10.1 There are areas of Glasgow where the current urban form is not expected to change dramatically through the 20-year horizon of the City Plan. Most of the investment in these areas will be on maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement. New development will be expected to enhance the existing fabric of these established and relatively successful areas.
10.2 These areas cover 60% of Glasgow, accommodate 85% of its population and include the City’s key business and industrial accommodation. They contain concentrations of the higher banded properties for Council Tax, particularly in the West End, the Southside and Garrowhill/Baillieston. The Plan aims to increase the extent and distribution of established areas through a range of measures set out elsewhere in Part 1 and the Development Policies, Supplementary Guides and Design Standards contained in Part 2.
10.3 In contrast to the socially and economically established parts of Glasgow, there are areas generally weak in socio-economic terms (based on Scottish Office Development Department’s 1998 Deprivation Analysis). These areas are characterised by vacant land and run down and derelict buildings. There is a significant (60%), overlap between these areas and the SIPs. The main discrepancies arise where there are no significant concentrations of population, for example along riverbanks and in the concentrations of former industrial land.
Derelict Housing
10.4 The identification of the SIPs was heavily reliant on socio-economic data. There is a strong correlation between those postcode sectors that contain 5% of the worst deprivation in Scotland and the SIP areas. The weaker areas of Glasgow also correlate closely with those areas of existing Council stock that have a short life-expectancy and a low take-up of right-to-buy. Within these areas, more than 40% of the residential property falls in Council Tax Band A.
Vacant and Derelict Land
10.5 It is clear that the less successful areas of Glasgow represent a scale of challenge that is beyond the life of this Plan. It has been necessary, therefore, to determine those parts of the City where a planned approach to restructuring or to redirecting regeneration is needed, or where regeneration would not be expected to occur without planning intervention. Areas of Focus, the first stage in targeting activity aimed at securing sustained regeneration, have been identified using the following criteria:
within or adjoining a Social Inclusion Partnership Area;
within or adjoining a New Neighbourhood;
where there is significant Council owned land;
where there are significant concentrations of vacant, derelict or under-utilised land accessible to transport corridors or nodes; and
eligible for Western Scotland Objective 2 European Union funding.
10.6 Following the application of these criteria 8 Areas of Focus were identified:
Drumchapel;
Glasgow North;
East End;
M8 East;
South Central;
Greater Govan;
Greater Pollok; and
Castlemilk.
10.7 Within these eight areas, more detailed consideration has to be given to the appropriate action necessary to stimulate and secure positive and sustained change or complete established regeneration programmes. The objective in these areas is to:
i) remove constraints to development and create opportunities for new investment; and
ii) facilitate the regeneration of the area in order that it may become a competitive and sustainable urban area.
10.8 Two Small Area SIPs, Dumbarton Road Corridor and Penilee, do not fall within an Areas of Focus. The Dumbarton Road Corridor is addressed as part of a comprehensive strategy for the River Clyde. Penilee, where youth issues, particularly youth unemployment, are the main concerns, will be dealt with through mechanisms other than the Plan.
10.9 The Plan allows the Council to bring together plan formulation, community consultation, development partnerships, new funding mechanisms and implementation. This is considered essential to:
secure appropriate strategies/solutions for local problems;
ensure the community’s needs are fully recognised;
harmonise the activities of all participants;
achieve added value/synergy in projects; and
secure quality development/sustainable regeneration.
10.10 Having identified areas where planning can make a positive impact and help stimulate sustained regeneration, it would be inappropriate for the Plan to prescribe the nature of the action necessary to achieve this regeneration without detailed dialogue with local communities, public and private sector partners. A series of mechanisms will, therefore, be used to achieve sustained regeneration, the most significant of which is the preparation of Local Development Strategies.
Local Development Strategies: Where a number of issues have been identified within one area, the preferred approach to their resolution is the preparation of a Local Development Strategy. The Local Development Strategies will largely reflect the scope of traditional local plans, delivering detailed planning solutions to mobilise public and private sector investment following full community and partner consultation.
Award winning Urban Design - Homes for the Future
10.11 Completed and approved Local Development Strategies will provide additional security for existing residents and investors and guidance for prospective developers, by providing the framework for land-use and development decisions. In recognition of the immediacy of the need to achieve a more detailed perspective of these areas, the Council has already agreed to the preparation of Local Development Strategies to deliver local solutions to issues in advance of the Plan being adopted. The Local Development Strategy for Oatlands was already well advanced by the end of 2000 and provides a good example of how this approach works. Boundaries of Local Development Strategy areas, which have been defined in consultation with local interests, are shown as a solid line on the Areas of Focus maps which follow. Other Local Development Strategy areas remain to be discussed with local groups.
Improving Transport Links
10.12 In many cases, the implications of Local Development Strategies will accord with the Plan’s Development Policies and changes to the Plan will not be necessary. It may, however, emerge that a Local Development Strategy will produce proposals that do not accord with the Development Policies. In such circumstances, steps will be taken to incorporate any changes within the Plan using the Alteration or Replacement procedures. In the period between the completion of a Local Development Strategy and the statutory alteration to the Plan, the outcomes of the Local Development Strategy will be regarded as a material consideration when determining planning proposals.
Commercial Development - Forge Retail Park
10.13 In addition to Local Development Strategies, the Council will utilise the following mechanisms:
Urban Design Frameworks: These will be prepared for larger areas of the City, for example, the River corridor. Their purpose will be to ensure that the highest quality of development is delivered, taking full account of the many opportunities within the urban fabric. The Frameworks will provide broad guidance on plot pattern, building scale and density as well as indicating where opportunities for landmark buildings, new public spaces and infrastructure exist.
Planning Studies: These will be undertaken where there are known development issues but where it is not clear what future action is appropriate. Provan Gasworks is an example of where a Planning Study will facilitate the full consideration of the site’s potential and subsequently guide future action.
Development Briefs: For smaller sites where the appropriate land use has been determined but where planning guidance would encourage more appropriate, sustainable development solutions, Development Briefs will be prepared. Examples of this might be single use developments (e.g. housing) or the promotion of development that does not require intervention in terms of site assembly, Compulsory Purchase Orders or infrastructure.
Project Briefs: These will be prepared for specific opportunities that Development Briefs cannot cover. Project Briefs would for example, set the context for environmental improvements or public art initiatives.
10.14 In order to ensure that the highest quality development emerges from planning activity, design guidance should be incorporated into Development Briefs for individual sites.
10.15 The Plan aims to support and encourage regeneration activity throughout Glasgow. Therefore, the Council will welcome investment in established areas provided it takes cognisance of the Development Policies, Supplementary Guides and Design Standards and Urban Design Criteria set out in Part 2 of the Plan. The following section of the Plan includes detailed analysis of the eight Areas of Focus and suggests planning mechanisms for tackling regeneration.
The City Council will promote Local Development Strategies, Urban Design Frameworks, Planning Studies, Development Briefs and Project Briefs in the Areas of Focus to assist the process of urban regeneration
Drumchapel Housing
