Well‑designed, good‑quality housing does more than provide shelter: it shapes physical and mental wellbeing, offers people a sense of security, and supports healthier, fairer communities.

The Liverpool Housing Design Guide is a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) adopted by Liverpool City Council to support its ambition for high-quality housing in the city. The guide covers mainstream housing, later living, student accommodation, co-living and HMOs with additional information for homeowners who plan to alter or extend their home. It is relevant to all tenures across new buildings and conversions. The SPD establishes and sets guidance for different character areas across the city, helping to protect and enhance Liverpool’s neighbourhoods while supporting its ambition to achieve net zero carbon by 2030.

This guidance is for landowners, developers, agents, architects and design teams who intend to build new homes. It will also support planning officers in assessing the design quality of planning applications during pre-application discussions and determination, and inform Councillors’ decision-making, ensuring consistency in advice and decision making.

The document was written by Levitt Bernstein in close collaboration with Liverpool City Council, with planning advice from Arup, and engagement events arranged by IF_DO.