portfolio
Kilwinning’s Future: growing community projects
The purpose of the charrette was to develop a useful output for a range of community interests and maximise the impact that community groups could have in influencing the future Kilwinning.
Our Springburn - community-led planning and design
In the preface to the Our Springburn report, Kevin Murray wrote: “Springburn is a hugely distinctive place in Glasgow that justifiably conjures powerful images as a place of industry and creativity, of character and community.
Regent Gardens, Kirkintilloch: a community-led redesign
East Dunbartonshire Council appointed a team led by Kevin Murray Associates, with WMUD and Benton Scott-Simmons to work closely with Kirkintilloch Community Council (Your Kirky) to capture aspirations for Regent Gardens
Mitchelston Industrial Estate: adaption and modernisation
In February 2019, Fife Council appointed a consultant team led by yellow book ltd to produce an action plan for the regeneration and future development of Mitchelston Industrial Estate, Kirkcaldy.
A Greenplaces Strategy for Ayr North
This report is the result of nine months’ work in Ayr North. The WMUD team included Icecream Architecture, Benton Scott-Simmons and Kevin Murray Associates. The study was funded by the Scottish Government’s Making Places fund
Imagining a Public Bike Scheme in Kilkenny, Ireland
This study for a Bike Share Scheme for Kilkenny was commissioned by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership CLG. It was authored by Ian Dempsey of County Cork-based Prescience in collaboration with Willie Miller Urban Design
New Cumnock Masterplan
This regeneration masterplan is a development of the New Cumnock Community Action Plan prepared in 2013-14 and intended to cover the five years to 2019. That Plan has been very successful in securing a core of projects that have changed perceptions of the village and dramatically improved the appearance of the village as well as enhancing its facilities.
Johnstonebridge Community Action Plan
This Action Plan is a framework for collaborative action by residents, community groups, landowners, the local authority, businesses and other public and third sector agencies in Johnstonebridge and the surrounding Johnstone Community Council area for the next five years
Lane Strategy for Glasgow City centre
Glasgow City Council has approved the Lane Strategy that we developed with the City Centre Team in Development and Regeneration Services during 2016-17. The strategy for the city centre is guided by Glasgow City Council’s Getting Ahead of Change, Glasgow City Centre Strategy and Action Plan 2014–19.
Three Towns Charrette
In February 2017, North Ayrshire Council commissioned a team led by Willie Miller Urban Design to provide the expertise and organisation to facilitate and deliver the Three Towns Charrette covering Ardrossan, Saltcoats and New Stevenston.
North Berwick Town Centre Charrette
Is North Berwick Town Centre a great place for everyone? Are you interested in how the town works, how parking and traffic are organised or have ideas about how walking and cycling can be made easier or the environment improved?
Lockerbie Community Action Plan
This Plan was commissioned by Lockerbie Community Council to support community-led activity aimed at improving the Lockerbie area as a place in which to live, work and visit
Moffat and Beattock Community Action Plan
We were commissioned by Moffat and District Community Council and Kirkpatrick Juxta Community Council as part of a team led by Nick Wright Planning to produce a Community Action Plan for both communities. Icecream Architecture and 4-Consulting were also part of the team.
Port Dundas Supplementary Guidance
The Port Dundas Supplementary Guidance document was intended to make a clear break from traditional planning guidance and set out a series of ideas for the development of the Port Dundas area which matched the aspirations for the site arising from the Port Dundas Planning Charrette held in 2014.
Clarkston Town Centre Charrette
East Renfrewshire Council commissioned AECOM in collaboration with Nick Wright Planning and WMUD were commissioned in July 2016 to work alongside the Council, the local community and stakeholders to develop a vision and strategy for Clarkston Town Centre through a Town Centre Charrette.
