In 1998 Lavenham residents decided to undertake a study of how they view themselves as a community and how the obligations of living in an historic an increasingly sought-after environment can be reconciled with maintaining a vital and varied society.

With the publication of the Lavenham Village Design Statement the community's immediate aim has been fulfilled. A handsome, well illustrated booklet which has been distributed to every house in the village, analyses and sets out the views, concerns and aspirations expressed by the more than 60% of all Lavenham households who contributed to the long process of consultation. It will provide a valuable point of focus for everyone, whether residents or from outside, concerned with the well-being of one of the most attractive villages in England.

• Donald Whitton's covering letter
• Press Release
• External link: Babergh District Council

The VDS is in Acrobat (PDF) format. Your computer will probably already have a viewer for Acrobat files; if not, you can get the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe by clicking the button on the right.

For technical reasons, viewing the VDS is currently slightly complicated. We are endeavouring to address this. In the meantime, please use the following instructions to help you read it. The VDS consists of 24 pages, plus a 4 page fold-out in the centre showing a map of Lavenham. It is presented in 3 Acrobat files, each comprising 2 sheets. The layout of pages on each sheet was designed for printing, and hence does not appear logically on the screen. The following table explains the page sequence:

	File: vds-cover.pdf Sheet: 1 IFC = inside front cover IBC = inside back cover
	File: vds-cover.pdf Sheet: 2 OBC = outside back cover OFC = outside front cover
	File: vds-body.pdf Sheet: 1
	File: vds-body.pdf Sheet: 2
	File: vds-insert.pdf Sheet: 1
	File: vds-insert.pdf Sheet: 2 As well as reorganising the VDS pages into the correct sequence, we intend to reproduce this map in a clearer form.