We offer both in-person and online south east design review panel sessions for projects across the south east region of England & these should be booked using our online booking system below.
Site visits can be carried out in-person or online using 360 degree virtual photographic tours (click here to see an example).
Sessions are split into 'major' and 'minor' project types:-
Minor Projects = 1 to 4 residential dwellings
Major Project = 5 or more residential dwellings and non-residential projects
Please book a West Midlands design review session at least 14 days in advance. Your booking is confirmed only after cleared payment is received. The booking-request email provides payment details. Please upload the review information no later than seven days before the session.
Independent design review across Birmingham, Coventry, the Black Country and the wider West Midlands. The Design Review Panel brings a national pool of professionals to projects in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
From village-edge housing to the reuse of town-centre buildings, the review responds to the proposal and its setting. In-person and online sessions are available, with site visits where included. Compare review formats and explore the local examples below.
Applicants, design teams and local authorities can book directly. See our Midlands design review overview for the whole region.
West Midlands projects and design questions
Independent review, informed by the place
The Design Review Panel serves Birmingham, Coventry, the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. We draw on a national pool of built environment professionals and select the disciplines relevant to the site, scale and questions under review.
Town-centre reuse can require careful testing of retained structures, street frontages and heritage settings. At the edge of a village, the priorities may be landscape character, the relationship with existing homes and useful connections to local facilities. Our West Midlands project record includes both contexts.
Baldwins Gate, Staffordshire — landscape and village character
The Panel visited and reviewed Richborough’s proposal for up to 200 homes on 7 July 2021. The published account explains how early review tested the masterplan’s response to village character and the wider landscape. The application was subsequently allowed on appeal in July 2023. The project team’s account describes the contribution of review; the Inspector made the planning decision on the appeal as a whole.
Read the Baldwins Gate case study · Find Baldwins Gate on the project map
York Place, Newcastle-under-Lyme — adapting a town-centre building
The atlas records a 2024 review covering York Place and the separate Midway proposal. The council’s report for York Place, application 24/00795/FUL, concerns 42 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. It records support for the earlier scheme’s scale and massing, alongside concerns about elevations and materials. The report describes a revised façade and colour approach responding to that feedback. This evidence concerns design development and the York Place component; it is not a claim that both projects have been completed.
Read the council’s York Place report (PDF) · Explore the Midway and York Place map entry
Making the review useful to your project
Explain the site’s existing character, the options you have tested and the issues that remain open. For town-centre projects, include street views, building sections, heritage context and the treatment of public space. For housing and masterplans, show landscape structure, movement and how the proposal connects with the existing settlement. Review is most useful while the design can still respond.
Read our independence and safeguards and, where relevant, guide to design review at appeal. Advice is independent and advisory; permission is determined by the relevant decision-maker. You can also explore East Midlands projects.
Design review across the West Midlands
The Panel provides independent, multidisciplinary design review for applicants, design teams and local authorities across the West Midlands, including Birmingham, Coventry, the Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
You can book directly with the Panel. Its feedback informs design development and the planning process; planning decisions remain with the relevant decision-maker.
The council links below are regional reference information. Inclusion does not indicate an appointment, partnership or endorsement.
Local Authority Names | Local Authority Website |
|---|---|
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | https://www.sandwell.gov.uk |
Shropshire Council | https://www.shropshire.gov.uk |
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | https://www.solihull.gov.uk |
South Staffordshire | https://www.sstaffs.gov.uk |
Stafford Borough Council | https://www.stafford.gov.uk |
Staffordshire County Council | https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk |
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council | https://www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk |
Stoke on Trent City Council | https://www.stoke.gov.uk |
Stratford-on-Avon | https://www.stratford.gov.uk |
Tamworth Borough Council | https://www.tamworth.gov.uk |
Telford & Wrekin Council | https://www.telford.gov.uk |
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council | https://www.walsall.gov.uk |
Can a national panel review a West Midlands project?
Yes. The Design Review Panel works across the region, selecting disciplines relevant to the proposal. The site analysis, local context and planning position inform the discussion.
Can review help where design is disputed?
It can provide an independent assessment and identify issues to address. A positive review does not guarantee permission or an appeal outcome. Read our design review at appeal guide for the role and limits of that evidence.