Prestwick Town Centre Charrette
The purpose of the Prestwick Town Centre Charrette was to assist South Ayrshire Council in its contribution towards the creation of visions for the regeneration of Prestwick Town Centre
Coalburn, Douglas and Glespin Community Action Plans
Working with Urban Animation (lead) and Nick Wright Planning, we prepared these Community Action Plans (CAPs) with Coalburn Miners Welfare Charitable Society (CMWCS) and the Douglas St Bride’s Community Group (DSBCG).
Tain Conservation Area Appraisal
The purpose of the study was to review Tain Conservation Area in the light of developments and changes which have come about since its designation thirty years ago.
Barras Masterplan
WMUD were commissioned by Glasgow City Council to prepare a masterplan for the Barras neighbourhood with Nick Wright Planning.
Lennoxtown Town Centre Charrette
You are here: Home › news commentary blog › blog › charrette › small towns › town centres › working with communities › Lennoxtown Town Centre Charrette Lennoxtown Town Centre Charrette by wim on 2 May 2016 in blog, charrette, small towns, town centres, working with communities The Lennoxtown Town Centre Charrette was commissioned by East Dunbartonshire Council in Spring 2016 and sought to involve Community Planning partners as well as individuals and groups within the local community.
Blairgowrie and Rattray Town Centre Charrette
The purpose of the work was to find a way forward for the town centre, based on the ideas and efforts of active people and groups in the town and to find people with energy to help shape the future.
Remaking Rothesay Charrette
In March 2016 WMUD was part of a team led by Icecream Architecture, including Nick Wright Planning, tasked with delivering a Planning Charrette for Rothesay. Funding for this project was from the Scottish Government, SURF and Mount Stewart on behalf of the Alliance for Action.
Erskine Town Centre Charrette
The purpose of the Erskine Town Centre Charrette was to consider the sustainable growth of the town centre, strengthen the role and function of the centre and provide an appropriate range and quality of facilities for the local population.
Academy Street, Inverness
A study aimed at generating new street design proposals for Academy Street in Inverness based on the Scottish Government’s Designing Streets guidance and integrating these with a Townscape Heritage Project for the area to produce a substantially improved environment for pedestrians and a better trading environment for businesses combined with historic building upgrades and an improved setting for the station.
Forfar Town Centre Charrette
Angus Council commissioned a team led by the excellent Pidgin Perfect to deliver the Forfar Town Centre Charrette – Future Forfar. The town centre charrette was a series of creative conversations, activities and events exploring the future of Forfar Town centre.
Motherwell Town Centre Charretteplus
In June 2015 we were part of a team led by PAS, to facilitate the Motherwell Town Centre Charrette Plus. It was commissioned by North Lanarkshire Council to produce an updated Motherwell Town Centre Action Plan. This was seen as a new vision of a less disjointed, more attractive and pedestrian friendly town centre with more vibrancy and activity.
Dunblane Town Centre Charretteplus
In April 2015 Willie Miller Urban Design was part of a design team led by PAS, to develop a ‘Vision and Town Centre Action Plan’ for Dunblane Town Centre.
Tranent Town Centre Charrette
The Tranent Town Centre Charrette was a 3-day intensive design event held between 26 and 28 March 2015.. East Lothian Council and the Fa’side Area Partnership commissioned the charrette, following a successful application to the Scottish Government for charrette mainstreaming funding.
Byres Road Corners – civic spaces for Glasgow’s West End
Summary: a pilot project dealing with a series of public spaces with a common theme set beside collections of businesses, institutions and residential areas which could not only animate the spaces but also benefit from them through increased business opportunities, better living standards, better standards of external space and improvements to traffic-pedestrian interaction.
Buckie Harbour: a new base for offshore renewables
The Moray Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) have identified, as a strategic priority, the potential to serve the developers of the world’s third largest offshore windfarm, proposed to be built in the Outer Moray Firth: the joint BOWL/MORL windfarm, which could see over 300 turbines constructed.
