Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
St. Andrews lies on the east coast of Fife, ten miles southeast of Dundee. The secular town was developed by the Bishop from around 1140, with the first burgh charter dating to 1170. During the medieval period the town established itself as the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. A centre for pilgrimage and learning (the University being established in the early 15th Century), its coastal harbour and proximity to the mouth of the Tay for inland trade further aided its economic prosperity. Wielding both economic and political influence in Europe as well as Scotland, it held a significant place in major historic events. The town inevitably declined following the Reformation period, but had recovered sufficiently by the 19th century to begin to expand beyond its medieval walls. It had started to be recognised as a major centre for golf even in the 18th century: today its fortunes remain closely bound to education, golf and related tourism. This illustrative report has been created using a range of analytical and survey techniques (visual and socio-economic) to account for its current and past physical and economic development. By considering the relevant indicators which are critical for the strategic planning policies revolving St. Andrews, this report seeks to obtain a deeper understanding of the current situation of the area.
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….. 04 Aim and Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….….…. 05 Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….. 05 Historic Development ………………………………………………………………..……………………………………….. 06 Economic Context …………………………………………………………………………………………….….……………... 06 Character of St Andrews …………………………………………………………………………..………………………... 10 Urban Fabric and Green Spaces ……………………………………………………………...……………..….10 Infrastructure and Connectivity ………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Elements of City Image ……………………………………………………………..……………………………… 14 Streetscape and Activities ………………………………………………………..………………………………. 15 Roofline …………………………………..………………………………………………..…………………………….. 16 Doors and Windows ………………………..……………………………………………………………………….. 17 Alleyways and Wynds …………………………….………………………………………………………………… 18 Frontage and Façade …………………….……………………………….…………………………………………. 19 Pocket Spaces …………………………….………………………………………………….…………………………. 20 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 References …………………………………….…………………………………………………………..…………………………………... 22
Figure 0: Rendered map showing the St Andrews Site area used for the study Figure 1: 3D rendered aerial photograph of St Andrews town Figure 1.1: Place Diagram created by PPS to evaluate the success of a place Figure 2: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1890 Figure 3: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1910 Figure 4: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1970 Figure 5: Rendered map showing conservation areas falling under St Andrews and Hepburn Gardens Figure 6: Entrance of the Holy Trinity Church Figure 7: Lower Parliament Hall Figure 8: 10 Church St. Figure 9: Rendered Figure with locations of Listed Buildings in the town centre Figure 10: Space between the Holy Trinity Church and 12 Church St. Figure 11: 142 South St. Figure 12: 52 South St. Figure 13: 18 South St. Figure 14: 158 South St. Figure 15: 170 South St. Figure 16: Rendered map showing green spaces both private and public against the National cycle path Figure 17: Mass and void plan of St Andrews Town centre with private green spaces Figure 18: Mass and void plan of entire St Andrews area with private green spaces Figure 19: Rendered map showing walkability radius from the bus stand Figure 20: Social infrastructure map of St Andrews Figure 21: Major road network map of St Andrews Figure 22: Rendered map showing proposed green network according to Local development Figure 23: City image elements map: path and district Figure 24: City image elements map: node, edge and landmark
