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siting and design issues

General Considerations

16. Over hundreds of years the siting and design of farm buildings evolved in response to local climatic conditions, landscape, the farming system, and locally available building materials, skills and traditions. Buildings were usually carefully sited and orientated, resulting in a close relationship between them and the landscape. The building forms, materials and colours tended to harmonise with the landscape and often enhanced it.

17. Whilst it is important that new buildings are located and designed in a way that respects their natural and man-made surroundings, they should not blindly perpetuate past traditions in building styles and materials, when in many cases these are no longer appropriate to contemporary farming practice or building technology. Nevertheless, new buildings should respect traditional influences and be developed in sympathy with their surroundings and in a form appropriate to their function.

18. Particular concern about the siting and design of new farm buildings emerged in the 1970s and since then guidance for farmers has been produced by a number of organisations. Relevant publications are listed in Annex 1. Not all of these are still available. Some planning authorities in Scotland have also produced advice leaflets which have been distributed to applicants and their professional advisers.

19. Planning authorities should consult with staff of The Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department where notified proposals require an appreciation of the agricultural requirements and needs of the individual farmer. Similar advice on forestry buildings can be obtained from the Forestry Commission.

20. Authorities should note that the Scottish Agricultural College provides farmers with specialist advice on agricultural buildings through building advice centres at Aberdeen, Auchincruive and Edinburgh. In addition, the Forestry Commission's landscape architects provide landowners with specialist advice on forestry buildings. Annex 2 lists these and other organisations who can provide information and advice.

21. The following paragraphs set out the main points to be considered when planning authorities are preparing guidance leaflets and when dealing with notified proposals. The key issues to be taken into account if a farm or forestry building is to harmonise with its surroundings are:

• reuse of existing buildings;
• operational requirements;
• detailed siting and visual impact;
• scale and form of building;
• colour and cladding materials;
• the surroundings.

The application of these siting and design issues should not add significantly to the cost of development. In many cases it will be no more expensive to take such matters into account and the use of better quality materials could be more cost effective in the longer term.

22. The advice is based on a review of the existing published material and takes account of the experience of practitioners who have been involved in farm building design. It should be seen as indicative rather than prescriptive. Naturally the level of detail which planning authorities provide in guidance to farmers and others will vary from area to area in response to perceived local needs.

Existing Buildings

23. The need for new accommodation will generally have arisen in response to specific functional requirements and consideration should be given to the site as a whole, including the opportunities provided by any existing buildings. In certain circumstances it may be possible to rehabilitate or convert existing buildings to accommodate modern processes and new activities. This may be less expensive than erecting a new building and can offer the additional advantages of retaining a mature setting and conserving traditional materials and finishes. However, care is required to ensure that additions or alterations are in sympathy with existing buildings.

24. In many cases, however, a purpose built new building will be the only way of meeting need and consideration may then have to be given to the future of redundant buildings. Some of these may have considerable historic and visual interest and it would be preferable if they remained used and intact. Planning authorities should be able to advise on possible alternative uses and give examples of successful conversions.

25. Grants for the repair or reinstatement of traditional farm buildings may be available from The Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department under the Farm Conservation Grant Scheme.

Operational Requirements

26. The operational requirements of farming and forestry are a major consideration and will often predetermine the general location, and in some cases the particular site and form, of a new building. In general, a building cannot be considered well designed if the operational requirements of the farmer or forester are not satisfied. Good design is not just a question of appearance or form but also relates to the suitability of the building to its function.

27. Sometimes, for operational reasons, new buildings have to be located near existing ones (for example, a self feed unit next to a stock building) and in other cases have to be some distance away (for example, hill farm stock shelters). There may also be health and safety reasons for a separation distance. Location may also be influenced by other operational factors such as the need for security and supervision, road access, the source of water supplies and shelter from prevailing winds.

28. Pollution control is an important determining factor in the location of farm activities. Slurry tanks should be placed down-wind and away from housing but other functional considerations such as the need to be close to livestock buildings and the need to avoid pollution of water courses will influence the siting. Detailed advice is contained in the SOAFD publication 'Prevention of Pollution from Agricultural Activity - A Code of Good Practice'.

Siting and Visual Impact

29. The visual impact of a new building is more difficult to assess since it involves aesthetic judgements which can vary. It also depends on the location; for example, large scale buildings can usually be more easily accommodated in flat open countryside than in hilly terrain, where, because of their size, they have a greater impact on the landscape. There are, however, some general principles of good practice governing siting that can help to ensure that a new building is integrated with its immediate surroundings and the general landscape setting:

• consideration should be given to the impact of a new building from a number of viewpoints both in the immediate surroundings and in the wider countryside;

• subject to operational requirements, the impact of a new building can be reduced by locating it near existing development. Making use of existing roads and yards and building against an existing wall may also reduce costs;
• buildings located on the crest of the hill are not only more exposed to the elements but are often visually disturbing. Where such a location is unavoidable the impact of the building can be reduced by siting it close to woodland and by careful choice of colour for the walls and roof (see paragraph 35); and

• on sloping sites it is generally best to align a building parallel with the contours and to use cut and fill in preference to large scale underbuilding. Where it is possible to accept different floor levels a building can be stepped down the slope. This will minimise disturbance to the existing land form, reduce visual impact and may even reduce costs;

• large new buildings can look out of scale with older buildings and consideration should be given to the possibility of providing the new accommodation in 2 or more smaller units;
• existing trees and hedges should be retained where possible and new buildings should respect the field boundary pattern.