Kirkwall Placemaking Proposals
In parallel with our work for Orkney Islands Council on the Kirkwall Townscape Heritage Initiative we carried out a wider study which dealt with a placemaking strategy and proposals for Kirkwall focusing on the Harbourfront and Central West areas.
Kirkwall Townscape Heritage Initiative
Our role in this work was to examine the place making and public realm aspects of the Conservation Area. Kirkwall has a unique character and historic form although over time, much of the building stock has undergone change or deteriorated through lack of maintenance and through unsympathetic repair.
A renewables pier and development framework for Copland’s Dock
In 2013, we were commissioned by Orkney Islands Council to prepare a development brief for land at Copland’s Dock. Copland’s Dock is directly across the Hamnovoe from the beautiful town of Stromness.
Stranraer Town Centre: Townscape Heritage Bid
Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) commissioned yellow book ltd with WMUD to prepare a socio-economic profile of the Stranraer area. The report provided baseline data and an accompanying commentary that was used to support a proposed Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the proposed BID and for other purposes.
An Industry Park for Dalgety Bay
In December 2012, Fife Council commissioned a consultant team led by yellow book with WMUD, Ryden and Nick Wright Planning to produce a regeneration masterplan for the Hillend & Donibristle Industrial Estate.
Fraserburgh Town Centre Heritage Regeneration Scheme
Fraserburgh has a rich maritime heritage and a fine historic buildings stock, but the town centre is significantly run down, with socio-economic challenges and decaying historic fabric leading Aberdeenshire Council to prioritise regeneration in Fraserburgh. There is widespread local acknowledgement that a town centre conservation area will accelerate regeneration.
Le pôle automobile de Givors
As part of the INTA Panel reflections of the future of the Givors-Grigny south-west pole of the Grand Lyon metropolitan area, we developed the idea of nodes within the city area which could have multiple roles. This was demonstrated in part using the example of the Autopôle at Givors developing an expanded range of ambitions and network connections so that it becomes a more significant proposal than a few sheds that sell cars. Strategy perspective We have described the relationship between motor sport and technology, stories, history, landscape and tourism in previous posts about Ayrshire, the Trossachs and Scottish Borders as well as implementing motorsport proposals at Forrestburn in Central Scotland. Initially the prospects of building a case for similar facilities at Givors seemed far-fetched. However the first searches of Google revealed that Givors was one of the principal points on the Circuit de Lyon, used in the 1924 French Grand Prix or Grand Prix de l’ACF. More...
Leven Concept Design
Fife Council appointed a WMUD team with Yellow Book Ltd and Janet Benton Landscape Architecture (now Benton Scott-Simmons) to undertake a study of Leven town centre. The study requirements set out in the brief specified, ‘the preparation of concept designs to upgrade the public realm and street environment of the town centre with supporting material to inform Fife Council’s investment proposals.’
Port Dundas Charrette
The purpose of this Charrette was to explore the regeneration of the Port Dundas area in a collaborative setting with local residents and businesses, landowners, council officers, developers and public agencies.
Derry City Walls
The aim of the Project is to fully explore the contested history that the City Walls represent and to celebrate Derry’s Walls as a present-day, international, national and local heritage asset, with the potential to unite rather than separate people. Our specific involvement was in developing the spatial framework for the Walls.
Mapping the Craft Sectors in Southern Ireland
In October 2012, WMUD was appointed together with Yellow Book and Drew Mackie by a consortium of five Local Development Companies and the Crafts Council for Ireland to carry out a cultural mapping study of the craft sector in West Cork, Ballyhoura, South Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford. It was confirmed that the WMUD study should focus on the five LDC areas. However, the parallel economic study by Indecon covered the whole of Ireland, and it was agreed that the mapping study should offer insights and recommendations for action in all areas, especially rural communities.
