Identity

Contents:

• Local Character
• Settlement pattern and layout
• Design of Building
• Building Materials
• Walling Materials
• Roofing Materials
• Boundary Walls and Paving

I.1.i Local Character

2.47 The Lake District has a strong and varied sense of place, derived from many factors including its natural beauty, historic character, and cultural associations. These combine together to create memorable places where people want to live, work and visit. On a local level, understanding the physical, cultural and spiritual factors that shape place identity is a critical first step in the design of developments that preserve and enhance local character and make a positive contribution to placemaking.

2.48 Local character is derived from the interaction of many factors — built form, landscape, public spaces, history, nature, and cultural associations, as well as less tangible aspects like a sense of community.

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I.2.i Design of Buildings

2.52 Information on common vernacular forms, and their distribution across the Lake District, can be found in the Supporting Information. Each settlement has a distinct architectural tradition depending on several factors, but common characteristics are:

• Buildings sit low in the landscape. Generally, they are one or two storeys high in a rural setting, extending to three storeys in towns.
• Constructed of local building material, which means that buildings harmonise with the surrounding landscape
• Slatestone is dominant across much of the Lake District and is associated with the characteristic ‘drystone’ appearance of many local buildings.
• Slatestone is frequently left exposed. Rough-cast render (often painted white, cream or grey) is also common, especially in areas of Carboniferous limestone.
• Traditional slate roofs are ubiquitous across the Lake District and are a significant part of the character of the region. These tend to be low pitched with either equal or asymmetric eaves. The latter is often associated with a cat-slide roof over an ‘outshut’ (or lean-to). Traditionally, the slates become smaller closer to the ridge, laid in diminishing courses.
• Window locations are dictated by internal layout and not necessarily symmetrical. Windows are generally small with deep reveals and stone mullions. Sash windows are common in properties from the late-18th century onwards.
• Dormers are rare, except in towns.
• Chimneys are a prominent feature. Gable end-stacks are characteristic of early buildings.
• Water-tabling – a line of projecting slates to deflect water – is a typical Lake District feature.
• Door designs vary considerably but generally feature a prominent lintel and stone jambs. Porches or a door canopy are common, intended to offer protection to visitors from the elements.
• Buildings are orientated to reflect the constraints of the landscape and direction of prevailing weather patterns. This varies considerably from valley to valley.

2.53 Although these features are common there are many variations according to location and the applicant must demonstrate that their designs respond appropriately to the specific traditions of the area. This is not intended to stifle contemporary design or encourage pastiche, but simply show how a design has been inspired by local character.

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1. Houses joined for efficient land, energy efficiency and to reflect local tradition of terraces.
2. Carriageway kept to a minimum, detailed simply and in keeping with rural settlement.
3. Drives are a minimal size.
4. Different housing types and sizes within the same scheme.
5. Traditional Westmorland slate roofing in diminishing courses.
6. Traditional Westmorland green slatestone walls and good quality detailing.
7. Traditional drystone walls as the outer boundaries to the street.
8. Active frontages and good passive surveillance.
9. Discrete lighting to the street.
10. Local details: simple gable forms.
11. Local details: over hanging roofs.
12. Local details: largely blank gables.
13. Local details: buildings stepping with the topography.
14. Local details: chimneys enhancing the skyline and roofscape.
15. Local details: sheltered doorways.
16. Buildings spaced and roofs angled for solar power. Photovoltaic panels sited for purpose but to minimise visual impact, placed symmetrically and integrated with roof slope.
17. Large window to principal rooms for solar gain.

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1. Retention of traditional stone boundary wall as rear garden boundary.
2. Use of native species hedge to enclose private rear gardens.
3. Passive surveillance of the street from upper windows.
4. Interesting variety of building forms and orientations

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1. Traditional gabled forms with overhanging roofs.
2. Houses joined for efficient use of land, energy efficiency and to reflect local tradition of terraces.
3. Slight variations in building line and eaves height to give an organic character, add rhythm and emphasise individual houses.
4. Chimneys to enhance the skyline and respect local character.
5. Sheltered doorways with porches that announce the principal entrance to each house.
6. Active frontage with good overlooking of street and gardens.
7. Use of local materials: Cumbrian blue grey slate, slatestone and roughcast render.
8. Attention to the scale, density and form of buildings within the site’s context.
9. Retention of rail-topped stone boundary wall and use of a simple gate detail. Clear edge between the public highway and the private path and gardens.
10. Retention of hedge boundary and mature trees along garden edge.
11. Communal open plan garden allows space for play equipment, greater ease of maintenance and greater flexibility than individual smaller plots.
12. Incorporation of informal meeting space on the roadside.

