Placemaking, Masterplanning & Design
Hyas is a planning focused consultancy with an excellent awareness of placemaking, masterplanning and design, especially where this applies to large scale housing led growth. This design awareness is strengthened by design associates and an expanding portfolio of design outputs, including Axminster Masterplan, the Maidenhead Town Centre & South West Maidenhead Placemaking Studies, the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village Strategic Design Guidance SPD and three of the 14 National Model Design Code pilots (for Bootle Town Centre, Mid Devon District and the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community).
What we can provide
As a values driven practice, we have consistently promoted good design and place leadership. Hyas is small enough to be joined up and responsive, whilst having the resources and networks to service targeted high profile design commissions. In particular, we provide:
A commitment to high quality placemaking. Helping clients to realise quality design outcomes for their places, through linking placemaking, design and planning, a genuine commitment to people and consensus building, best practice advice, all supported by our track record of design delivery and funding.
An inclusive design process. Collaborating with Council resources and other designers, including – design review, workshops, ‘critical friend’ support and training.
A practical understanding of the issues, challenges and mechanisms to secure good design, such as the role of design coding, the role of planning policy and wider guidance and all other related influences such as the need to create active, successful, healthy and sustainable new places that will endure over the long term.
Building skills & capacity. To help Councils and other stakeholders develop in-house design skills in relation to design and masterplanning.
Our design process offer includes:
Facilitating workshops & securing positive collaboration
Establishing and running design review processes
Delivering critical friend support
Training and support to key Officers and Members
Producing design codes, guides and masterplans
Our core design output includes:
Preparing strategic visions & concepts
Coordinating the preparation of design codes
Crafting effective local plan policies to achieve good placemaking
Evolving site specific and area wide placemaking studies and masterplans
Clients & Collaborators
We work with a wide range of Councils and other stakeholders across England. We often seek to partner with the best in class and most suitable independent design practitioners to assemble the right teams for commissions.