Coleraine Harbour Vision
WMUD were appointed as part of a team led by Derry based RPD Consulting to examine the harbour lands of Coleraine and provide advice on a way forward. It was accepted from the outset that the land was more than a development opportunity and have to be viewed in a wider context, not just of the town but as a component of the wider maritime context including the North Coast of Ireland and the West Coast of Scotland. The harbour is also one of several assets along the Lower Bann inland waterway that could potentially form part of a varied and rich tourism and leisure offer, as an essential element in the waterways tourism infrastructure of Northern Ireland and the wider Island of Ireland.
Supplementary Planning Guidance – Scottish Borders Council
The objective of this study commissioned by Scottish Borders Council is to produce Supplementary Planning Guidance for 15 housing sites with the aims of improving the quality of decision making and enhancing the quality of development, providing confidence and certainty to developers and the community and ensuring a strong negotiating position when considering planning applications and assisting in their processing. The skills and experience required for this work included urban design, conservation and cultural heritage, landscape, ecology and environment, consultation and involvement together with a solid foundation in statutory planning and best practice.
Kensal Canalside EcoQuarter
This was a pre-feasibility study into the creation of a potential EcoQuarter at North Kensal commissioned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in April 2008. It explored whether the Council’s current vision for the site – comprising placemaking, regeneration, sustainability and transport infrastructure aspirations – had the potential to be viable and deliverable in the longer term as a major transformational project.
CELL Area Masterplan
The CELL area is situated in Castle Morpeth and comprises four settlements – Cresswell, Ellington, Linton and Lynemouth. These four settlements have similar problems but they also have distinct characteristics which are important to recognise when planning for their future. The villages have been largely dependent on the mining economy of south east Northumberland which has now ended, though the Lynemouth aluminium smelter remains, depending now on imported coal. We were part of the Roger Tym and Partners team which was appointed by Castle Morpeth Strategic Partnership and ENRgI to prepare a masterplan for this area.
Dungannon Integrated Village Plans
We were appointed by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council as part of a team led by Rural Development Council and the Venturei Network to develop a series of proposals for seven rural settlements namely Aughinduff, Aughnacloy, Augher/Clogher, Ballygawley, Caledon, Cappagh/Galbally and Fivemiletown. The plans were required to provide a strategic framework to coordinate specific development actions for the village areas and their communities over a five year period whilst also giving a broad vision for the long-term development of the areas.
Kelvin Valley Framework
North Lanarkshire Council have commissioned a team led by yellow book with WMUD and Kevin Murray Associates to devise a strategy for the upgrading and management of a short section of the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kilsyth. This section of canal is part of the Millennium Link, one of the most significant regeneration projects carried out in Scotland in the last decade.
Supplementary Planning Guidance – Scottish Borders Council
The objective of this study commissioned by Scottish Borders Council is to produce Supplementary Planning Guidance for 15 housing sites with the aims of improving the quality of decision making and enhancing the quality of development, providing confidence and certainty to developers and the community and ensuring a strong negotiating position when considering planning applications and assisting in their processing.
Muirkirk Village
Muirkirk Enterprise Group (MEG) and Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire commissioned a programme of project development for the East Ayrshire village of Muirkirk. The consultancy team is Willie Miller Urban Design and Planning, Shared Intelligence and Neil Baxter Associates.
ICBAN Regional Strategic Framework
In September 2011, KPMG were appointed by the Irish Cross Border Area Network (ICBAN) to prepare a Regional Strategic Framework. The team included Colin Stutt Consulting, WMUD, Ecorys, RPD and Raymond Burke Consulting. WMUD was responsible for the spatial aspects of the analysis and strategy.
Signature Project – Brodick Castle
In December 2012 a consortium led by Kevin Murray Associates was appointed by the National Trust for Scotland to undertake masterplanning consultancy services in relation to Signature Project Brodick, a major project being developed for the NTS estate as a whole on Arran. The team included WMUD as strategic designers and masterplanners.
