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GARSON, STROMNESS

Development Brief

ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL
Development Brief
March 2011

www.orkney.gov.uk

Introduction

This Development Brief replaces the existing ‘Garson – Stromness Housing Development Brief’ which was approved in June 2002 and amended in July 2005. It has been necessary to review that brief to bring it up to date in terms of current housing requirements, and to take into account the recently adopted Stromness Urban Design Framework (UDF) (July 2009) and the emerging proposals for the Copland’s Dock which has been identified as a Strategic Development Area (SDA) in the emerging Orkney Local Development Plan.

This revised Development Brief sets out the main opportunities and constraints relating to the housing sites at Garson and provides an outline framework for the phased development of land allocated in the current Orkney Local Plan 2004 as housing site H1. It is expected that future development of the site will respond to the Development Brief Strategy and Design Criteria set out in this document.

The new development area identified in the Stromness UDF (Garson Expansion Area) is outwith the scope of this Development Brief and will be the subject of a separate consultation by the Stromness Harbour Working Group during 2011.

IMAGE: Aerial view of the Garson site and the Development Brief boundary. The image shows the coastal settlement of Stromness to the west, Hamnavoe, the development site to the east, and the boundary of the site marked around the eastern and southern shoreline.

IMAGE: The coastal link round the Hamnavoe, showing the path running along the shoreline.

IMAGE: Existing stone walls and footpath along the site boundary.

IMAGE: View of the site from Brinkie’s Brae, showing the Garson development area, surrounding housing, fields, shoreline and Hamnavoe.

Purpose of the development brief

The Garson peninsula has experienced a gradual spread of development from north to south over the past few decades. To date, there has been limited attention to ensuring a coordinated overview of development phasing or the establishment of parameters for building layout and design which reflect the highly sensitive setting of the sites. The Stromness UDF started the process of re-assessing the priorities for new development in Stromness. Critically, it established the overriding principle of ensuring that new development is contextually sensitive, well designed and of an appropriate quality to ensure it is a long term asset to Stromness.

The purpose of this Development Brief is to provide more detail on the planning and design considerations which are critical to the successful coordinated development of the Garson site.

Guidance to applicants

The Development Brief sets out planning and design principles to lead the design process for future development phases of the Garson site. Applicants will be required to demonstrate that their proposals respond to the Development Brief Strategy and the more detailed Design Criteria set out in this Development Brief. This evidence should be presented in a design statement which will be submitted in support of a planning application.

The level of information required in each design statement will vary depending on the scale of development proposed. For example, it is likely that single house developments will require quite limited information and that this will focus mainly on demonstrating that the chosen design of the building responds to the layout and design criteria set out in this Development Brief. Larger scale developments such as multiple house developments will be expected to provide a more comprehensive assessment. Clarification should be sought from the planning department at the pre-application stage on the level of information that will be required. At a basic level, applicants should provide a brief written response to the Development Brief Strategy and each of the Design Criteria, explaining how the proposal addresses the issues raised. In addition, the content of this Brief should be considered in conjunction with appropriate planning guidance given at local and national level and with the conditions set out in any tender documentation that might be issued for individual parts of the site.

Site description

The Garson development site lies immediately to the south of existing development along Hamnavoe and west of Garson Road. It is 4.60 ha in size and comprises the areas known as Garson Phases 1–4 which are at varying stages of completion, design or servicing. The status of the various phases and elements of the site are as follows:

IMAGE: Long term structuring diagram for Garson, from Stromness Urban Design Framework 2009. The diagram identifies housing, the Zero Waste Village, industry and business areas, a green edge to Hamnavoe, and focal points. Labels visible in the diagram include “HOUSING”, “ZERO WASTE VILLAGE”, “INDUSTRY / BUSINESS”, “GREEN EDGE TO HAMNAVOE”, “FOCAL POINTS”, “NORTH HAMNAVOE DEVELOPMENT SITE” and “FOCAL POINT BOAT REPAIR”.