Figure 25: Panoramic view of a section of South St Figure 26: Fountain on Market St Figure 26: Street view of South St Figure 27: Street view of road running into Queen’s Garden Figure 28: North-east entrance into the space adjacent to Holy Trinity Church Figure 29: Street view of Market St Figure 30: Pavement view of South St showing outdoor dining and retail spaces Figure 31: Chimney and roofline of Southgait Hall Figure 32: Roofline of 24 South Street Figure 33: Broken and interrupted roofline of adjoining buildings Figure 34: Use of grey slate and mismatching rooflines Figure 35: Use of dissimilar materials and interrupted rooflines and dormer windows Figure 36: Metallic roofing sheets over existing roofline Figure 37: Roofline with drain dropping down the building edge Figure 38: Adjoining building with continuous roofline but different eaves height Figure 39: Adjoining buildings with continuous roofline and dormer windows Figure 40: Multi-pane sash windows Figure 41: Pilasters in front wooden doors to depict grandness Figure 42: Sunken door into masonry wall creating a semi private space Figure 43: Multi-pane window at ground level with partial transparency for privacy Figure 44: Cast iron grills in front of windows Figure 45: Cast iron grill in front of windows Figure 46: case and sash windows lined in adjacent buildings Figure 47: Restricted opening on masonry wall giving restricted access to the interior of the property Figure 48: Holy Trinity Church door Figure 49: Pilaster on wooden door Figure 50: Arch doors on the western side of the Holy Trinity Church Figure 51: Alleyway leading from the South st through a building to a private residence Figure 52: Road between closely 2 packed buildings Figure 53: Alleyway between buildings used for placing refuse bins Figure 54: Wynd between two buildings Figure 55: Pedestrianised access road between 2 properties Figure 56: Alleyway gap between two buildings Figure 57: Private and restricted access between two buildings Figure 58: Restricted alleyway access between two buildings Figure 59: Ground floor retail activity of a listed building (awnings) Figure 60: Glass predominant façade of retail activity on ground floor Figure 61: Multiple retail activities, each with distinctive design approach Figure 62: Glass and wood predominant ground floor façade Figure 63: Single retail activity spread across two different buildings Figure 64: Use of contrasting colour on façade design Figure 65: Glass predominant façade Figure 66: Wood and glass predominant façade in the space between Holy Trinity Church Figure 67: Rendered plan of the Holy Trinity Church pocket space Figure 68: Alley way from South St leading into Market St Figure 69: North-east entrance from Church St Figure 70: Holy Trinity Church entrance Figure 71: Wide angle view of the pocket space from South St Figure 72: Ruins of St Andrews castle
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The town centre is surrounded by sandy beaches on the east, cliffs and North Sea to the north. The north-west side is covered by the Old Course golf links. The significance of St Andrews as the golf capital of the world and the presence of a university with its roots running back into the 15th century has made it a remarkable historic town. Over the years, the characteristics of the crowd coming into St Andrews have changed from religious to tourists in nature (Fife Council, 2017).
Figure 0: Rendered map showing the St Andrews Site area used for the study (Source: Digimap)
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
St Andrews is a historic town within the fife council area with an ecclesiastical history dating back to the pre-formation times. At present the town hold a population of 16,870 with a large student population owing to its University. The St Andrews university came to be in the period between 1410-1413 and over the centuries it has expanded itself in the number of student intakes and in property. St Andrews has a history associated with golf and the town has been catering to the sportive needs of its visitors, both local and international (USP, 2017). Although St Andrews developed historically with a religious background, the inception of the university within its boundaries inevitably changed the nature of the town centre. The growing social and economic needs of its inhabitants resulted in the evolution of the town. Any changes aimed at ceasing the educational activities will result in the decline of the area (Fife Council, 2017). The huge student population of St. Andrews participate actively in the local economy of the place as most of them have been known to work part time in various sectors (USP, 2017).
Figure 1: 3D rendered aerial photograph of St Andrews town (Source: Google Earth)
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The aim of this study is to undertake a place analysis of St Andrews,
The study area falling under Fife Council’s jurisdiction could be analysed
Fife, through a range of analytical and survey techniques both visual
using their making places policy guideline (Fife Council, 2015) which
and socio-economic to account for the physical and economic
lists out the various qualities of a successful place which include:
development of the town.
•
Distinctive
Through this study, the author aspires to acquire a better
•
Easy to move around
understanding of the visual and economic context of St Andrews.