Leitrim Tourism Development
We were appointed by Leitrim Development Company as part of a team led by EMcG Solutions in association with TTC International and RPD to complete in depth research and analysis of the tourism sector in County Leitrim to establish a comprehensive baseline from which to measure change and to contribute to the medium to long-term strategic plan for the tourism sector and interests in the County.
Teesside International Circuit
Goosepool or RAF Middleton St George airfield opened as a Bomber Command station in 1941. After the war, the aerodrome served various squadrons and units but the RAF left the station in 1964. Two years later, the aerodrome was reopened in 1966 as a civil airport. The airfield was named Teesside International Airport in the 1960s. We were asked to investigate the possibility of developing a motor racing facility and associated industrial development on vacant land and former runways to the east of the operational airport. Designing an interesting track with reasonable viewing and shelter for spectators is difficult on airfield sites but this layout overcomes many of these problems and works well with existing landscape features. The proposal included a 1.6 mile club circuit, a kart facility and rallycross course.
Canterbury – City of Imagination
Canterbury City Council commissioned yellow book and WMUD to carry out a concept study of the proposed creative and cultural quarter (CCQ) in Canterbury. The city is one of Britain’s most famous and important places, a powerful symbol of Englishness and spirituality, rich in historic and literary associations. The brief identified the opportunity to use the prospective CCQ to drive the renaissance of an area in the historic heart of Canterbury. Although the brief stressed that the CCQ did not have fixed boundaries, a study area was identified, centred on the High Street – St Peter’s Street – St Dunstan’s Street axis, and comprising much of the west side of the medieval walled city
Inverness City Vision
Inverness has been one of the fastest growing cities in Europe in the last few years. A look at how the plan of the city has developed over the last 100 years shows a dramatic change in the shape and extent of the city. However, just as Inverness has attracted attention for its rapid growth, it has also attracted comments about the quality of its built environment and the sprawl of the new suburbs. Some say that while the edges are getting bigger the city centre is suffering.
Sheffield Waterways Regeneration Strategy
Together with lead consultants yellow book, we have been commissioned by Sheffield City Council to prepare a strategy for the city’s waterways. The strategy will offer a compelling vision of the city of rivers. It will be an integrated strategy, linked to the wider policy agenda with a clear, prioritised action plan. It will emphasise partnership ownership and commitment, the need for a robust business case and be a persuasive advocacy document.
Towards Healthy Sustainable Neighbourhoods
This report builds on the excellent work that has been carried out in Glasgow as part of the Equally Well project, a Scottish Government initiative that seeks to tackle health inequalities through a cross-sector approach that goes beyond health care and health policies. The Equally Well project has supported a number of ‘test sites’ across Scotland. Two sites are in Glasgow. One of them, situated in the city’s East End, has focused specifically on renewing the integration of urban planning and public health. It was led by town planners in Glasgow City Council’s Development and Regeneration Services department.
Energetica Placemaking Guidance
Traditional design guidance tries to achieve improvements in some of the aesthetic, stylistic and functional characteristics of new developments but, although these are relatively modest ambitions, there is little evidence that it works in most circumstances. In the past design guidance has been about efficiency of process, reducing design risk and is based on distrust and an adversarial model which tends to produce the lowest common denominator. Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Councils are therefore now both adopting a more engaged and forthright approach to design across the area. It is in this context that we expect design in the Energetica corridor to take the lead and to set the benchmark to which others should aspire.
Beith Townscape Heritage Initiative
This study sought to assess the value of carrying out a Townscape Heritage Initiative in Beith town centre. There was an acknowledgement that facelifts and environmental improvements alone would not secure a long term sustainable future for the town centre and therefore a range of economic, community and development proposals were drawn up which would ensure lasting benefit for the area.
Rotherham Waterways Strategy
The Rotherham Waterways Strategy was commissioned and funded jointly by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and the Environment Agency who appointed a consultant team led by Yellow Book to carry out the study. The purpose of the study was to provide a framework for the improvement and conservation primarily of Rotherham’s rivers and canals, and the creation of clean, safe, attractive and popular waterside environments throughout the Borough.
