The Scottish Government

Name

Catriona Reece-Heal

Job title

Organisation

City of Edinburgh Council

Address

City Development, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 8BG

Telephone

0131 529 6123

Fax

0131 529 6205

Email

catriona.reece-heal@edinburgh.gov.uk

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Development Plans Development Management Development on the Ground Community Involvement

Title of entry

The Edinburgh Standards for Streets Delivery Process

Professional knowledge Innovation Management Sustainable development

Partnership Community interest Regeneration Customer satisfaction

The Edinburgh Standards for Streets ( ESS), the critical element in a new initiative to achieve quality public realm, is Edinburgh's response to National Policy which identifies Planning's project management role in the design and delivery of public realm. The result is the delivery of an enhanced environment for pedestrians, which is designed to respond to its built context, and meet the requirements of traffic movement. The ESS set out what we want to achieve for the streets of Edinburgh in the form of 8 principles with design guidance, that co-ordinates general arrangement and activities in the street; detailed design components, with a focus on simplicity of design, and an outline of delivery mechanisms. During preparation, the principles and design guidance were tested by application on the ground in the High Street of Edinburgh.

The City of Edinburgh Council, through its Design Initiative and City Design Champion, Sir Terry Farrell's concept of a 'walking city', has undertaken European/ UK wide study visits to establish 'best practice' approaches to public realm and streetscape design. Lessons learned raised awareness and expectation of what can be achieved through a well designed public realm and streetscape. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 confirms that Planning's role should be focused on delivery not solely planning policy, and emphasizes the need for planners to deliver the proposals set out in their plans and supplementary planning guidance. Pan 76 Residential Streets also sets out the role that planners should be playing in relation to the street design and public realm and the wider process issues relating to the role of Road Construction Consent, the safety audit and the planning process. The Council recognized the need for the ESS to be delivered in consultation with key agencies and communities to achieve consensus, and ensure an effective mechanism for achieving improvement and coherence in the public realm.

The main aim of the ESS is to implement the principles of good public realm quality in a consistent manner across the city specifically in relation to the design of streets. The ESS set out a new Delivery Process that recognises the role that a high quality public realm can play in the economic success of cities. It also highlights that the public realm is used by everyone within the city and is the focus of many different activities and uses. The ESS set out how these issues can be managed by Planning to ensure a corporate approach to the delivery of an enhanced and coherent public realm. The new Delivery Process for Streetscape consists of 3 tiers - an officer/member Streetscape Board that sets strategic direction, a Streetscape Delivery Group including external partners that develop projects, and a Streetscape Working Group that monitors design and delivery. Training is an essential component of the process ensuring members, managers, and practitioners are aware of the Standards and apply the guidance in their current roles. Auditing of schemes facilitates ongoing monitoring and refinement.

A draft for consultation version of the ESS was presented to the Planning Committee in September 2005 and circulated to a wide range of organizations with a particular interest in the subject. During preparation, the emerging guidance was applied on Edinburgh's High Street project enabling testing and refinement of the design guidance. The formal consultation period included presentations to a number of community forums and organizations. The aims and principles of the document were well received. The Planning Committee approved the ESS as Supplementary Planning Guidance in November 2006, with the public launch in April 2007. The launch provided a valuable opportunity to initiate the training programme to ensure members, senior managers and external partners were aware of the implications for the ESS for their current roles. Projects are now being designed in accordance with the ESS within the delivery structure established.

The client group for the ESS brief included Historic Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage. During the preparation, consultant Colin Davis, working with Planning, developers and their design teams, the Council's Design Initiative and Waterfront Communities Project, used workshops to develop the principles and scope of the guidance. The Planning Committee visited European partner cities and current UK best practice examples to reinforce the overall aims of the ESS. The High Street project provided a valuable opportunity to test the ESS in implementation. Following the draft publication further consultation with a range of community groups, statutory consultees, along with design professionals ensured that the principles and design philosophy aspired to current best practice and local issues. John Dales, from Urban Initiatives, was appointed as Streetscape Design Advisor to the Council's Streetscape Board in 2007, to deliver the training programme through workshops and seminars. Projects are now being designed to the ESS, and specific themes such as decluttering are being tackled. Continuing evolution of the ESS is being collated from emerging best practice, as well as the process audit to ensure an enhanced public realm is delivered.

Historic Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage were represented on the client group to ensure that the themes of conserving the historic environment of Edinburgh and the outstanding universal values of the World Heritage Site were central to the aims and principles of the emerging document. The scoping process has required specialist advice as well as the development of corporate perspectives, coupling political priorities with technical best practice. The Council's City Design Champion, Sir Terry Farrell, consultant Colin Davis' extensive expertise and the newly appointed Design Advisor for streetscape, John Dales, have played key roles in the formulation of the document and its delivery.

The ESS and Delivery Process have set high standards for Edinburgh's public realm. The policy has been completed, approved, embodied in the Development Plan, published and widely disseminated and is now being prioritized through the Council wide co-coordinated Streetscape Delivery Process of Board, Delivery Group and Working Group. The High Street public realm has tested and developed the ESS, as an exemplar of high quality public realm. Training across the Council and with external agencies explained the ESS and facilitated its implementation. The corporate approach means public realm is managed in a coordinated and integrated way thus delivering a better service. Multidisciplinary groups are now tackling some of the key themes such as de-cluttering and use of materials in line with the ESS. The ESS is being used on other projects such as the tram, with planners having daily input into scheme design. The ESS and the delivery process make a significant contribution to the Council's City Vision and are central to delivering the Council's Design Initiative theme of a 'walking city'.

The Edinburgh Standards for Streets and Delivery Process recognize the importance of planners in relation to delivery of enhanced public realm. This is central to the aspirations of the Planning Act and PAN 76. The delivery is inclusive across the Council, as well as external agencies. The training process has already reached over 200 staff and will continue with external agencies. The decision to test the ESS on the High Street project not only helped to develop them, but also illustrated the principles and guidance. The delivery structure allows not only large capital projects, but also smaller local delivery of enhanced public realm in a coordinated and integrated way. The ESS can evolve with changing requirements, political goals, and evolving best practice. The delivery process coordinates the Council vision, implementation, auditing and monitoring roles in relation to the public realm.

21st August 2007