Ribbon development is building that grows in a long ribbon along a single line of infrastructure — a road, a dyke, a canal or a reclamation axis — usually only one or two plots deep, with open landscape directly behind.
It is not a designed urban form but a grown pattern: everyone wanted to be on the road or the water, so building followed the line rather than filling in behind it.
How it forms
In the Low Countries ribbon development often goes back to the history of land reclamation:
- Peat reclamation ribbons. When the peat was brought into cultivation, each farmer received a narrow, deep strip perpendicular to a reclamation base line. The farmhouse went at the head of that strip, on the road or the waterway. Because all the strips were the same width, the farms stand at regular intervals in a ribbon — the image that characterises the Dutch peat districts.
- Dyke ribbons. Building on and along a dyke, because that was the only dry and passable line in the landscape.
- Arterial road growth. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a village spread out along its main road, with the ribbon detaching itself from the core. In Britain the unchecked growth of this type along arterial roads was restricted by the Restriction of Ribbon Development Act of 1935.
Characteristics
- Great variety. Because a ribbon has been filled in over centuries, buildings of every period stand side by side: a farmhouse next to a 1930s house next to a recent detached home. That alternation of age, ridge direction, height and building line is precisely what is characteristic.
- A shifting building line. Unlike a street, the buildings do not stand in a strict row; the staggering is part of it.
- Views through. Open gaps between the buildings give views onto the landscape behind. Spatially, those views are often the most valuable feature of a ribbon.
- Mixed uses. Housing, a farm, a workshop and sometimes a shop, side by side.
What applies when you want to build in a ribbon
Ribbons are almost always dealt with separately in local planning policy, precisely because the character is fragile. Take into account:
- Preserving views through. Many authorities require a minimum distance between building volumes, or prohibit filling in open gaps, so the ribbon does not become a continuous street wall.
- Ridge direction and height. It is often prescribed that the ridge runs perpendicular to, or specifically parallel with, the road, in line with the surroundings.
- No second row. Building behind the ribbon — backland development — is usually not permitted, because it breaks the landscape principle.
- Road safety and access. A new access onto a busy ribbon road needs separate approval from the highway authority.
- Noise and separation distances. In a mixed ribbon, the presence of a farm can restrict building a dwelling at short range.
In short: in a development ribbon the local plan is usually more specific and stricter than in an ordinary residential area. Get hold of the applicable design guidance before you start designing.
Related terms
- Building line
- Local plan
- Design guidance
- Ridge direction
- Land reclamation
- Building envelope
- Conservation area
Want to know more about building terms? Take a look at our knowledge base on fredsdiyplans.com.