Mansfield’s trailblazing town centre Design Code has been shortlisted for two awards.

The code was adopted by the council last year and aims to improve the appearance of buildings, streets and public spaces in the town centre.

The code was developed and implemented after the council was selected by the Government to be one of 25 local planning authorities in England to pilot the concept of planning design codes.

Now, the Mansfield code has been shortlisted in the 2024 Planning Awards, a national competition run by publishing group Planning Resource.

Mansfield’s entry in the Plan Making award category, was submitted by Phil Jones Associates (PJA), who the council appointed as consultants to help develop and prepare the new Design Code. The results of the competition will be announced at a ceremony in London on 13 June.

The code has also been shortlisted for Best Plan in the final of the East Midlands Awards for Planning Excellence 2024, which are organised by the Royal Town Planning Institute. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Nottingham on 26 June.

The code has already been identified nationally as an example of best practice, and the government has awarded further funding to enable the council to monitor how effective it is in delivering high quality design, and to enable the council to help in the development of other design codes across England.

It is expected that the code will help to make Mansfield town centre greener, more accessible, more pedestrian and cycle friendly, and less cluttered with signs and street furniture.

It will also provide more protection for the town’s heritage buildings and help to reduce the risk of flooding.

The code sets out rules and options for developers and aims to encourage buildings to be of high quality design and to respect the historic character of the town centre whilst allowing for innovation in design.

Martyn Saxton, head of Planning and Regeneration, at Mansfield District Council, said: “It is fantastic news that the quality and significance of our Design Code has been recognised both nationally and regionally by being shortlisted for these awards.

“We are up against some very stiff competition so it’s fingers crossed we will be successful when the winners are announced.”