A new Design Code for Sandgate St & Verney Rd

Southwark Council has appointed a team led by Farrells to help produce new design guidelines for development in the Sandgate Street and Verney Road area.

Farrells has assembled a team of multi-disciplinary consultants including Gbolade Design Studio, Exterior Architecture and Momentum Transport Consultancy. They will be supported with specialist advice from Savills and VU.CITY.

Building on the existing masterplan for the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area, the team will review the council’s masterplan and produce a Design Code which will help to refocus development in this area on industrial uses.

The code will apply to schemes between Sandgate Street and Verney Road (known as site allocation OKR 13 in the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan) which do not yet have planning consent and are not in phase 1 of the plan’s delivery.

The guidance will be informed by the Government’s National Model Design Code.

The study will help the council to refine the proposed mix of uses and adaptability of site allocation OKR13. The set of illustrated design requirements will provide a toolkit with specific, detailed parameters for the physical development of the area. The graphic and written components of the code will build upon the council’s design vision and masterplan.

Both Southwark and Farrells’ team have experience with this approach, having already worked together on a successful Government pilot project to prepare a Design Code for the area around Hatcham Road and Ilderton Road (site OKR 16) in 2021. The team will improve upon this approach and add value and more deliverables.

A key part of this will be to engage with residents and businesses to ensure that the Design Code is locally-led and informed by those living in the neighbourhood. This consultation process, due to begin in June, will bring local businesses and residents together and help to build social cohesion, pride and a sense of place.

This project will provide part of the evidence-base that informs the final iteration of the full Old Kent Road Area Action Plan, which is scheduled to go to public consultation in the autumn.