Lochee High Street : Opportunities and Constraints Location
Opportunities and Constraints to Regeneration
Lochee is located in the North Western side of Dundee. The High Street falls within the centre of the Lochee ward and acts as the dis‐ trict retail centre. The Lochee High Street is serviced by a number of secondary streets, which radiate off the High street including Metheven Street which leads to the Stack Leisure Park. The main access route is from the Coupar Angus Road (A923) leading in and out of the city centre.
The Highgate centre acts as the district shopping centre for Lochee. However there has been significant decline in its use as people choose to go to the city centre or out of town retail parks; due to the shop‐ ping centre having an unattractive retail environment and a large number of vacant units. As the centre provides a low quality shopping environment it doesn’t fulfil its function and purveys a negative aesthetic image with an inappropriate facade. However there is the opportunity to use a number of the vacant units as community facilities.
History
Figure 1, A photograph showing the Lochee Free Church dur‐ ing the 1900s, St Andrew University. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk
Figure 2, A photograph showing the rede‐ velopment of the Lochee Free Church building into a Woolworths store in 1962, Copyright 2010, Evening Telegraph and Post .
The High Street has been continuously changing; a good example highlighting the affect of such changes is the site of the Lochee Free Church (Figure 1). During the 19th century the site was a church and a cen‐ tre for community activities. However due to the decline associated with the end of the industrial revolution; the building fell into disrepair. As part of the Kirk Street Comprehensive Development Area in the 1960s, the entire western side of the street was cleared out and replaced. The Free Church building was knocked down and re‐ placed; by a Woolworths retail store with residential flats above (Figure 2). The Build‐ ing upon the site is still used for a retail pur‐ pose in 2010 although the Woolworths has been replaced (Figure 3). This case study shows the philosophy of previous planners and the lack of emphasis upon protecting historical heritage; leading to place‐less buildings which now look dated and unat‐ tractive. This pattern of development should not be encouraged and a new more environ‐ mentally and historically sensitive strategy developed.
By moving the existing bus stop and reroute the buses along this new street, there will be less congestion, improved retail environment, and better access to and from the city centre.
This site is currently an area of derelict land, which was previously a residential and retail development. In the short term this site could be used as car parking space, however in the longer term this site has the potential to contain an office use or provide a health care facility. This is the largest site of derelict land along the high street. So it could be used to create a state‐ ment building which would attract people and in‐ vestment to the area.
The Stack Leisure Park; is currently used as a leisure complex. However in recent times a number of leisure businesses have left the area leaving vacant units. These could either be reused as leisure uses or could be converted into new housing developments depending upon market conditions. However any redevelopment has to take into account that a number of units are listed.
There are a number of small, enclosed and threatening entrances. These discourage people from using the High Street and en‐ courage the perception of depravity, as they are associated with anti‐social behaviour. These need to be changed or they will constrain the effectiveness of any new de‐ velopment.
The current access to the high street is via the A923. However there’s the opportu‐ nity to take out the roundabout and cre‐ ate a new road to connect with the High Street; Thus improving access and traffic flow.
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This section of High Street innovatively in‐ troduces a way of in‐ corporating traffic calming measures and street furniture into a comfortable pedes‐ trian space. Thus by incorporating other inno‐ vative developments into the High Street, there is the opportunity to provide high qual‐ ity developments which would improve the area as a whole.
Along the High Street there are a number of unattractive buildings; many of them re‐ placed historic buildings. These buildings often look out of place and disrupt the streetscape. Thus there needs to be care taken when introducing modern buildings so that they only enhance the area and do not replace or damage the existing historic character.
There are a number of historic tenement buildings along this section of the high street. These buildings add character to the area and provide much needed residential accommoda‐ tion. Thus there’s an opportunity to provide residential space whilst protecting the unique historic character of the High Street.
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Sites of Constraints
Sites of Opportunity
What needs to be done ? A set of illustrated design rules and requirements needs to be created, which instruct and advise on the physical development of the Lochee High Street. Graphic and written components of the code are to be detailed, precise and build upon the appropriate design vision.
Figure 3, A photograph showing the use of the Lochee Free Church building in 2010.
Bruce Risk, 080004871, Lochee High Street: Opportunities and Constraints Page 1
Lochee High Street: Problems and Solutions
There are a number of significant problems which need to be addressed if the Lochee High Street is to be a successfully regenerated; by identifying the problems, then creating de‐ sign solutions any guidance produced will lead to a financially efficient and successful regeneration scheme.