•
Safe and Pleasant
The objective of this study involves understanding:
•
Adaptable
•
Welcoming
•
Resource efficient
•
The historical development of St Andrews;
•
The economic context;
•
The conservation areas and town centres;
•
The available infrastructure; and
•
The architectural and visual character
Although on a much broader scale all these qualities fall under the qualities identified by PPS (2009) based on the evaluation of a thousand public spaces worldwide. They include: •
Sociability
•
Access and Linkages
•
Comfort and image
•
Uses and activities
Figure 1.1: Place Diagram created by PPS to evaluate the success of a place (Source: PPS,2009) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
St. Andrews as a town has had an interesting past dating way back into the prehistoric times. The Kirkhill and Hallowhill excavations has revealed burial sites dating from Iron Age. Despite the social standing of the town as the seat of Bishops and Archbishops of Scotland and its associated wealth, St Andrews during Medieval times has been found not to be a prosperous town in comparison to other coastal burghs (Lynch, 2001). Though the location of the earlier secular settlements which grew around the early St Regulus church have been found to be unclear, speculations have been led to believe that the North Castle street and the eastern side of the north street running up to the church have been sites that could have been the basis for such settlements (Fife Council, 2010). Records indicate that the town was said to be found earlier that 1144 as burgh under the administration of the Bishop with its own right to convene markets and fairs. Although how the town developed into what we see today is much under speculation, it has been presumed that the current urban layout has been formed somewhere between 1144 and 1153. The Market street which runs in between the 2 streets was initially conceived in the 14th century as an alley or a backstreet which connected the backsides of the properties along the North and South streets. The 14 th and 15th century witnessed the expansion of the town westwards. It was during this period that the St Andrews capacity as a medieval burgh had been reached and the following years witnessed a slower rate of development (Fife Council, 2010). The 19th century recognised the necessity for improvements in the urban layout of the town. The abrupt and irregular streets of the town had to be improvised to give clarity to a distinctive streetscape of the Georgian architectural style (Fife Council, 2016). The surge in domestic buildings within the town precinct has been found to have been observed during this period. In effect of the legislation on slum clearance, the 20th century witnessed demolitions in and around the town centre resulting in breaking apart of several houses in the Muttoes Lane and Union Street. This act resulted in the formation of the St Andrews Preservation Trust in 1937 as a safeguard measure to preserve the historical character of St Andrews (Fife Council, 2010).
As of 2016 the economy of St Andrews has been estimated to have had a turnover of approximately ÂŁ660 million with tourism bringing in ÂŁ110 million. Over the past few years there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of businesses in St Andrews which is quite a large statistic for a Scottish town. The rate of increase in small businesses has led to constraints on capacity as the town run short on vacant spaces for prospective businesses (Marsh & Kane, 2016). On analysing the key drivers of the economy, it has been found that even with tourism as a major contributor to the economy, 22 percent of the tourist inflow comes for the retail and commercial activity that the place has to offer whereas Golf contributes 12 percent of the tourist inflow. Although the historical relevance and beauty of the local area brings about 33 and 21 percent respectively, in the event of an intervention aimed at boosting the local economy, room must be made for prospective developments (Progressive, 2013). From top: Figure 2: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1890 | Figure 3: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1910 | Figure 4: Historical Map of St Andrews town centre dated 1970 | (Maps source: Digimap) Figure 2: Red outlined hatching represents areas that have been subjected development over the decades (visible at present) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The Hepburn Gardens conservation area mostly comprises of private residences, University buildings and playing grounds as well as the St Leonard’s Parish church. The area’s remarkable villas bring in the architectural focus of the Hepburn Gardens. Although each one of them vary in their individual characters, the Arts and crafts style makes the area stand out as a unique and appealing residential area (Fife Council, 2016).
