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 An RIBA south west award wining building at Exeter University in Devon; The Forum. This building benefited from design review during the design and pre-planning stage |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Taunton and the Somerset County Cricket Ground in November 2018. The event was extremely well attended by local authority representatives, house builders and design team members |  Photograph of Exeter Quay taken by Architect and Design Review Panel Manager Jonathan Braddick. The Design Review Panel holds regular design review panel sessions at Exeter City Council |  Design Review Panel training event 2018. Jonathan Tricker, Highways Engineer, Urban Designer & Director at Phil Jones Associates, gave a talk entitled: ‘Highway Design in Placemaking’ |  The design review Panel was engaged by Willmott Dixon during the pre-application design stage of the project to help them prepare a design that would be acceptable to the local authority |
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 Photograph from a 2018 design review panel site visit carried out in Dorset in 2018. A full sit down design review panel was subsequently held in the Poole Borough Council Offices |  External visualization for a NPPF paragraph 55 (now 79) house that was presented to the design review panel. This project has subsequently gone on to achieve planning permission and is now built on site |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Exeter, Devon in December 2017. The event was extremely well attended by local authority representatives, house builders and design team members |  A small but sensitive project in Exeter Quay; The Rockfish Restaurant has been designed by Grainge Architects who engaged with The Design Review Panel during the design & pre -application planning stage |  Pegasus Life secured planning permission through public inquiry for a Sarah Wigglesworth Architects scheme for a C2 assisted living community at The Knowle, Sidmouth, Devon. The Design Review Panel (www.designreviewpanel.co.uk) were instructed by East Devon District Council (EDDC) to provide multidisciplinary, expert, independent and impartial guidance and feedback to the local authority, applicant and design team during the pre-application design stage. |
 Photograph of Plymouth Hoe, Devon. The Design Review Panel holds regular design review panel sessions at Plymouth City Council |  Design Review Panel training session carried out in Exeter, Devon. The event was extremely well attended and incorporated a mock design review panel session and design workshop. |
Jonathan Braddick
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Join date: Jul 13, 2019
About
I am a Chartered Architect and the chair of The Design Review Panel.
Posts (79)
Sep 3, 2025 ∙ 5 min
Planning Reform 2025: Sanctions, Accountability and the Rising Importance of Design Review Panels
Planning reform in 2025 brings tougher sanctions for councils and new accountability rules for developers. With appeal thresholds halved and penalties for project delays, the pressure for consistency, delivery, and design quality has never been higher. Discover why independent design review is becoming essential to navigating this new landscape
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Jul 30, 2025 ∙ 6 min
Independent Design Review Panel: The Key to Planning Approval - Lessons from Deane House
When Maidstone Borough Council refused planning for an ambitious new home in the Kent Downs National Landscape, the odds looked unfavourable. But with early, independent input from The Design Review Panel, the proposal evolved—and the Planning Inspector placed great weight on the Panel’s expert feedback. This case study shows how design review under Paragraph 139 of the NPPF can turn rejection into approval.
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Jul 9, 2025 ∙ 8 min
Fibonacci House: How The Independent Design Review Panel Helped Shape a Para 84(e) Masterpiece in Northamptonshire
Approved in June 2025 under delegated powers by West Northamptonshire Council, Fibonacci House is a remarkable case study in how independent design review can support outstanding, policy-compliant rural architecture. Designed by Collaborative Architecture and reviewed three times by The Design Review Panel, the project exemplifies the collaborative power of constructive critique, design integrity, and planning rigour.
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