Appearance and Character The appearance and character of the Lochee High Street are key assets which are under‐ utilised. There are a number of attractive buildings and a rich industrial heritage, which were ignored under previous development schemes. Incorporating the industrial heritage and character of the area into any new development would greatly enhance the area as a whole. Although the area has the potential to have a very attractive streetscape, there are a num‐ ber of problems which need to be addressed if it’s to achieve its potential. As Figure 1 shows there is a great variety of building heights leading to a very inconsistent streetscape. This leads to areas which seem enclosed and this exacerbates the very narrow street width, culminating in an unattractive retail environment. A solution to this problem could be to either create a completely pedestrianised area along the High Street; which would makes the street seem wider and create a more attractive retail environment or create an extra car park which would reduce the amount of cars parking on the street. Another problem is the quality of the facades along the High Street, as Figure 2 shows there are a number of inappropriate and unattractive facades. The Dundee City Council introduced a Facade Enhancement Scheme, however very few businesses agreed to be a part of the scheme. A solution could be to create a similar scheme with in‐ creased monetary incentives, and information on the benefits being part of such a scheme. However the effective of any scheme will be limited by how apathetic local business owners
Legibility and Permeability
Diversity and Land uses
To improve the High Street the legibility and permeability of the area need to be greatly improved. The High Street has maintained its original street layout which was not built with cars in mind; it has had to have been adapted to facilitate cars and public transport access. As the original street layout is covered under conservation area legislation any changes would be highly restricted. Previous adaptations to the High Street have been unsuccessful leading to a problem with the legibility and permeability around the High Street. As Figure 3 shows a number of public entrances onto the High Street are enclosed, with poor natural surveillance into and off the High Street. This creates intimidating and unat‐ tractive street entrances. To solve this problem the quality of lighting and materials used in these entrances could be im‐ proved. Including locally orientated public art work would im‐ prove the aesthetic quality and help improve legibility as the pieces of art work act as landmarks and help people move around the area. Figure 3 also shows that there are success‐ ful existing public spaces; meaning any new developments need to consider its effects upon existing public spaces and where possible remove any negative impacts.
Successful places contain a diverse range of land uses and developments, providing users with all the amenities they require, to function within a local area. The Lochee High Street is far from achieving this and requires significant investment if it wishes to provide all the amenities the local community and economy require. The dominate use class in the area is class 1 retail and the majority of these businesses are clustered within the core of the local district centre. There is a need to provide extra housing, forms of leisure use and office space within the High Street. Throughout the High Street there are examples of where previous development schemes have led to an inappropriate mix of uses. However as shown in Figure 8 recent work undertaken has lead to areas along the high street which successfully mix a variety of uses into attractive and environmentally friendly spaces. To successfully regenerate the Lochee High Street similarly innovative developments will need to be created.
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Non‐Listed build‐ ings
Grade B listed
Grade A Listed Conservation area boundary
Figure 3, A diagram showing the natural surveillance from public spaces along the High Street (widths of view stops when the buildings are over 2 storeys high)
Figure 1, A diagram showing the height of the buildings and spaces along the High Street in storeys
Key 0‐ 1.5 Storeys
2‐3 Storeys
3‐5 Storeys
The environmental quality of the High Street needs significant en‐ hancement. One solution could be to provide a new public open space. This would include seating areas, street trees and furniture and a be‐ spoke piece of art work which em‐ braces the historical heritage of the area. Thus providing an attractive space for people to use, if they work in the local area and helping to create an attractive environment for new retail or office develop‐ ments.
Examples of High and Low Qual‐ ity Facades N
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Facades included in Dundee City Council Facade Enhancement Scheme Facades of Low Quality which were not included in the Dundee City Council Facade Enhancement Scheme Facades of High Quality
Figure 2, A diagram showing the quality of facades along the High Street and which facades are already covered by the Dundee City Council Facade Enhancement Scheme.