Health facilities and development planning
WMUD were appointed by Architecture and Design Scotland as part of the Inverness City Vision study to carry out a mapping exercise looking at the effect of local development planning approaches on the healthcare estate. The paper, published by A+DS here, modelled the city healthcare facilities against a range of development scenarios using GIS. The first part of the study mapped the City’s population distribution against existing healthcare facilities, analysing ease of access to the provision. The second part of the study looked at the infrastructure requirements of three city scenarios considered during the City Visioning and Local Development Plan process, to help understand the impact on public sector service provision (and the public purse) of different development planning strategies.
Belfast Integrated Strategic Tourism Framework
Belfast has seen a phenomenal growth in tourism in the past decade and has moved to a position where it is in Tourism Ireland terms the number two destination in Ireland. The city has seen a range of accommodation developed over a short period and major attractions such as Odyssey and W5 coupled with retail, developments such as Victoria Square and Ikea. The city has become an destination. More major developments are on the way such as Titanic Quarter and its key tourism element; the revamped Ulster Museum and more accommodation of all types. International awards and plaudits have been received such as being know as Lonely Planet’s ‘City on the Rise‘ and access by air has changed from being almost entirely UK centric to many direct European city links
Moyle Tourism Strategy
St Helier Urban Character Appraisal
We were commissioned by the States of Jersey to carry out an Urban Character Appraisal of St Helier. This appraisal of the urban character and townscape of the town of St. Helier was intended to be an aid to the process of preserving and enhancing the character of the town and a guide for policy formulation and the assessment of planning applications. In particular, the study identified key factors which contribute to character, and used these to provide an appropriately sophisticated and objective assessment of the character of the town, and the various character areas within the town.
Gretna Masterplan
We have been commissioned as part of team led by Roger Tym and Partners, including Drew Mackie Associates and Buchanan Laird to produce a masterplan for the area. The masterplan will be a critical tool for the client group – the aims of key stakeholders including the community, Dumfries & Galloway Council and Scottish Enterprise Dumfries & Galloway and the private sector will only be fully realised if the area develops a clear, cohesive sense of place. The masterplan will act as a framework to develop this.
Castle Woods, Helensburgh
Helensburgh Community Woodlands Group is an active community organisation that aims to manage local woodlands for community benefit. It was established in 2004 by a group of local residents concerned at the potential loss of nearby woodland to housing development. They operate under a formal and democratic constitution and currently have about 60 members, concentrated to the west of Helensburgh in Scotland. They are part of the Community Woodlands Association which was set up in 2003 as the representative body of Scotland’s community woodland groups
Strathaven Town Centre – Design Principles and Proposals
We were appointed, together with RankinFraser Landscape Architects, Hamilton-Baillie Associates and Peter Drummond Architects, to develop the ideas set out in the 2010 study of Strathaven Town Centre by Kevin Murray Associates. The work was commissioned by the Rural Development Trust representing a number of organisations and local people of Strathaven. The brief for the study was issued by the Rural Development Trust in September 2012. It required us to produce a set of design principles that would guide the future development of the town centre. The study was to be primarily focused on the Common Green, Waterside Street, Green Street, Bridge Street and Stonehouse Road – in other words, the main commercial district of the town.
Castlederg Community Vision and Masterplan
We were appointed by Strabane District Council to prepare a Community Vision and Masterplan for the Castle site in Castlederg. The aim of the project was to create a shared vision for the redevelopment of the Castle site as a shared space in the town. This will be a community endorsed development plan for the site which is practical and deliverable.