Figure 5: Rendered map showing conservation areas falling under St Andrews and Hepburn Gardens (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
St Andrews at its town centre has highest concentration of listed buildings (refer Figure 9) for a town in Scotland designating itself as a “Conservation Area with Outstanding Status� (Fife Council, 2017, p. 3). The original conservation area which included only the St Andrews town centre area was defined in 1971. The conservation area of the Hepburn gardens adjoining St Andrews conservation area was officially designated in 1993 upon recognising the expansion of the medieval core of the town and the presence of buildings with high quality Edwardian and Victorian architecture in the area (Fife Council, 2010). Although the buildings in and around the town centre are of a variable mix, a sense of visual harmony has been achieved by traditional finishing of stone or rubble masonry, slated roofs, windows following a similar sash and case style, proportions of traditional doors and windows and the dominion of a masonry wall over the openings.
Clockwise from top: Figure 6: Entrance of the Holy Trinity Church | Figure 7: Lower Parliament Hall | Figure 8: 10 Church St. | Figure 9: Rendered Figure with locations of Listed Buildings in the town centre (Source: Digimap) | Figure 10: Space between the Holy Trinity Church and 12 Church St. | Figure 11: 142 South St. | Figure 12: 52 South St. | Figure 13: 18 South St. | Figure 14: 158 South St. | Figure 15: 170 South St.
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The area within the town centre is largely characterised by a heavier density of The area within the town centre is largely architecturally and historically significant characterised by a heavier density of buildings edging right on to the pavement. architecturally and historically significant Although most of the green spaces visible in buildings edging right on to the pavement. the town centre are private belonging to the Although most of the green spaces visible in university and other private entities, they are the town centre are private belonging to the available nonetheless in various scales that university and other private entities, they are brings out the character of the conservation available nonetheless in various scales that area (Fife Council, 2010). brings out the character of the conservation area (Fife Council, 2010).
Figure 16: Rendered map showing green spaces both private and public against the National cycle path (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The texture of the urban fabric and the quality of the built environment can be portrayed in a simple sense using urban granularity (Artibise, 2010). When the urban fabric predominantly consists of large blocks it could be referred to as a coarse-grained structure whereas when it consists smaller blocks it could be referred to as fine-grained. The granularity of the urban fabric decides the way people interact with the place. The individual elements within the urban fabric and their relationship with each other contribute to the legibility of the place (Lynch, 1960). On assessing the town centre at a block scale, it could be understood that the town centre consists of several independent buildings of smaller size packed at close distances (fine-grained). This structure has been but the result of responding and adapting to the needs of the time. Finer urban structure results in navigable street patterns with medium sized bock and intersections closely placed apart (K. Lewis, 2010). On analyzing the entire area including both the conservation areas, it could be understood that the town centre which developed during the previous centuries is of a much denser scale and the newer developments along the south and southwest adopted a much more planned structure with significant open spaces between properties resulting in a fine-grained structure.
From top: Figure 17: Mass and void plan of St Andrews Town centre with private green spaces (Source: Digimap) Figure 18: Mass and void plan of entire St Andrews area with private green spaces (Source: Digimap)
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Keeping in mind the proximity of the retail activities at market street and the town’s largest employer which is the University itself, initial analysis has shown that they all fall in between the 400m radius of the bus station.
Figure 19: Rendered map showing walkability radius from the bus stand (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
The construct of walkability in urban design came about as a measure to assess how walkable the neighborhoods were (Bradshaw, 1993). The social infrastructure map points out the public serving institutions such as hospitals, schools, university, bus station and car parking spaces (apart from on road parking). If we were to closely inspect the spatial location of all these institutions, it could be understood that they are all located in and around the town centre. Though all of them fall within the 800m radius from the bus station at City Road, the concentration of social infrastructure nonetheless is high in the St Andrews conservation area. According to the definition laid out by Cevero & Kockelman (1997), the quality of the built environment plays a significant role in the influencing a user’s decision to walk. In terms of accessibility the town is connected to the rest of UK through rail, road and air. The nearest railway station is placed at Leuchars which is 4 miles from the town and provides connectivity to Dundee and Edinburgh airport placed 50 miles from the town (McEvan Fraiser Legal, 2016). Since the bus service to and from St Andrews to Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh are frequent and regular and the presence of A91 brushing through the town, this could account for the high figure of commuter inflow into St Andrews for work. Upon cross examining the figures, the University has been found to be the major cause as it has been found to be the largest employer in the area (Fife Economic Forum, 2007).
