield Calculator during the lifetime of the Plan (see Chapter 3 Delivering Homes and Communities).
485
Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 I Volume 1
Powered by FlippingBook