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1. The house is built into the hillside in a manner that is reminiscent of a bank barn.
2. A simple main roof plan.
3. Circular slatestone chimneys.
4. Westmorland slate roof in diminishing courses, but laid on a sweeping roof form.
5. Oversailing roof with projecting eaves.
6. Hung slate and coursed slatestone walling with timber cladding providing a contemporary addition.
7. Vertical window proportions within simply detailed reveals.
8. Siting of gardens means that some elevations join straight onto fields.
9. Formal driveway (behind wall) has a minimal impact on the wider landscape.
10. Integration of new walling with existing drystone walls

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1. Traditional gabled forms.
2. Houses joined for efficient use of land, energy efficiency and to reflect local tradition of terraces.
3. Slight variations in building line and eaves height to give an organic character and emphasise individual houses.
4. Chimneys to enhance the skyline and respect local character.
5. Porches that announce the entrance to each house and also have built-in storage to the side.
6. Traditional local slate, slatestone and roughcast render.
7. Small semi-private spaces in front of each house.
8. Informal communal driveway with a single, simple entrance from the lane.
9. Retention of stone wall with fencing to improve visibility splays for drivers.
10. Retention of mature trees and shrubs provide screening for the private space, but also maintains the rural character of the lane.

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1. Variations in setback and eaves height break the terrace down to reflect the grain of the settlement, and provide rhythm and visual interest.
2. Large south-facing windows to upper floor.
3. High stone boundary retained and repurposed as the boundary to the back gardens.
4. Building materials harmonise with those of the context.
5. The orientation and grain of the new houses forms an attractive group with neighbouring buildings.

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1. Contemporary design built as a traditional terrace of three houses.
2. Large windows on southern elevation and smaller windows to north promote passive solar gain and reduce heat loss.
3. Local slate roof, and roughcast render finish references the locality, with timber cladding a contemporary addition.
4. Simple main roof plan with chimneys adding interest to the skyline. Gabled roof forms and overhanging roofs.
5. Articulation of the building line and changes in materials identify the individual dwellings.
6. The private south side is an active frontage through its windows and patio doors, while the north side is active due to the front doors being located here. Functional porches announce the entrance to each house.
7. Private raised patios for each dwelling, with less formal gardens beyond.
8. Simple communal parking area is more sympathetic to local character than driveways and garages.

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1. A good balance of providing a street frontage that suits the traditional character of the village, whilst accommodating space for cars and bins to the rear.
2. Traditional gabled forms.
3. Traditional cottage grain and terrace.
4. Chimneys and pots that add interest to the skyline.
5. Use of local slate and render.
6. Traditional low boundary walls of slatestone provide a clear edge between public and private space.
7. Variations has been used in the style and size of window openings and porches to add interest to the street frontage.

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Roof pitches

1. Roof pitches should generally not exceed 50º.Steeper roof pitches are rare and tend to be limited to Victorian buildings and chalet-style dwellings.
2. The typical roof pitch used in traditional buildings in the Lake District is 37º to 40º, and will therefore be appropriate in most circumstances.
3. Roof pitches should not be shallower than 27º. Shallow roof pitches are rare in the Lake District, and shallow roofs are therefore unlikely to reflect or contribute to local character
4. The roof pitch of the catslide roof can either continue the slope of the main roof or be slightly shallower (e.g. by 5º) to slow runoff and increase headroom under the catslide roof.
5. Lean-to extensions should generally have the same or a similar roof pitch to the main roof of the house.

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Window Proportions

In this example:

1. The proportion of an existing window opening is taller than it is wide, giving the window opening a vertical emphasis. In most cases, traditional window openings are noticeably taller than they are wide as this works best with sliding sash windows or windows hinged on the side that swing open.
2. This proposed new window opening is smaller than the existing window, but it has the same proportion (i.e., ratio of height to width) as the existing window, and so provides a positive response.
3. The proposed new window has a proportion that is noticeably squashed and squat compared to the existing window. This is not a positive response to the existing window proportion.
4. The right-hand part of the elevation looks noticeably ‘busier’ than the rest of the house due to the number of small windows squashed into this part of the building. It detracts from the character of the whole elevation.
5. All parts of the building have a similar layout of windows giving a harmonious appearance.

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2.63 Unlike other areas of the country where building materials are often imported or manufactured, the appearance of buildings in the Lake District is a direct product of the geology beneath them.

