What is a Design Review Panel (DRP)?
It's a meeting of independent professionals with architectural and design expertise who assess pre-application schemes within the borough and occasionally post application schemes. The aim is to offer support and advice to our planning officers and the applicants to deliver high quality architecture and urban design in Hammersmith and Fulham.
H&F DRP has being running since 21 July 2010 and has reviewed over 110 schemes up to April 2019.
What is the panel's role?
It is made up of one chair and up to five members who are external experts on architecture, landscaping, urban design or any other built environment profession. Each member has to sign the Code of Conduct (pdf) every year.
The panel is an advisory body with no formal decision-making powers. It does not replace planning officers and the Director of Transportation and Technical Services in their role of making recommendations to the Planning and Development Control Committee (PDCC). The advice is a material consideration and we take it into account in carrying out our statutory planning functions.
How does it work?
The case officer dealing with the pre application or application invites the applicants and their architects to submit their proposed scheme for a review. The reviews are usually held once a month and we'll usually give you three weeks' notice. You can prepare drawings, models, PowerPoint presentations and any other media formats for a presentation before the panel. Following the presentation, panel members will ask questions to clarify any issues and discuss the design of the scheme.
The timings for the DRP for each scheme are:
- Presentation by scheme's architect/designer: 15 minutes
- Panel questions for clarification: 15 minutes
- Closed panel discussion: 25 minutes
- Panel feedback to applicants: 5 minutes
After the meeting a response summary setting out the findings will be issued to the scheme architects and/or agents and copied to relevant council officers, and panel members, as appropriate. Summary issue is made within 15 working days. The summary issue report may comment on the architectural, urban design qualities and implications of each proposal, and may recommend improvements.
Important
Design Review Panels are not open to the public. If a planning application for the scheme is made, however, the summary notes will be published on our website with the other planning application documents and will appear when you search for a planning application.
Available DRP notes
We make our DRP notes available as soon as a planning application has been submitted. Look for the notes under the 'Documents' tab when searching:
You can also find the notes below for the schemes considered in 2016, 2017 & 2018 which have had planning applications submitted:
Savoy Circus, Site at junction of Western Avenue and Old Oak Road (pdf)
Hammersmith Police Station (pdf)
Ark Swift Primary School (pdf)
To find out more about Design Review Panels, you can read the Terms of Reference (pdf).