30. When assessing possible sites for a new building it is important to establish if any natural or man made features of particular interest are present, for example, a scheduled monument or archaeological site, a category A listed building, a historic garden or designed landscape, or an SSSI. Historic Scotland or Scottish Natural Heritage should be consulted about such features where they are likely to be affected. This follows established practice for handling normal planning applications.

Scale and Form of Building

31. The forms of traditional buildings were conditioned by functional requirements, the local climate and the availability of building materials. This resulted in distinctive regional types. With modern buildings many of these differences have disappeared due to the use of standardised building techniques to produce cheaper and quicker buildings. Large modern buildings can look out of scale both with smaller old farm buildings and, in some cases, with their landscape settings. The apparent size of a building can be increased or reduced depending on the siting, the colour and the detailing of the exterior walls and roof.

32. The following points relating to scale and form should be borne in mind when considering proposals for a new building:

• avoid locating a very large building close to a small one unless there are trees to help mask the difference in scale;
• to reduce the apparent size of a new building consider the adoption of a "L" shaped plan or the provision of the floor space in more than one unit;

• use a multi-span building rather than single span to reduce overall height and create a more varied roof line. Wide overhanging eaves can also help reduce the apparent height of a building;

• where possible match roof pitches with those on existing buildings. Although low pitched roofs can make a building less obtrusive, they are often out of harmony with the steeper pitches of older buildings. Steep pitches are also usually more appropriate within forest areas; and

• break up large expanses of roof and walls with well designed and carefully positioned functional elements such as roof ventilators, gutters, downpipes, doors and windows.

Colour and Cladding Materials

33. There is now a wide range of cladding materials and colours available for agricultural and forestry buildings and the choices must be very carefully made since colour and finish can be the most important design factors in increasing or reducing the impact of the building. Very light colours (especially light blues and greens) and large areas of intense strong colours do not blend well with the landscape of Scotland, which in general is characterised by subtler, darker colours such as muted browns, greens, blues, purples and greys.

34. Manufacturers of paints and cladding materials are generally aware of the need to provide suitable colours for use on rural buildings and in many cases these are based on the advice provided in the Design Councils Publication "Colour Finishes for Farm Buildings" and the British Standard Code of Practice for "Buildings and Structures for Agriculture".

35. When considering the exterior colour to be used on a new building the following guiding principles may be helpful:

• darker colours are generally more acceptable as they complement the natural environment throughout the seasons and the different characteristics of daylight during the year.

• dark roofs reflect less light and generally make buildings look smaller and less conspicuous; and as a general rule the roof of a rural building should be darker than the walls. The main exception may be when lighter colours are required for high humidity livestock housing because of the operational need to reduce solar heat gain;
• where more than one colour is used, they should be in harmony. Technical information on preferred colours which can be used together without resulting in severe colour clashes and considerable visual intrusion is contained in 'British Standard BS5502 part 20';

• use of the same or similar colours on new and existing buildings can help to unify a group of buildings; and

• contrasting or brighter colours can be used to emphasise elements or to sub-divide large wall areas to reduce apparent bulk. However, these areas of colour should be limited in extent.

36. In the past the range of building materials available in rural areas was fairly limited, with the result that buildings tended to harmonise and be in scale with each other. New construction methods have resulted in a wide range of cladding materials being available for use on rural buildings. The following principles can be used to guide the selection of external finishes:

• limit the range of materials on one building since too many contrasting finishes can create visual disunity. However, large expanses of cladding of one colour may also be undesirable since this increases the apparent size of the building;

• choose materials which are appropriate for the climate and which will weather well over time.
• Take account of the maintenance implications of the materials used. Low initial building costs may have been achieved as a result of poor detailing and hasty construction and could lead to increased maintenance costs and a reduced life span;

• Consider the use of traditional materials to provide an important link with existing buildings. Treated timber is now an extremely versatile material with an extended life and, in particular, can be effectively used as space boarding where natural ventilation is required; and
• within a forest setting, use vertical rather than horizontal cladding to complement the vertical forms of the trees.

Surroundings

37. Consideration should be given to the best way of integrating a new building with its immediate surroundings. New areas of hardstanding, fences, boundary walls and additional planting should all be regarded as part of the overall design:

• consider the layout and design of hardstanding, fences, walls and hedges as a whole since they can make an important contribution to the appearance of the holding, create a unifying visual link between buildings and integrate the site with the surrounding landscape;

• retain and, if possible, augment existing groups of trees and shelter belts. Trees can improve the appearance of large new buildings by softening their outline and horizontal emphasis;
• use native tree species or those which are characteristic of the area, since this will have additional benefits for the conservation of flora and fauna. Grants to assist in planting trees may be available from the Forestry Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage; and
• before undertaking new planting, take account of possible future building expansion, and operational and building maintenance requirements.

38. Where the new building is sited next to an existing development, there may also be an opportunity to review the whole site and carry out improvements to existing buildings. Although such action would be outwith the scope of the Direction and would therefore be voluntary, it may help to achieve a more satisfactory blend of old and new. For example, it may be possible to repaint existing structures to match the new building or to consider linking old and new hard-surfaced areas, perhaps resurfacing with appropriate materials. There may also be the opportunity to remove waste material and redundant machinery from the site and to demolish derelict buildings that have neither future use nor intrinsic interest.

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