From top: Figure 20: Social infrastructure map of St Andrews (Source: Digimap) Figure 21: Major road network map of St Andrews (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
As a measure to incorporate higher quality active travel network, the greenspaces in St Andrews will be connected using green network to bring about a significant contribution to the landscape and higher quality of place. This network employs green spaces which are otherwise unused to create a quality walking experience (Fife council, 2014). The map shows the designated areas which are going to be incorporated as a part of the green network system.
Figure 22: Rendered map showing proposed green network according to Local development plan (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
On breaking down the town centre into imageable elements according to The Image of a City (Lynch, 1960), the functional qualities of the centre becomes much clearer. The town centre is connected (refer Figure 1) well by public and private transport means and is in proximity to the bus station as well. The district has been demarcated based on its function and consists of the retail activities of the Market street and the South St. The paths move through the district and gives access to the entire area making it accessible to everyone. The town centre contains long lines of continuous frontages without any gaps as seen in Figure 24. Being compactly packed against each other, the town centre does not give off any sudden break in the continuity of the frontages. The Nodes present in the map could be associated with the presence of landmarks nearby as these are the most frequently used and slow intersections. The location of the commercial district in juxtaposition with the nodes could also validate the same.
From top: Figure 23: City image elements map: path and district (Source: Digimap) Figure 24: City image elements map: node, edge and landmark (Source: Digimap) University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Most of the activity in the market street and the south street are retail related which constantly brings in people into the area. The cafes and shops have an outdoor dining spaces and since the buildings are not exactly in line, the width of the pavement increases at certain areas which is at most times corrected by the presence of an outdoor dining space. The presence of refuse and recycling bins on the pavement poses a visual threat to the area. The presence of educational institutions changes the atmosphere of these streets during a typical term period. The market street ends up as the busiest in the town centre with pedestrians and cars flooding in making it tight. The north and south street also host the same crowd but because of the width of the road it does not seem to the as tight as in market street. The panorama picture of the south street shows how buildings of distinctive styles and facades coexist together to bring about the vibrant feature of the town centre.
Clockwise from bottom: Figure 25: Panoramic view of a section of South St | Figure 26: Fountain on Market St | Figure 26: Street view of South St | Figure 27: Street view of road running into Queen’s Garden | Figure 28: North-east entrance into the space adjacent to Holy Trinity Church | Figure 29: Street view of Market St | Figure 30: Pavement view of South St showing outdoor dining and retail spaces
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Although thatch had been the main roofing material in the early 19 th century, it has been replaced for modern use by pantiles or Ballachulish slates in most of the aged buildings in and around the town centre. Research indicates that slate being most expensive in the earlier centuries was only seen in buildings of prestige or of the ones dated during the Georgian and Victorian periods (Fife Council, 2010).Slate was used as a functional means in a pantile roof series to improve the rain water run-off. Since most of the properties within the Hepburn Gardens conservation area were found to be villas and private properties, they were facilitated with pitched roofs with grey slates. Although a variety of style have been found, almost all of them exhibited elaborate designs with turrets, towers and conical roofs. The dormer windows have been found to be very common in this area. The different dormer styles add a visual appeal to the overall streetscape of the region. Prospective developments need to adhere to the material considerations used predominantly across the town centre area to maintain the heritage and historical relevance of the area.