Phasing plan

  • Phase 1 – built
  • Phase 2 – built and on site
  • Phase 3 – access roads and services with some buildings on site
  • Phase 4 – services provided, some flexibility in road layout, no buildings on site

This revised Development Brief applies to phases 3 and 4 of the Garson development as detailed at figure 2. The Local Development Plan SDA is also identified to the south of the site. This area is due to be the subject of consultation during 2011 following the work of the Stromness Harbour Working Group. This Development Brief anticipates the future development of the SDA and identifies two potential vehicular access points, and also a pedestrian link along the east shoreline of Hamnavoe.

IMAGE: Phasing plan. The plan outlines Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4 at the northern end of the site and identifies the larger southern area as “Strategic Development Area (former Phase 5)”. The plan also marks the shoreline and the boundary of the development area.

IMAGE: Phase three – spring 2009. The photograph shows serviced development land with newly constructed access roads and houses already built in the background.

Policy background and context

Phases 1–4 are identified in the Orkney Local Plan 2004 for residential development.

The Stromness UDF identifies Garson as a mixed density area (PO4 and PO6). Garson has been developed historically in a high density suburban form. The UDF has established that this pattern of development has been detrimental to the overall quality of experience of Stromness town. Although there is now an appetite for change to this approach, the Garson Peninsula has since been identified as a SDA, and as such, the earlier proposed lower density Phase 5 housing site has been removed from this Development Brief. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the higher density development of the remaining phases 3 and 4 area of the Garson site, which is to be developed for a mix of serviced sites and public housing, is undertaken in a coordinated manner in order to improve the quality of development in this area.

IMAGE: Contemporary Scottish housing. The photograph shows a group of modern houses in a rural coastal setting, illustrating contemporary building forms and materials relevant to the policy and design context.

The Development Brief Strategy

The role of this Development Brief is to establish common planning and design principles for these different formats of housing development in order that the site development as a whole is coordinated and well designed – creating a high quality and highly valued extension to Stromness.

To achieve this, new development proposals must respond to the following strategic principles:

  • Providing for a network of open spaces and pedestrian and cycle routes
  • Establishing an appropriate distribution and scale of vehicular access points, streets and external connections (including links to the future SDA)
  • Identification of building lines which relate to the above framework of spaces and routes
  • Establishing design criteria to measure the quality of new development and ensure that individual buildings have common characteristics, and contribute collectively to a coherent and uniform development of the Garson site as a whole

IMAGE: Development Brief Strategy plan. The plan shows Phases 1 and 2, Phase 3, Phase 4 and the Strategic Development Area, with building lines, a coastal footpath and cycleway, potential access to the SDA, a long-term strategic link, greenspace east of the coastal footpath, a children’s play area and public open space. Labels visible in the plan include “section 1”, “section 2”, “POS”, “CPA”, “phases 1 and 2”, “phase 3”, “phase 4”, “Strategic Development Area”, “building line”, “coastal footpath/cycleway + linkages”, “potential access to SDA”, “long term strategic link”, “greenspace east of coastal footpath”, “children’s play area” and “public open space”.

These key principles are illustrated on the Development Brief Strategy plan at figure 3. Section drawings are also provided at figures 4 and 5. These sections are intended to assist applicants in understanding the physical character of the site and wider landscape and how new buildings will be expected to respond to this context.

Planning applications will be measured against their success at responding to the Development Brief Strategy. Proposals which do not respond to these strategic principles will not be granted planning permission. The following more detailed design criteria will help to ensure that the Development Brief Strategy is achieved.

The Design Criteria

DC1 - Buildings and Placemaking

The Stromness UDF sets out broad criteria for development of the Garson site. Briefly, it is expected that building design will reflect the prominent location of the site and sensitivity to the traditions of building in Orkney. Traditional building is acceptable as is contemporary building which has clearly developed from local vernacular building. Suburban styles finished in brick or which include barge boards and boxed in eaves will not be acceptable.

