New buildings in south Worcestershire shouldn’t just look nice, and be useful, they should help to create "places to live, work and relax that stand the test of time.”

They should also be both distinctive and respect the character of the area surrounding them.

Those are the words of an official design guide that planners in Worcester City, Council and its partners in Wychavon District and Malvern Hills District want to issue to developers.

The Design Guide says: “Whatever the function of the building or buildings consideration should be given at the outset of how design can contribute towards creating stronger communities.”

The 80 page document could be adopted by the three authorities as part of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

It says the aim is to “improve the overall quality of built design within south Worcestershire“ and adds: “It is important that buildings from the 21st century make an impact on built and urban design and become valued buildings and places of the future.

“This is achieved by locally distinctive design, design that respects and enhances local character, and incorporates contemporary and sustainable approaches to development,

Specific advice includes avoiding flat roofs on porches extensions and garages which could be used by intruders and to have houses overlooking each other “without interrupting personal space”.

Gardens provided for new houses should ‘allow for the addition of a conservatory in the future while retaining sufficient outside space.”

New buildings should be designed to ‘maximise natural ventilation so that during the summer breezes can assist the ventilation of a building and the outside environment.”

“Thermal buffering needs to be considered in the design, for example, atriums porches and integral garages” in order to retain heat in winter.

If councillors on Worcester City Council’s Place and Economic Development Committee had approved the design guide it would have been adopted as policy in the city immediately

But questions about how much parking developers would be advised to provide meant that a decision has been put back.

The guide says that parking courts of 12 or more spaces should be avoided and that to avoid the sight of lots of cars parked at the front of a house, ‘spaces between housing and integral garaging’ could be provided.

But the guide also says developers should use the county council’s 2015 standards on how many spaces to provide per house, but links to the councils document issued in February 2016.

But since then the county council has updated its advice. The 2016 document says a three-bed house should have two spaces, while the new report suggested it should have three spaces.

Councillor Marc Bayliss said: “It is important to get right this right. We should defer a decision to get a definitive answer on what guidance to use.”