Twechar Design Guide
We were appointed by East Dunbartonshire Council to prepare a Design Guide for the village of Twechar incorporating a Landscape Masterplan. The brief described an interesting and important piece of work – it is also highly topical. It seeks to address a central issue faced by most communities, local councils and planners in the early 21st century – how best can new development be accommodated in or added to existing settlements? The effectiveness of planning control in producing appropriate standards of new development is often in doubt – not just in Twechar and East Dunbartonshire but throughout the country as a whole.
Biggar Town Centre
This study was commissioned as part of the South Lanarkshire Rural Partnership’s Market Towns Initiative. The team was led by Kevin Murray Associates with WMUD, Nick Wright Planning, Hamilton Baillie Associates and VivID. This Initiative focuses on the four rural market towns of Biggar, Carluke, Lanark and Strathaven. It aims to support the establishment of an ‘asset-based approach’ to community development, in order to ensure the sustainability of both local delivery organisations and community assets. One of the objectives of the Market Towns Initiative is to establish a community owned asset base that can recycle income into community project development. This study is envisaged as playing an important role in informing the Market Town Initiative’s future project agenda in Biggar.
Bolton Local Distinctiveness Study
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council commissioned Kevin Murray Associates, Drew Mackie Associates and ourselves to provide the research baseline for the Building Bolton project, incorporating consultation, urban analysis and policy recommendations. The team devised a unique approach to Bolton town centre linking the inputs of different stakeholders to ideas and propositions for the future evolution and management of the town centre. This is a new approach to the planning of towns and cities, particularly their traditional town centres which act as the focus for so many citizens. Historically, town centres have been planned by Councils using their civic architects and planners, or by landowners, developers and their designers.
Scottish Motor Sport Initiative, Duns
A study for Scottish Borders Enterprise in association with Mackay Consultants of Inverness. This work examined the feasibility of proposals for a visitor attraction based on the heritage of Scottish motor sport in and around Duns. The principal part of the proposal was for a new museum based around the Jim Clark Room but other proposals included the re-use of Charterhall Circuit the expansion of the Jim Clark Trail and other interpretive work. We have undertaken an evaluation of existing motor sport facilities, events and venues in the area with a view to assessing their strength and the potential contribution they could make to the Duns proposal.
Haddington Town Centre Vision
The Haddington Town Centre Vision project is a good example of people working together for the good of their town. It is the result of cooperation between four local community groups – Haddington Community Council, Haddington and District Amenity Society, Haddington Business Association and Haddington’s History Society. They appointed lead consultants Urban Animation together with Nick Wright Planning, Dhu Rural, WSP and WMUD. In 2011, these groups came together through a shared interest in the long term health of the town centre; Knox Academy subsequently joined the Vision team too. They agreed to promote the Vision project, and the Community Council provided the first part of the funding. The remaining financial support came from East Lothian Council and the people of the Haddington area.
Tourism and Motor Sport in Ayrshire
We were commissioned by Enterprise Ayrshire to undertake a study of the potential contribution which motor sport could make towards the tourism effort in Ayrshire. This was intended to be a broadly based study which investigated the potential for motor sport visitor attractions either as fixed venues or as events. Recommendations were made for the support of events and facilities which at very little cost could attract an additional 45,000 visitors to Ayrshire each year.
Forrestburn International Circuit
Between 1992 and 1997, efforts were made to build an international standard motor racing circuit in Central Scotland at Forrestburn Reservoir just north of Junction 5 on the M8 Glasgow to Edinburgh motorway. The proposal attracted support and derision in equal measure. The choice of site ensured that the circuit would have a distinctive Scottish character and created the opportunity to build a circuit in the tradition of Spa-Francorchamps, Rheims or Clermont-Ferrand where landscape and track could work together to create a distinctive sense of place – fitting for a national venue.
Maryhill Town Centre Action Plan
This Town Centre Action Plan was produced during 2010-2011 by Glasgow City Council’s Development and Regeneration Services with support from Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership and a consultancy team including Kevin Murray Associates, WMUD, Nick Wright Planning and MVA. The involvement of the consultancy team in this work is through a partnering approach, bringing specialist expertise (urban design and community engagement) together with experience from similar initiatives elsewhere, while the Council brought local knowledge (of existing initiatives/stakeholders etc) and funding/investment potential.Glasgow City Council’s City Plan 2 identifies Maryhill as having a Local Town Centre.