In order to contribute effectively to the Development Brief Strategy, development proposals should respond to the following points:

  • Buildings should present a frontage to the internal street system and follow the building lines identified in the Development Brief Strategy plan at Figure 3.
  • All new development should demonstrate efficient and sustainable use of energy and resources in terms of materials, construction and energy supply, in addition to maximising solar gain and shelter from the wind within the constraints of the established building lines.
  • New development should achieve plot sizes and building lines which create sheltered spaces and a pleasant public realm. In some circumstances this may result in a layout where the minimum distances are less than 21m between windows and where the footprint of buildings exceeds one third of the total plot area.
  • Development of the whole site should result in a mix of building types, including semi-detached and terraced buildings which have advantages over detached dwellings in delivering better urban form and sheltered spaces. It is important that the public space and children’s play area elements of the development have appropriate shelter. In order to achieve this, higher density development of the perimeter of the site will be required. The illustrative sections provide further detail.
  • New buildings should be 1 or 1.5 Storey. 2 storey buildings will only be permitted where it is demonstrated that these do not compromise or over dominate the overall coherence of the development site as a whole.
  • It is expected that new development should be predominantly residential but this does not preclude possible opportunities for other uses such as community facilities or a small convenience store or corner shop - such a proposal must be integrated with the overall layout of the site, in particular relationships with public space.
  • New development should adopt designed-in traffic amelioration wherever possible rather than traffic calming (i.e. narrower streets, shared surfaces, limited regulation signs etc).
  • There should be uniformity of colour throughout the development site. Individual buildings should be finished with colours which relate to the natural pigments seen in vernacular Orcadian buildings – for example ranging from white to buff coloured elevations and dark grey roofs.
  • Development should orientate towards new pedestrian and cycle links both within the sites and externally, in particular linking to an improved coastal path link around Hamnavoe.
  • The site layout must include a central/public space at the eastern shoreline of Hamnavoe as part of Phase 4 which could act as a future landing point for the strategic link identified in the UDF but also exist in its own right as a usable public space, and this space should be overlooked by housing on adjacent land.
  • The site layout must include provision of a children’s play area in a central and sheltered location. It must link into pedestrian footpaths and cycleways and be overlooked by adjacent buildings.

IMAGE: Appropriate materials and building form. The photograph shows a contemporary Orcadian-style house using pale rendered walls, dark roofs and timber cladding, illustrating the type of building form and materials considered appropriate.

DC2 - Boundaries and edges

These elements of the development will contribute to the nature and quality of external spaces, and to the coherence of the development site as a whole. It is important that there are common features delivered by each development proposal.

In order to contribute effectively to the Development Brief Strategy, development proposals should respond to the following points:

  • Existing field walls within the site should be retained and incorporated in the new layout of the development area.
  • Edges along the roads through the site should reflect the surrounding countryside stone walls and grass verges.
  • A sense of enclosure should be created throughout the development by linked frontages and garden walls and verges with consistency of materials and heights. Traditionally constructed drystone walls will be the most appropriate, however, block walls finished with uniformly coloured render and natural stone copes are a secondary alternative.
  • Individual site boundaries should avoid suburban detailing such as timber hit-and-miss fencing, though timber fences may be permitted in back gardens to provide shelter for trees and planting.
  • The use of brick walls, coniferous hedges or decorative gateways to individual developments is not appropriate.

IMAGE: Traditional laid dry stone wall. The photograph shows a traditionally constructed stone boundary wall, illustrating the type of wall recommended for the development.

DC3 - Open space, play areas, and landscaping

The Development Brief Strategy plan identifies a network of linked open space areas incorporating a children’s play area, passive open space and habitat supporting natural areas which may also be part of the development’s Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS). These open space areas should be linked to the footpath along the east shore of the Hamnavoe.