Anti-Clockwise from bottom left: Figure 31: Chimney and roofline of Southgait Hall | Figure 32: Roofline of 24 South Street | Figure 33: Broken and interrupted roofline of adjoining buildings | Figure 34: Use of grey slate and mismatching rooflines | Figure 35: Use of dissimilar materials and interrupted rooflines and dormer windows | Figure 36: Metallic roofing sheets over existing roofline | Figure 37: Roofline with drain dropping down the building edge | Figure 38: Adjoining building with continuous roofline but different eaves height | Figure 39: Adjoining buildings with continuous roofline and dormer windows University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Large windows came into being around the 19th and 20th century with wooden shutters. Numerous historically relevant buildings have had glass windows being super imposed on them around the 20th century (Fife Council, 2010). Roofs with dormer windows and window architraves are found in many buildings in the area facilitating internal lighting. The doors used in most of the buildings have made to be from timber with panelling. Especially in the conservation areas the masonry wall predominates the entry points into the buildings pushing back the doors into a semi-private space. The buildings have been found to have employed pilasters on their faรงade for visual appeal.
Clockwise from top left: Figure 40: Multi-pane sash windows | Figure 41: Pilasters in front wooden doors to depict grandness | Figure 42: Sunken door into masonry wall creating a semi private space | Figure 43: Multi-pane window at ground level with partial transparency for privacy | Figure 44: Cast iron grills in front of windows Second row, clockwise from left: Figure 45: Cast iron grill in front of windows | Figure 46: case and sash windows lined in adjacent buildings | Figure 47: Restricted opening on masonry wall giving restricted access to the interior of the property | Figure 48: Holy Trinity Church door | Figure 49: Pilaster on wooden door | Figure 50: Arch doors on the western side of the Holy Trinity Church
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Being a historically significant town and the town structure have been same since its structure took form most of the buildings are in very close proximity in the town centre without much room for setbacks along the side or the front. As in such cases to access properties inside these blocks, there appears to be several internal alleys that leads straight into the property. The properties all stop right at the pavement without much of greenspaces and as such on comparing the whole of St Andrews with just the town centre the town centre has been found to be densely packed right on to the pavements. Some of the gaps have been closed for restricted use whereas some are without any restrictions which allows free movement of users.
Clockwise from top left: Figure 51: Alleyway leading from the South st through a building to a private residence | Figure 52: Road between closely 2 packed buildings | Figure 53: Alleyway between buildings used for placing refuse bins | Figure 54: Wynd between two buildings | Figure 55: Pedestrianised access road between 2 properties | Figure 56: Alleyway gap between two buildings | Figure 57: Private and restricted access between two buildings | Figure 58: Restricted alleyway access between two buildings
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Since most of the buildings in the town centre have been influenced by the Georgian and Victorian architectural styles, the shop fronts have been found to be a particularly attractive part of the region. The façade design of the shops also exhibits art-deco styles and the use of wood paneling, glazing, and huge windows and cast iron throughout the region. Most of the commercial activities happen on the ground floor leaving the top floors intact as it has been to give rise to a contemporary style. Some of the shops have been built outwards on the ground floor as extensions to properties like its seen in the market street. The use of traditional and locally available sandstone has been found to be predominant in the town centre which when combined with the contemporary styles used in the lower commercial floors gives rise to a vibrant and visually appealing town centre.
First row; Clockwise from top left: Figure 59: Ground floor retail activity of a listed building (awnings) | Figure 60: Glass predominant façade of retail activity on ground floor | Figure 61: Multiple retail activities, each with distinctive design approach Second row; clockwise from left: Figure 62: Glass and wood predominant ground floor façade | Figure 63: Single retail activity spread across two different buildings | Figure 64: Use of contrasting colour on façade design | Figure 65: Glass predominant façade | Figure 66: Wood and glass predominant façade in the space between Holy Trinity Church University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
Although it has been established that there is a lack of a public and social space within the town centre region, the closest acceptable space is that between the Holy Trinity Church and its adjacent buildings. This space is largely used by people working in and near the town centre to use as spot to eat their lunch and relax. The wynd connects to the market street which makes it accessible from 3 different directions. The surrounding ground floor uses are predominantly cafes and restaurants who has placed outdoor dining facilities as well. Since the adjacent buildings are quite high, the area is relatively cool and is blocked from direct sunlight most of the times.
