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Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 8 September 2006. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Gina Bellhouse |
Job title | Planning Officer |
Organisation | City of Edinburgh Council |
Address | City Development, 1 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1ZJ |
Telephone | 0131 469 3723 |
Fax | 0131 469 3716 |
Email | gina.bellhouse@edinburgh.gov.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
1 Michael Laird Architects | 2 Edinburgh Quay Ltd |
3 Waterman Partnership | 4 Thomas & Adamson |
5 RSP Consulting Engineers | 6 EDAW plc |
3 Tick the category of nomination
Title of entry | Edinburgh Quay |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary 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. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe, in your written submission, how the criteria which you have ticked relate to your project.
Description of project
Edinburgh Quay is the first mixed-use (7,500sq.m office space, 3,300sq.m restaurants and bars and 20 residential units), canal side development in Scotland and the first public / private joint venture development for British Waterways in Scotland. The restored basin marks the eastern end of the completed Millennium Link, bringing boat traffic into the heart of the City and creating a significant new leisure resource. New urban public space surrounds the basin and new and improved pedestrian / cycle routes now link residential areas to the west, via the canal towpath, through Edinburgh Quay to the Exchange financial district and the city centre beyond, significantly improving connectivity within this part of the City. |
Context - describe the background to the project
The development plan seeks to secure a significant amount of modern, high quality office accommodation and to create a new focus of business activity centred on Morrison Street. Emphasis is placed on the importance of mixed-use development, increasing housing stock and the creation of lively and varied public environment. In the design of new development, buildings and spaces of distinction are sought, including the creation of a safe and alternative pedestrian environment and new pedestrian and cycle linkages. A local plan vignette identified key development principles, linkages, the opportunity to enhance the leisure potential of the Union Canal and create a development with a distinctive waterfront setting. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
The aims and objectives of the project were for the developer, their agents and the local planning authority to work together to: create a distinctive, mixed-use, waterfront development; enhance the leisure potential of the Union Canal corridor; restore and create important linkages to the surrounding area; contribute to the regeneration of the Tollcross and Fountainbridge areas; and expand the city's business core, all in accordance with the development strategy set out in the Central Edinburgh Local Plan. Edinburgh Quay is an example of urban regeneration, bringing a neglected and decaying area of the City back to life, reconnecting it to its surroundings, expanding the City's business core and acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider Fountainbridge/Tollcross area. It's a good example of 'place making', creating an identifiable new place in the City. |
Timescale - over what timescale has the project been developed?
Development of the project in detail began in 2000. Pre-application discussions were held with the planning authority, including discussions with planning officials, the City Archaeologists and Historic Scotland. Edinburgh Quay Phase 1 received planning permission in 2002. The construction period of the development was 24 months, with the building being completed in December 2004. |
Action - explain the process and action taken
The process involved a significant element of pre-application discussions, with Planning staff and key consultees. The aim was to address issues early in the process to secure a quality development. In response to a request by the planning authority, the phase 1 planning application was supported by a range of contextual information that sought to relate the development to the wider area, its connections to adjoining opportunity sites, and to explain how the development of the site would meet the objectives of the Council as set out in the local plan. Subsequently the Council prepared the Fountainbridge Development Brief. The area includes Edinburgh Quay and other sites adjacent to the canal basin. It recognises the dual role of the area and seeks to maximise the benefits of regeneration for local communities and the City as a whole. |
Explain the role of the key partners
The developer was keen to produce a quality development that met the Council's wider aspirations for the area. Regular meetings and design workshops with Planning and other Council officials ensured that key partners in the exercise did not lose sight of the wider regeneration objectives set out in the local plan and that the opportunity to increase canal-related activity, both on the water and adjacent land, was fully realised. |
Results - what results were achieved?
Within its immediate environs, Edinburgh Quay has: transformed this derelict under-used asset to create a true mixed-use development, offering living, working and leisure space providing vitality throughout the day; improved links with the wider area in line with local plan objectives; created a public space that has become a popular multi-functional venue; realised the potential of the canal basin and secured a quality and lively terminus for the Millennium Link; retained the special character of the ancient monument; and is expected to act as a catalyst for the future development of Fountainbridge and the surrounding area. The office and residential units are fully occupied and the commercial uses at ground floor are thriving and animated enlivening the public spaces. |
Conclusion - in summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
The project merits an award for the following reasons: a successful liaison between the developer, their agents and the planning authority to create a quality development; the transformation of an under-used and derelict area, into which city centre uses have been attracted and important connections created; the high quality of buildings and public realm creating an individual identity for the development that integrates offices, housing and restaurants/bars; its contribution to the restoration of the Union Canal and its enhancement of a scheduled ancient monument, retaining important characteristics, while creating lively public spaces, appropriate for the terminus of the Millennium Link project; and has acted as a stimulus for the regeneration of the wider area, a process that is now well underway. |
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