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PAN 44: Fitting New Housing Development
into the Landscape
CHARACTERISTICS OF RECENT DEVELOPMENT
14 Many specific factors have contributed to the design
and layout of recent developments.
The car has become dominant, demanding space
for access, garaging and parking
Streets which once formed attractive townscapes,
unifying buildings and providing the setting for numerous
activities are now overwhelmed by traffic, keeping either
side apart functionally and visually. The consequences of
traffic congestion includes visual intrusion, danger and
noise.
15
Widespread use of modern machinery has facilitated
earth-moving on a scale and a speed impossible with
earlier manual methods. Site preparation and road building has been made
easier and it has become possible to completely change the
shape of sites to accommodate standardised layouts and
house types.
16 High construction costs have led to more components
being made on the factory floor, and the production of
complete building kits is common.
These kits are not normally adapted to take
account of Scottish tradition resulting in
standardisation of appearance throughout the
country which ignores regional variation
17
The use of modern building materials has had an
adverse impact on the appearance of many old
settlements. New standards of insulation and glazing
techniques have made welcome advances in comfort
particularly in the winter months. But these have also made
it possible to ignore local climatic conditions by erecting
buildings in exposed locations where they can often be
visually prominent. This ignores the need for comfort and
shelter in external areas and is evident in many recent
examples of residential development.
18 The function of shelter and enclosure was once
performed by the suitable scale, grouping and density of
urban form. This is difficult to achieve in low density
suburban developments.
Today's requirements for large scale
developments, together with demand for individual
house plots, creates difficulty in integrating new
development by the subtle interplay of townscape
and landform alone.
19 With extensive and dispersed layouts, modern, large
scale development rarely sits well in the landscape without
substantial new planting.
Major, low density residential developments
require a strong landscape framework:
- to improve and enhance their setting;
- to ameliorate the visual impact of
development;
- to help unify urban form and disparate
architectural styles;
- to provide shelter;
- to facilitate the phasing of development; and
- to create local identity.
Where landscape is planted it is often of mean
proportion and takes years to become effective. This
underlines that landscape is a supplement to, not a
substitution for, good townscape and sensitive siting.
20 The prime objective of many housebuilding companies
is to add value to their original investment in the land
and in general this demands a maximisation of the number of
dwellings to be developed. The most cost effective use of
land is sought within constraints imposed by roads
authorities (car movement and parking) and planning
authorities (density and privacy standards).
Layouts are frequently driven by functional
criteria and this results in characteristically
uniform developments with the role of design
consigned to the later stages in the process.
21 The achievement of better design standards to
increase the environmental quality of new housing
developments may cost more initially but is usually very
good value for money in the longer term. A mechanism is
currently lacking within the operation of the housebuilding
industry and land market whereby land values reflect the
design standards and environmental quality expected of new
development today. This needs to be addressed by the
Planning System and Developers alike to enable a more
sustainable product to be developed.
The human scale and intricate texture
of the traditional urban centre
contributing to a sense of place. | Many modern developments do not bear
any relationship to their regional context.
They could have been built anywhere, having
no sense of place. Standardised designs,
such as those below, lead to a loss of
individuality and identity. | The needs of the car consume space and
dominate new urban form. The quality and
extent of the external landscaping add to
the value of the house. Its absence limits
individual expression and the possibility
for the development to mature. |
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22 In summary, the key characteristics of recent
residential development are large scale estates which:
- involve extensive land-take,
with limited landscaping or 'green
framework';
- adversely affect the visual
setting of existing towns and
countryside;
- evolve as a sequence of
phased developments related solely
to market considerations often in
the absence of any overall design
for the wider environment;
| Scale |
- often result in a mono-type and
mono density layout lacking in
variety of land-use and building
form;
- present stark contrast to
the urbanity which traditionally
characterises Scottish
towns;
- contrast markedly with the
form, style, materials and general
character of the established
townscape creating significant
visual intrusion at the edge of
towns.
| Density |
- are often characterised by
standardised suburban designs and
layouts with little diversity and
lacking other uses to create focal
points and landmarks. As a result
they lack of individuality and
identity;
- have standard house types
insensitive to individual
locations;
- use standard palette of
materials often transported over
long distances and alien to the
locality.
| Layout and Design |
- lack evidence of success in the
creation of place. There is often a
lack of distinction between public
and private space and an absence of
landmarks and distinguishing
features.
| Creation of Spaces and Places |
23 All of these factors combine to produce alack of
aesthetic appeal. Such developments are unlikely to create
the places of our future heritage - yet somehow this is
happening within a highly developed planning system.
"We need to reproduce the charm of existing settlements
in a new way. We must create a variety of spaces and not
allow the road and car to dominate"
Graham Pye
President, House Builders Federation
Development on the skyeline is
often visually intrusive. It is exposed
to the full impact of the wind and
rain. | The absence of a properly conceived
and implemented landscape framework and
urban form leads to visual intrusion
and visual confusion at the edge of
Scotland's towns, particularly when
viewed from important routes and
railways. |
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