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PAN 44: Fitting New Housing Development
into the Landscape
introduction
1. Housebuilding has made a big impact in Scotland in
the last decade. It is likely to continue to be the most
widespread urban land use change for many years ahead.
Recycling disused and vacant urban land as brownfleld sites
for new housing remains a national priority and can provide
for a large part of the land needs. But land recycling will
not always be possible, particularly in smaller towns.
Demand for new housing is high in many of these towns, and
the development they attract may threaten their character
and identity. A cumulative loss of landscape quality has
already become apparent as suburban housing estates - often
devised with little appreciation of local character or a
sense of place - have taken shape around the fringes of our
towns.
2. This Planning Advice Note, with the attached
consultants' manual, is a response to that process. It
follows up earlier advice in PAN 36 on the siting and
design of new housing in the countryside (which dealt with
proposals for individual houses and small groups) with a
consideration of design principles for larger developments
on the edge of built up areas. The advice offers
suggestions to help planners, developers and local
communities achieve residential developments which are in
harmony with their landscape setting and which make a more
positive contribution to the character of existing
settlements.
3. The manual is not intended to provide a blueprint
for housing design, but sets out approaches which should
help to relate housing layout more sensitively to the
existing landscape.
the policy framework
4. The Government's Environment White Paper
This Common Inheritance indicated that as most
people inhabit towns and cities, it is vital that they are
pleasant places in which to live and work. New buildings
and development of all kinds should improve the quality of
life there. The White Paper recognised that attitudes to
new housebuilding are strongly influenced by the quality of
their design. Good buildings, well designed and well
maintained, good planning and layout, and adequate green
space within and around the town all contribute to a good
environment. In the White Paper's words
"It is important that new housing on 'green field'
sites is carefully placed to preserve the open countryside
and respects the quality of the landscape".
5. Both at national and international levels, the
Government has stressed its commitment to sustainable
development, and it has now published the UK Sustainable
Development Strategy to fulfil obligations as part of
Agenda 21 arising from the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992.
Conserving local environmental quality is a key element of
this commitment to sustainable development. The housing we
build today must demonstrate that commitment. Not only will
it help to shape our environment in the immediate future,
it will also be a legacy determining the environmental
quality of many areas throughout much of the 21st
century.
6. The Government's commitment to sustainable
development is fully reflected in recently published
Scottish Office planning guidance. NPPG 1:
The Planning System indicates that maintaining and
enhancing the quality of the built environment is to be
considered a prime objective. It can be achieved, amongst
other measures, by promoting good urban and building design
and by safeguarding the character and setting of towns and
villages. NPPG 1 also draws attention to the fact that the
appearance of a development and its relationship to its
surroundings are material considerations to be taken into
account in determining a planning application. Recognising
that good design is first of all the responsibility of
designers and their clients, the NPPG notes that it is for
development plans to guide developers on any broad design
matters relevant to particular locations, avoiding the
prescription of excessive detail.
7. These points are also taken up in NPPG 3:
Land for Housing, which calls for greater weight
to be given to design both to improve environmental quality
and to achieve greater energy efficiency. In seeking to
protect and enhance the quality of the environment, NPPG 3
asks developers to aim for a high standard of design and
landscaping in new housing development, with particular
emphasis on:-
- the shape, layout and form of the
development and its impact on the surrounding
area;
- the choice of materials, with colours and textures
that complement development in the locality;
- well designed schemes that respect both the local
environment and the Iandscape setting; and
- the visual impact of new developments as seen from
major roads and rail routes.
In some places good design will not in itself be enough
to offset detrimental effects on the landscape. NPPG 3
recommends that there should be strict controls on housing
developments that would have an adverse impact on the
setting of an existing settlement.
the need for advice on
landscape fit
8. As the most extensive new urban land use, housing has
a major impact on our standard of environment. It must be
seen to make a positive and specific contribution in
fulfilling the principle of sustainable development to
which the Government is firmly committed.
9. Scotland enjoys a long and distinctive tradition of
urban design, with urban form closely fitted to the
landscape. The pattern, evolved over centuries, has now
seen some additions at best mediocre or indifferent in
quality. Lack of integration with the landscape is
particularly noticeable on the edges of our small and
medium sized towns. Many new housing developments have been
planned and carried out without evident regard to existing
urban form and the local landscape, or to their wider
visual impact particularly when seen from road and rail
approaches. Insensitive development can undermine the
special environmental quality of towns and their setting in
the countryside which have drawn people to live and invest
in them in the first place.
10. The Government - in answer to growing concern about
insensitive new housing developments - wishes to ensure
that proposals are made sufficiently responsive to the
sense of place, and to the general and particular character
of the place. The capacity of the landscape to absorb
development must be given proper attention, alongside other
considerations such as the need and demand for housing, the
availability of land, energy efficiency and the provision
of infrastructure.
11. Locally, a great deal can be achieved. Individuals
and companies, developers and planning authorities, all
have a part to play. The guiding principle of new housing
development is that it should help to maintain and enhance
the environment.
action in plans and
development control
12. NPPGs 1 and 3 describe how planning authorities will
be best able to influence the design of new development.
Structure plans should set out any strategic design
requirements and local plans should set out realistic
objectives and criteria against which new housing proposals
can be assessed.
13. Policies and proposals for housing
development in structure and local plans should be guided
by a better understanding of the characteristics of the
landscape and its suitability for development. Where
appropriate, plans should show any specific design
requirements which follow from this.
14. Careful attention to landscape fit should be given
by housing developers, and the principles of good design
should be applied consistently by authorities in their
planning decisions.
15. The
attached consultants' manual
describes some useful techniques and includes
checklists on both site analysis and project design.
Not all the techniques will apply in every case. But
they demonstrate practical ways of giving the proper
consideration to landscape setting which will be of
critical importance in securing the quality of
Scotland's environment in the face of major
change
note
16. Enquiries about the content of this advice note
should be addressed to Roger Kelly (0131 244 7526). Further
copies and a list of current NPPGs and Planning Advice
Notes may be obtained from:
Planning Division
Development Department
2-H
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
(0131 244 7543 and 7538).
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