Permeability around the Lochee High Street is gen‐ erally good, there are an adequate number of pe‐ destrian access routes and the direction of the one way system (Figure 4) helps with traffic flows and congestion. There is however a problem with a lack of signage on the High Street. A solution would be to introduce new signage which shows the key con‐ nections and highlights key developments e.g. Stack Leisure Park or car parks. A number of public access routes are of poor quality (Figure 5) and can be dan‐ gerous. There are multiple access routes from the Coupar Angus Road (A923) which are of very poor quality, as this is one of the major pedestrian access routes from the surrounding residential areas, it need to be high quality and safe. One solution to this could be to improve the subway with new light‐ ing and better signage or improve the pedestrian crossing above ground. There is good provision for public transport along the High Street as shown in Figure 6; there are 2 bus stops along the High Street. However for people wishing to access the High Street from the city cen‐ tre or from the south there is a major problem. As the one‐way system does not allow buses to access the High Street from the south, access can only be gained from the Coupar Angus Road (A923). This can be very dangerous due to the volume of traffic using the A923. A solution could be to redirect the one way system and reintroduce a road which would connect to the existing roundabout. A bus station could then be created along this road for buses com‐ ing from the city centre. This would then allow for the core of the district centre to be pedestrianised.
Figure 7, a map showing the location of a number of listed buildings along the High Street and the area covered by the conservation area
Figure 4, a diagram showing the main access routes for vehicles and pedestrians along the High Street.
Figure 5, Photographs showing the poor quality of public entrances and the problem of congestion along the High Street
As part of the Dundee Local Plan under Policy 18: Major Leisure Uses; district centres would be the location of first choice for major new leisure uses. The Stack leisure park is part of the high street and was originally dominated by leisure uses. Nevertheless as demand dwindled a number of businesses vacated and the majority of the buildings are now empty. This is a major problem as the Stack used to generate a large amount of custom for local businesses. One solution to the problem would be to reintroduce a leisure use to the area, however due to a number of the buildings being listed category B as (shown in Figure 7) there are major limitation upon the form development can take and any new leisure uses may lead to inappropriate changes being made. This coupled with the lack of demand from developers due to economic circumstances means that converting the buildings into residential flats; as long as they meet the demands of listed building legislation is potentially a better solution. Creating office space would be another consideration, but it would rely on there being demand for this and it is likely to have limited success; due to lack of access to and from the city centre and the distance from spe‐ cialist labour markets, located closer to out of town business parks.
Key Retail units in use Vacant retail uses Lochee District Centre Boundary Other Uses
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Figure 6, A diagram showing the bus routes and the location of car parks along the High Street
Figure 8, A photograph from the southern end of the High Street showing where they have successfully managed to mix residential, leisure and business use into an attractive civic space whilst maintaining key historical buildings
Figure 9, A diagram showing the number of trading and vacant retail units within the Lochee District Cen‐ tre Boundary.
There are a number of vacant retail units within the Lochee District Centre boundary. The Dundee Local Plan under Policy 39: District Centre Core Areas en‐ courages that any vacant units are to be kept for retail. However there seems to be little demand for new retail develop‐ ments and there is significant number of vacant retail units (shown in Figure 9). One solution could be to introduce more community facilities or office spaces into these vacant units. This would provide much needed commu‐ nity facilities and increase custom for local business as office or community workers would use the local shops and public spaces.
Bruce Risk, 080004871, Lochee High Street: Problems and Solutions Page 2
Lochee High Street: Design Guide
General Design Improvements 1: Public Entrances A number of public entrances need to be improved and by following the scheme below this can be achieved. The entrances covered under the scheme are featured in Figure 10
To address the key problems identified; two General Environmental Improvement schemes and six sites for improvements were established. Which when completed will have a posi‐ tive effect upon the regeneration of the Lochee High Street.
S1
S2
Figure 10, public entrances covered under Gen‐ eral Design Improvements 1: Public Entrances.
16m
S3
The Highgate Centre is to be re‐ moved and a new road connect‐ ing with High Street created. which contains 2 new bus stops. the development will require a rerouting for the one way system.
This site is to contain a health care facility, which contains a small area of attractive plantings or public art.
S3: New junction and access routes to existing car parks cre‐ ated.
S4
two way system direction
S1: Access from car parks, need to have bollards which show the start of pedestrain‐ ised areas and they need to include a form of lighting to improve the area at night.
S4‐S5: Access to the High Street is required to contain a small scale public art element which embraces the history of the area. This needs to be at the appropriate scale.
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The building needs to be set within attractive landscaping.
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The use of glass and sustainable building materials is en‐ couraged.
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Site 4
Site 4
Site 4 Site 6
Site 4
Site 4
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Site 1 Site 1
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S5: High Street to join new road and old road section is to be pedestrainised.
