Village design statement
Village design statement (VDS) is a term of English rural planning practice. A VDS is a document that describes the distinctive characteristics of the locality, and provides design guidance to influence future development and improve the physical qualities of the area. Due to the rural bias of many communities and the large urban majority in the UK its often considered in the context of urban planning although it was developed for the rural setting. Drawing up the VDS provides an opportunity for communities to describe how they feel the physical character of their parish can be enhanced . Rural community councils support local communities in the production of village design statements. Originally the VDSs focused on only the built environment, but due to development in the surveying methods they began to include elements of service provision and have largely been superseded by village action plans.