Warwick District Council commissioned LUC to provide urban design guidance for 1,200 new homes in Kenilworth.

The new urban extension included strategic housing allocations, employment use, and educational provision for this new community on the east of the town.

Significant areas of green infrastructure were required to be retained and enhanced as part of the new development.

LUC’s work included evidence-based design principles to guide the developers and the local authority responsible for delivering the urban extension.

The principles will ensure that the new development enhances the environment, reflects local identity, meets the needs of the community, and promotes a more sustainable way of life for local people.

Initially, we carried out an urban analysis of Kenilworth to assess how the new development would ‘knit into’ the fabric of the existing town.

We classified different street typologies, identifying their intrinsic qualities and characteristics to establish key design principles and street hierarchy for the new residential area.

A series of site-level plans mapped constraints and opportunities, movement and connectivity, green space strategy, building blocks and street pattern, street hierarchy and residential density.

This informed the layout of the masterplan.

Our design guidance was informed by the key characteristics of Kenilworth identified during the urban analysis exercise.

Design principles will act as a road map for future developers delivering the new housing and employment uses.

This ensures this new development responds to place.

LUC’s design approach focused on protecting and enhancing green open space and fully integrating this into the new sustainable community. 

Ensuring the necessary infrastructure to encourage walking and cycling as part of people’s daily routine was also a key focus of the proposals.