High Street
Site 4
Site 5
Door openings need to be a minimum of 4m wide to allow for disabled access.
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Site Site 4 4
Site 4
The health centre is to be 1.5 storeys (6.5m) and a maxi‐ mum area of 15,000sqm.
S4: Two new bus stops created one on either side of road.
S2‐S3: The pedestrianised area needs to include innovative free standing lighting forms, signs and landscaping elements. Public seating is an option but not a require‐ ment.
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S2: A new junction created with A923.
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8m
Site 2
S1: Access from residential areas to remain.
Site 1
Site 2 Site 2
Site 3
Site 3
These photographs show high quality entrances to places, although some are not to public streets. Designs for the High Street can build upon the positive elements on display.
The photographs show examples of existing bus stops, from Cu‐ ritiba, Brazil and Dubai. Including similarly innovative and attractive bus stops would improve the development.
Site 5 This site is to become a small housing infill of affordable housing; with a maximum of 6 houses and a new road created connecting with Nicholls Lane 1.
This site is to contain 1 retail unit, 1 food retail unit and 2 new leisure units as well as appropriate landscaping and car parking provision
There is a need to drastically improve the aesthetic quality of the area, by creating a consistent and attractive streetscape. One solution to this is to introduce a set of re‐ quirements for facades, to be followed when facades are regenerated or new ones created. This is outline below.
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4
1.
The units are to be 1 storey (4m) high and have a maximum area of 1200sqm.
1. All entrances to residential accommodation must have a form of secure entry.
2.
There is to be an additional 30 car parking spaces added to the original car parking area and a taxi rank
2. Shop name signs must only take up a maxi‐ mum of 10% of the front elevation.
3.
Appropriate landscape features are to be included. Water features or large scale street trees are not appropriate .
3. Facades must not contain external roller shutters. Other security measures are accept‐ able as long as they do not affect the struc‐ ture of the building. 4. The original building materials must be used throughout, glass shop fronts are acceptable.
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Site 4
General Design Improvements 2: Facade Improvements
These photographs show examples of existing health care centres in Pitlochery and Edinburgh. These show that health centres can be innovative and attractive whilst fulfilling there key function. A similar development needs to be built along the High Street
This site is to become an area of public space; the site is to include a piece of public art which is historically linked to the High Street and an area of public seating An information board is to be include informing people on the history of Lochee.
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An sculpture created which is influenced by the history of Lochee and to be no higher than 4.5m .
3
There needs to be an area of public seating which will fill the majority of the area.
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There needs to be street trees and urban plants included as part of the design. water features would not be appropriate.
1.
There is to be no structural changes made and any designs are required to include measures which protect the original structure.
Small door openings will be used to control the size of windows either side.
2.
There is a requirement to include secure entry facilities for residents only.
3.
There are to be small front garden and larger back gardens.
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4.
The paving size must be a minimum of 2m to allow for comfort‐ able pedestrian movement.
The pavement is to be extended to 2.5m for noise reduction and pedestrian safety.
4.
The original facade is to be kept and no alterations made as to protect historical heritage.
5.
The road is to use a change of surface to act as a speed restraint.
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1
4
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4 3
This site is to become a block of residential flats with a maximum of six flats per floor and the requirement to expand the pavement in front of the building.
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3 1
Site 6
tion to create minimal openings; and have a minimum floor space of 770sqm.
Site 3
1
Buildings are to be 2 storeys (6.5m), with a minimal front eleva‐
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2 3
2 2
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4 3
These photographs show examples of historic mill buildings in
These photographs show examples of buildings with attractive and appropriate facades which protect and enhance the historical character of the buildings. This needs to be repli‐ cated if Lochee High Street is to be successful regenerated
These photographs show examples of successful existing leisure developments. Showing that an attractive environment can be created within leisure parks. This needs to be replicated in the Lochee High Street
These photographs show examples of attractive public spaces built in urban areas from Chicago USA and Trinity Gardens in New‐ castle. Similarly attractive design need to be replicated in the Lochee High Street.
These photographs show examples in Cornwall and Rotherham, UK; of how design‐led housing projects can lead to attractive and sustainable homes which are affordable for local residents.
Castlefield, Manchester. Which have been successfully converted into residential flats. Developments which produce similarly high quality accommodation and protection of the historical character of the buildings are required.
Bruce Risk, 080004871, Lochee High Street: Design Guide Page 3