The Winterborne Houghton Village Design Statement (VDS) was prepared by a team of local people working together with the district council. It was adopted by the district council as supplementary planning guidance and the final version was published in May 2002.
The Winterborne Houghton VDS describes the character of the village and its landscape setting. It also sets out a number of guidelines for future development and building, which need to be taken into account when decisions are made on planning applications affecting the village.