In order to contribute effectively to the Development Brief Strategy, development proposals should respond to the following points:

  • The play area must be well designed and should include play equipment and seating for the enjoyment of young children and families living in the area. This should be produced and agreed in partnership between the Planning Authority and Stromness Community Council.
  • Native tree species of local provenance and other trees and shrubs that already grow successfully in the town, such as sycamores should be used to establish the landscape treatment in the area, in particular to develop the open space and pedestrian networks identified in The Development Brief Strategy plan.
  • A mechanism to deliver the above landscape features and children’s play area, and for the long term maintenance of public space throughout the development must be identified and implemented before the first planning application is approved for development in this area.

IMAGE: Local example of new park designed in context. The photograph shows a landscaped park with a path, grassed areas, mature trees and a stone structure, illustrating an open space designed to fit its local setting.

DC4 - Access, roads and movement

Road construction should not be conceived in isolation but as an integrated element of the overall design of the development. The Council’s standards should serve as a guide but should be flexible enough so as not to inhibit the design of an innovative, less car dominant layout which respects the landform and character of the area. The concepts set out in ‘Designing Streets – A Policy Statement for Scotland’ (2010) issued by the Scottish Government should be implemented.

In order to contribute effectively to the Development Brief Strategy, development proposals should respond to the following points:

  • An informal system of well connected streets with natural traffic calming (building lines, shared road surfaces etc) built in and equal priority given to all modes including walking and cycling should be designed for.

Specific access requirements

  • It is expected that the main access will be taken from the established access from Garson Road into Phases 1, 2 and 3. Access will be from the existing spurs within Phase 3. Access to the Strategic Development Area may be taken from the spur adjacent to plot 21 of Phase 3, as indicated on the Development Brief Strategy plan.

Parking requirements

Where parking spaces are allocated to individual properties the provision requirement will be 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit (discounting garages) along with 25% visitor parking which should be provided in groups of at least 2 spaces and must be strategically located.

For communal parking the provision requirement (including visitor parking) is 1.5 to 1.75 spaces per dwelling unit. A range of solutions to reduce the impact of car parking on the residential environment must be considered in the design of individual plots. These should include a combination of:

  • Avoiding front garden space being given over to parking
  • Using traditional front garden walls to structure the street appearance
  • Designing in shared small scale semi-private courtyard parking
  • Building shared surfaces in traditional materials rather than using coloured concrete block surfaces, for example in parking zones and domestic runways

IMAGE: Low key setting of parking areas. The photograph shows vehicles parked beside modest residential buildings in a grassed setting, illustrating a restrained approach to parking that avoids dominating the residential environment.

IMAGE: Combination of new habitats, open space and SuDS. The photograph shows planted wetland or drainage infrastructure integrated into landscaped open space, illustrating how Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems can form part of the site’s habitat and open-space network.

DC5 - Water resource management

Although the site lies adjacent to Hamnavoe there is no known drainage issue in the locality and it is outwith the area at risk on both the Indicative River and Coastal Flood map (Scotland) and Strategic Flood Risk Assessment carried out as part of the Urban Design Framework for Stromness. Nonetheless individual planning applications must demonstrate that they have considered whether there are any local sources of flooding and be designed to avoid such areas.

In line with the requirements of PAN61 ‘Planning and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems’, an appropriate SuDS will be required as part of planning applications for individual and multiple dwellings. Designing Streets provides case study examples of how to incorporate SuDS. This will be achieved most effectively through the open space network identified in the Development Brief Strategy plan, which will provide a means to ensure that SuDS are visually attractive, safe and accessible for maintenance purposes.

All planning applications must demonstrate that they will connect to the public foul drainage.

Further information

For further information, please contact:

Development Management
Development and Environment Services
Orkney Islands Council
School Place
Kirkwall
KW15 1NY
tel 01856 873535

IMAGE: Orkney Islands Council crest and logo. The text reads “ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL”.

IMAGE: Section 1 – looking north through Garson. The section illustrates the relationship between the proposed development, the coastal setting and the wider landscape, with building profiles shown across the site.

IMAGE: Section 2 – looking east through Garson. The section illustrates the eastward relationship of the proposed buildings to the surrounding landform and wider landscape.