2.64 Whether it is distinctively pink Eskdale granite or the greens and greys of Honister stone in the centre of Keswick, when planning a design for an extension or new building in the Lake District, looking at the roofs and walls of neighbouring buildings will inform the most appropriate approach.

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Walling Materials

Local walling material varies across the National Park according to area (slatestone, sandstone, brick etc.). Wall finishes include exposed stonework, rough-cast render and stucco is common in many areas; the latter especially in towns and larger villages. Although ‘dry-stone’ construction is often perceived as a quintessential feature of the Lake District it is in some areas a late 19th and 20th-century decorative design choice. As always, cues should be taken from the surrounding area.

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2.66 The walls of a building can often be as important to local distinctiveness, character and sense of place as its roof, especially within a dense town context or a tightly knit farm group when seen from road level. Wall finishes are functional, decorative and often both. Wall finishes are functional, decorative and often both.

2.67 Local walling materials vary more obviously across the Lake District than roofing slate. Stone is less easy to transport and therefore historically, the easiest stone to build a house from was the closest available. Walls were often built upon boulders or bedrock, with stone quarried from the nearest rock face or gathered from the land or nearby streams.

2.68 The most common stone used in the core of the Lake District is slate stone, the by-product of the roofing slates quarried across the area. Limestone, granite and red sandstone are found towards the different peripheries of the Lake District, away from the slate-rich mountains.

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2.70 Roughcast render or ‘wet-dash’, or modern products which replicate its appearance, is the other most common walling finish. Roughcast render is used throughout the Lake District and its use as a wall finish is likely to be appropriate on a range of buildings, particularly where it is not possible to obtain stone to match nearby buildings. Although ‘dry-stone’ construction is often perceived as a quintessential feature of the Lake District it is in some areas a late 19th and 20th-century decorative design choice. As always, cues should be taken from the surrounding area.

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2.73 Metal wall cladding (including zinc, copper, lead, stainless steel and aluminium) and timber wall cladding or composite cladding products which mimic the appearance of timber are only likely to be acceptable where used sparingly as part of a cohesive design solution and where the context of the site and character of the landscape means that its use would not compromise sense of place.

Roofing Materials

The colour palette of the Lake District is relatively muted and largely determined by the predominant use of local slate. Although this can vary considerably in colour from black to purple, green to orange, depending on the rock’s source. The iridescent quality of the material is particularly evident when wet, as it often is.

2.74 Most locally distinctive of all are the local slate roofs of the Lake District that can be seen covering the majority of buildings in the area and which make a significant contribution to sense of place, particularly when seen from above.

2.75 Roofing material used in both new build and conversions must be locally sourced green or blue-grey slate. Laid in a traditional pattern of diminishing courses (where larger slates at the eaves gradually recede to the smallest slates at the ridge) and random widths, local slate has a thick gauge, rough-hewed surface and distinctive patina which all contribute to an appearance that is as locally distinctive when first laid as it is decades later.

2.76 The use of local green slate or blue grey slate will be informed by the immediate context of the site. Often, either option will be acceptable. To reinforce the importance of local character slate roofs should normally be laid in the traditional manner of diminishing courses and random widths.

2.77 Other types of roofing material, even alternative forms of slate, weather very differently and do not harmonise with the landscape in the same way.

2.78 Alternative roof coverings to local slate will only be considered in the following circumstances:

• Where a roof is not prominent in public views and the building has limited historical or architectural value.
• Where the immediate context of the roof demonstrates other roof coverings of such variety that the use of local slate would not reinforce the importance of local character and sense of place.
• Where the alternative roof covering is a component part of an overall cohesive and well justified design scheme, having regard to its context.

2.79 In parts of Keswick and Windermere and the surrounding areas where there is historical precedent for the use of Welsh slate and where its use would reinforce the importance of local character and sense of place. Imported slate is not an appropriate alternative to local slate.

2.80 Imported slate is likely to retain a smooth and uniform colour and texture which means it does not weather in the same way as local slates and as they are normally made to standard sizes and to a thinner gauge, they cannot replicate the variety found in a local slate roof and cannot replicate its appearance.

2.81 Even where planning permission is not required for replacement or repair of an existing roof, we strongly discourage the use of imported slate for the above reasons and because the incremental effect of changes which do not require planning permission is the erosion of local distinctiveness, character and sense of place.

2.82 If there are valid reasons to consider roof coverings other than local slate, alternative locally produced roofing materials are likely to be more appropriate than imported slate, when considered in terms of its appearance, longevity, value for money and carbon footprint.

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