Clockwise from left: Figure 67: Rendered plan of the Holy Trinity Church pocket space (Source: Digimap) | Figure 68: Alley way from South St leading into Market St | Figure 69: North-east entrance from Church St | Figure 70: Holy Trinity Church entrance | Figure 71: Wide angle view of the pocket space from South St
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
St Andrews as a historical town invested in education, small businesses and tourism as its driving factor needs to keep in mind the growing needs of its local and international users. The growing shortage of vacant spaces for small business and housing options for future expansion needs to be addressed and in such a way that the prospective developments adhere to the material and building codes of the adjacent properties. The market street being a part of the commercial district (Lynch, 1960) with its traffic and pedestrians creates a particularly crowded atmosphere that
could be solved by entirely pedestrianizing the streets if not entirely but for various times of the day. This strategy is more likely to improve the vibrancy of the area and a profound respect for the historically relevant setting. The lack of greenspaces within the town centre has been addressed in the previous sections and is a logical concern because if there is a proper setting in the centre, it gives rise to a much more attractive setting than it already appears to be.
Figure 72: Ruins of St Andrews Castle
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report PPS, 2009. What Makes a Successful Place?. [Online] Available at: https://www.pps.org/reference/grplacefeat/ [Accessed 1 Noember 2017]. Artibise, Y., 2010. Urban Fabric: The Form of Cities. [Online] Available at: http://yuriartibise.com/urban-fabric/ [Accessed 9 November 2017]. Bradshaw, C., 1993. Creating -- And Using -- A Rating System For Neighborhood Walkability Towards An Agenda For ‘Local Heroes'. Boulder,CO, 14th International Pedestrian Conference.
Progressive, 2013. St Andrews Visitor Survey 2013, Edinburgh: St Andrews Partnership. USP, 2017. St Andrews. [Online] Available at: https://www.usp.scot/Town?mainTownName=St+Andrews [Accessed 1 November 2017].
Fife Council, 2010. St. Andrews Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan , s.l.: Fife Council. Fife council, 2014. FIFEplan Proposed Plan Oct 2014. [Online] Available at: http://arcgisweb.fife.gov.uk/LocalViewExt/Sites/ldpPROPOSED/ [Accessed 1 November 2017]. Fife Council, 2015. Making Fife's Places Planning Policy Guidance, s.l.: FC. Fife Council, 2016. HEPBURN GARDENS Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan, s.l.: Fife council. Fife Council, 2017. St Andrews Design Guidelines for buildings, streets and shop fronts in St Andrews Conservation Area and on the main approaches, St Andrews: Fife Urban Design Guide. Fife Economic Forum, 2007. Economic Profile of St Andrews, St Andrews: Fife Council. K. Lewis, R., 2010. Shaping the City. [Online] Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050700088.html [Accessed 1 November 2017]. Lynch, K., 1960. The image of the city. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lynch, M., 2001. St. Andrews. In: The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. s.l.:Oxford University Press. Marsh, R. & Kane, T., 2016. The St Andrews economy, tourism and businesses, s.l.: BID St Andrews. McEvan Fraiser Legal, 2016. 1-8 Beley Bridge, ST ANDREWS. St. Andrews: McEvan Fraiser Legal. Pastmap, 2016. Listed Buildings and Heritage sites. [Online] Available at: http://pastmap.org.uk/ [Accessed 1 November 2017].
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas
Finding St. Andrews: A Place Analysis Report
j.y.thomas@dundee.ac.uk / jackshajithomas@gmail.com
University of Dundee | MSc Spatial Planning with Sustainable Urban Design | Jack Thomas