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Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2003

Application form

This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically (pdf version) on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning . Please complete all four questions. The deadline is 12 September 2003. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.

Please provide a name and contact details of the organisation responsible for this work. If partners were involved, identify the lead organisation, and then list the other partners/bodies who had a key role.

Name of key partners (if appropriate)

Please complete the form by providing a brief summary (in no more than the space provided) of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude, with a key reason, as to why you think this work merits an Award.

Please tick the key criteria which relate to this entry:

You must describe in your written submission (below) how the criteria which you have ticked relates to your project.

Description of project

In line with best practice and with national guidance (for example that contained in Designing Places and PAN67 Housing Quality), a series of detailed development briefs are being prepared for each of 22 Midlothian Local Plan sites or combination of sites (See: Context). The purpose of the briefs is to ensure that each new development results in an attractive built environment relating well to its community and physical context and supported by the appropriate level of infrastructure.

The briefs relate principally to sites for housing together with support infrastructure - schools, distributor roads, shops and in one case employment land. They relate to sites of varying size, catering for developments from 25 to 1100 dwellings. Their character similarly varies both greenfield and brownfield, as does their nature - from highly attractive sites within conservation areas to sites containing derelict land.

The briefs are largely been developed in parallel with legal agreements which address issues of developer contributions and affordable housing- In some cases, where the Council is the sole land owner, the brief details the requirements for infrastructure and affordable housing,

The briefs are being developed through a mixture of primarily in-house expertise combined with, to a limited extent, the use of consultants.

To date, three briefs relating to five sites and involving some 2100 houses have been approved and printed, and these form the basis of this entry. The briefs are for the following Local Plan sites-.

• Hopefield Farm, Bonnyrigg (site G - 1,100 houses)
• Wester Cowden/Thornybank, Dalkeith (sites L, M, N -825 houses)
• St David's High School, Dalkeith (infill site - 85 houses)

Briefs relating to another six sites, though not part of this entry, are at an advanced stage of preparation.

Timescale (over which the project has developed)

Although the base assumptions for the briefs for the two major sites in Dalkeith and Bonnyrigg were conceived and approved by the Council in 2001 the development of these principles into the current documents was completed only in the spring of this year. The long gestation period resulted from the briefs' inter-relationship with the parallel legal agreements on developer contributions and affordable housing which were negotiated over the same period - the policy for each subject evolving during the period of the first Midlothian Local Plan Public Inquiry.

Production of the development briefs for the other local plan sites started in earnest in December 2002, and is following a rolling programme. The brief for the St David's High School site in Dalkeith was published in the early spring. Publication of the next wave of briefs is to be completed by the turn of the year, with the remaining briefs nearing conclusion by December 2004.

Context (the problem which had to he addressed)

Midlothian is the smallest of the landward authorities in the Lothians, both in terms of geographic size (355km) and population (80,941). The County is nonetheless faced with an unprecedented level of development growth over the next 10115 years, relating to the fact that Edinburgh is the fastest growing area in Scotland.

The Midlothian Local Plan, which is shortly to be adopted following two Inquiries, allocates sites of 4,500 private houses (and for an additional 225/450 affordable houses).

These are substantial tigures, and there is likely to be a significant impact on the following five communities where the development is to occur:-

• Dalkeith - 1235 houses (5 greenfield sites and 2 infill sites)
• Bonnyrigg - 1,000 houses (1 site)
• Penicuik -500 houses (3 sites)
• Gorebridge -960 houses (5 sites)
• Mayfield~ewtong range -990 houses (6 sites)

The problem facing the Council was how to ensure that this scale and anticipated pace of development resulted in attractive individual 'places' relating well to their locality.

Action taken

In recognition of the importance of preparing detailed briefs at a sufficiently early date and in parallel with work on legal agreements relating to developer contributions, the Council has made resources available to facilitate his work. There has been community consultation where appropriate. There has also been consultation with developers and owners to ensure that the concepts set out in the briefs are achievable.

The briefs of necessity vary in nature. Were they relate to sites and development of significant scale one of the prime purposes of the brief is to set out the framework to be used in the preparation of Masterplans, to be commissioned by the site owners and/or developers. The prescriptive element of the briefs relate primarily to the principal features the sites' development are to observe.

There is a common emphasis for all briefs on quality of design and creation of places of individual character.

The briefs for the two major sites have taken an innovative approach to the problem of ensuring the developers bring forward proposals which demonstrate individuality and better quality. Both briefs identify' elements of the site which are to form the basis of "character zones". Similarly both sites are to incorporate areas of "improved quality", where materials and a level of care in detailing more normally associated with conservation areas is to be evident. This latter requirement relates to 20% of the dwellings to be provided.

The brief for the smaller site in Dalkeith relates to a brownfield site in a conservation area. It takes a more detailed approach to the problem of achieving quality, being deliberately prescriptive in relation to building heights, building lines, materials and building design and character.

Results achieved

The three completed briefs have had a major influence on the quality of the development proposals coming forward for the St. Davids site and on the Master Plan submitted for the major development site in Dalkeith. The Master Plan for the Bonnyrigg site is currently under preparation by the site owners and is being based on the development brief.

The project is obviously not yet at a stage where the quality of development on the ground can be demonstrated. However, the process has been welcomed by the development industry.

Conclusion - Why does this piece of work merit an Award?

The work reflects a considerable commitment by a relatively small authority with limited resources towards achieving good quality sustainable development.

The briefs provide clear statements of the Council's intent for the way it wishes to see its area developed and demonstrate an innovative approach to achieving these aims.

Date

12 September 2003

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