The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has published a Design Manual for Quality Housing that seeks to provide guidance on the design of Social Housing developments in respect of site layouts and the internal layouts of individual dwellings, principally to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), and their consultants.
Sample site layouts included in the manual set out the urban design and placemaking priorities, consistent with compact growth, to assist in the delivery of high-quality and sustainable housing developments.
The layouts are intended to illustrate the design principles and good practice that the department, when evaluating the acceptability of scheme designs for funding approval, would expect to see implemented, whilst accepting that each scheme will have its own site-specific influences.
The standard internal layouts provided in the design manual are considered to be fully consistent with the design principles set out in the Department’s Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities (2007) and Design Standards for New Apartments (DSFNA) (2018) guidelines.
While optional to use, these internal layouts, applicable for a wide range of houses, apartments and duplexes, are considered to meet the department’s requirements for good quality accommodation for future residents.
The manual seeks to promote a consistent approach nationally by local authorities and AHBs in respect of design priorities and space standards.
The site and internal layouts are not for construction purposes, and statutory requirements such as planning approval and building regulation compliance will have to be met in the normal manner.
To download the PDF, see here.
LSL News.