Maysfield, Belfast – Development Strategy
Working with EDAW on their framework agreement with the Laganside Corporation, we were asked to produce a mixed use development strategy for the Maysfield area. This is an important entry point to the city on the East Bridge Street/Albert Bridge axis as well as being the location of Belfast Central Railway Station. Significant residential developments have already taken place on the part of the site facing the River Laggan and the new framework centred on the future of the Maysfield Leisure Centre, Central Station and its change in level from East Bridge Street and of course the relationship with the river.
Dunfermline Strategic Framework
Commissioned by Fife Council, the context of the strategic framework study is the finalised Fife Structure Plan, which plans for Fife’s growth to 2026. A cornerstone of the Plan strategy is to accommodate much of Fife’s land requirements for housing and employment growth in a number of Strategic Land Allocations (SLAs). The largest of these is located in an arc around the western flanks of Dunfermline – south-west, west and north of the city. The aims of this study were to: inform the forthcoming Local Plan process, in particular the Proposed Plan stage identify and set out the key components required within the SLA and provide an overall structure within which individual masterplans can be prepared This report proposed a strategic framework showing how the land-use elements of the Dunfermline SLA – housing, employment, community facilities and infrastructure – could be accommodated on the city’s western flank between 2011 and 2026, in a manner which results in high quality, sustainable and distinctive place-making.
Kirkcudbright Harbour Square
The Kirkcudbright Forum commissioned Willie Miller Urban Design (WMUD), Malcolm Fraser Architects and Nick Wright Planning in June 2009 to prepare a Shared Vision for Harbour Square in Kirkcudbright. The purpose of the work was to produce a community endorsed plan for the site which was both practical and deliverable. It was envisaged by the Forum that the Shared Vision would be a framework for regeneration of the site, providing a blueprint for future development and a context for the consideration of planning applications. It was anticipated that there would have to be a careful balance between the interests of local residents, the aspirations of the business community and the expectations of visitors.
Cookstown Integrated Village Plans
We were appointed by Cookstown District Council as part of a team led by Rural Development Council and the Venturei Network to develop a series of proposals for rural settlements including Coagh, Moneymore, Pomeroy, Stewartstown and The Rock. SWARD is one of seven clusters in Northern Ireland selected by the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development to implement Axis 3 of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013. This aims to improve the quality of life and encourage diversification of economic activity through a range of measures in these areas.
Kilmarnock Integrated Urban Development Plan
The Integrated Urban Development Plan (IUDP) for Kilmarnock was commissioned by the Make it Kilmarnock Board and in the autumn of 2010, and funded by East Ayrshire Council and Diageo. Its focus was on the central area of the town, in and around the town centre, and including the Diageo site. The aim is to address the immediate and forthcoming needs of the town, both for residents, but also for business and visitors, by generating a forward-looking, yet deliverable vision. It replaces the Kilmarnock Town Centre Strategy produced in 2005.
Maghera Integrated Village Plans
We were appointed by Magherafelt District Council as part of a team led by Venturei Network to develop a series of proposals for rural settlements including Upperlands, Castledawson, Culnady, Tamlaght and Maghera. There was a clear focus on environmental improvement in this work – building facelifts, tree planting and open space facilities combined with a fresh approach to dealing with traffic in these settlements through contemporary measures such as shared surfaces and blurring the divisions between pedestrian and vehicle areas. The priority was to assemble projects which could be implemented relatively easily and in the short term.
Forrestburn Speed Hill Climb
Design and implementation of a 1030m hill climb track as part of a proposed international motor racing complex near Kirk o’ Shotts in Central Scotland.