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Calderwood’s promised land.

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INTRODUCTION

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The Calderwood project is about “unity”The unity of the past, present & futureThe unity of humanity and natureThe unity of architecture with the landscapeThe unity of efforts required to deliver the projectThe unity of people and communitiesThe unity of Calderwood

INTRODUCTION

PEOPLE (p.8)

PLANNING BACKGROUND (p.12)

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By the River Almond in the Almondell & Calderwood Country Park 2007.

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INTRODUCTION

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Calderwood will be a people-centric place. It is a project designed around the needs of its futureresidents and therefore it seemed appropriate that we should highlight at the outset how importantthis has been to our masterplan.

People are at the heart of all StirlingDevelopment’s projects. We believe the starting point for any residential, commercialor public realm development should alwaysbegin with a consideration of the needs of thepeople who will live there. Creating a successfuldevelopment is all about establishing a successfulplace for people.

There are plenty of examples of unloved,unpopular places: public spaces that we don’twant to occupy or housing estates that don’tallow communities to function properly. Theseare places that have failed to understand theneeds of people. Without due care, aestheticallypleasing lines or patterns on a drawing boardcan translate into dysfunctional, unpleasantplaces that have no affinity with those theywere supposed to serve.

Building successful places involves consideringand correctly determining the type ofenvironment people will want to live in.

Throughout Calderwood’s masterplanningprocess we have continually questioned: “Whowill occupy this space and how will they wantto use it?” “What will influence and enhancethe lifestyle of residents?” “What will engenderpride of place?” “What will help establish ahappy community and allow it to thrive?” Toanswer these questions the masterplanner musthave a fundamental appreciation and empathywith people.

PEOPLE

Understanding people’s needs, Calderwood public consultation 2006. Inviting the whole community to get involved in our plans, Calderwood public consultation 2008.

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People enjoying the relaxed ambience of the Country Park visitor centre 2007.

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INTRODUCTIONPEOPLE (continued)

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10: Trying to encourage as many people as possible to engage in the project, Calderwood Gala Day exhibition 2008. / 11: Being visible and accountable, Peter leading a public consultation 2005.

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Stirling Developments like being visible,personally meeting and listening to as manypeople as possible who have a point of view regarding the project. This has resulted in a “hands-on” approach to our publicconsultations, where we have organised and led all our meetings, presentations and community events.

We believe a successful masterplan requires an investment in time to properly liaise with the local community. This principle hasprovided Stirling Developments with a positiveworking relationship with the local communityand a fuller appreciation of the local issuessurrounding the project.

We also believe there should always be directaccess to the project’s principal developersbecause invariably it is their commitmentand true intentions which will determine theeventual quality of the development. Ensuringthe principal developer is committed andaccountable at an early stage is important for the project’s success.

As project leader my strategy was to encouragemaximum participation in the project, fortifyingit with more ideas and creativity, allowing it to be robustly interrogated and considered by a wide cross section of people. In addition to our consultation policy this ethos has also led to the assembly of a large international projectteam, who share our passion and ambition for Calderwood.

It seemed right to encourage the localcommunity’s voice to be heard in our StrategicDesign Guide, through a series of personalstories from local representitives. I felt thisadded some perspective to the development’spolicies and strategies.

I also felt that the strategies, principles anddevelopment plans shouldn’t be unnecessarilycomplex or punctuated with excessive planningrhetoric; the local community and the residentswho will ultimately live at Calderwood shouldbe able to clearly understand them.

Hopefully our focus on people will gosomeway to providing the ingredients andfoundations for a future happy community at Calderwood.

Designing a good place to live in is not a mystical,rarefied science. Mostly it involves an understandingof what people want and some basic common sense.We can all probably work out what kind of place our family and friends would like to live in.

12: Members of the local community submitting comments on our proposalsat a public consultation 2007.

13: Plans and strategies that everyone can understand, exhibition 2008 .

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INTRODUCTION

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The local authorities were then challenged to address this requirement through theiremerging Local Plans.

Our Calderwood development is proposed onland located in West Lothian, adjacent to theadministrative boundary of Edinburgh CityCouncil. The Structure Plan identified threeStrategic Core Development Areas (CDAs) in West Lothian which had the necessarytransportation networks and infrastructurecapacity to accommodate large new residentialand mixed use developments.

Calderwood is located in the Livingston and Almond Valley CDA, which was given an allocation of up to 5,000 new houses in the Structure Plan. During 2002 and 2003developers and landowners within this CDAwere invited to present their developmentproposals to West Lothian Council. Thisresulted in 14 alternative developmentproposals being promoted from acrossCalderwood’s CDA area.

The Council’s two year assessment periodculminated with West Lothian identifyingCalderwood and Gavieside (located at WestCalder) as their two preferred developments to be taken forward for allocation in their new Local Plan. Calderwood performed well during the Council’s resulting publicconsultation period, receiving an allocation of 2,800 houses in the Finalised Local Plan.

In 2001 the Scottish Government confirmed therequirement for a significant increase in the delivery of new housing, with the Edinburgh and Lothian’sStructure Plan identifying a need for 70,000 newhouses to be built between 2001 and 2015.

Stirling Developments present to West Lothian Council 2006.

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Strategies surviving the credit crunchPrior to the summer of 2008 and the impact of the credit crunch and economic recessionmost local authorities assumed that residentialdevelopment was a viable proposition on anysite, regardless of location or historical land use. With the exception of Calderwood, West Lothian’s large CDA housing allocationsmust address significant ground stabilisationissues as a result of their mining heritage andthe current down turn in the economy hasimpacted on their viability and deliverability.

Calderwood has all the attributes to be one ofWest Lothian’s most deliverable developments,with no ground remediation required and an excellent existing transport network andavailable public utilities. The site is also one of the most desirable housing locations inScotland and has the ability to remain a robust,reliable performer, in terms of housingcompletions, even in years of market recession.

The Local Plan’s development strategyanticipated that the developments proposed for Calderwood and Gavieside would providethe funding for a new high school near EastCalder. The village of East Calder is currently in the catchment for West Calder High School.The proposed new school would provideconvenient access for pupils from East Calderand the Calderwood development, freeing upcapacity at West Calder High School for pupilsgenerated by the Gavieside development.

The current Local Plan strategy is based on new developments cross-funding newdenominational and non-denominationalsecondary schools. This could be exposed to funding shortfalls if some of the allocated,but less viable, developments are not in aposition to commence. This could potentiallyjeopardise the Local Plan’s delivery of schoolsand future housing. It would therefore seemsensible to ensure that alternative strategies areconsidered that ensure projects like Calderwood,which are deliverable and can financiallycontribute to education facilities and planninggain, can proceed and help fulfil the Local Plan requirements.

Calderwood is located in one of three Core Development Areas allocated in the Local Plan.

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INTRODUCTIONPLANNING BACKGROUND (continued)

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Initially the Calderwood project was held in Glenmorison Ltd, a company I co-ownedwith my business partner and friend, Ron Law. While we were assembling and acquiring the necessary land for the project it becameapparent that the banking institutions wereunwilling to provide initial funding for theproject due to the uncertainty and high-riskassociated with being one of 14 competingdevelopments for the available housing inCalderwood’s CDA. The only option was for me to personally fund the project myself.The location, quality of the site and itsincredible potential felt like a “once in a lifetime” opportunity that simply had to be done.

Ron and I decided not to follow the standardpractice of appointing a firm of planningconsultants or an architectural practice tomanage the project but to personally leadand front it ourselves. I felt I understood the site

better than most and was best placed to conveythis directly to the Council and local community,rather than through a third party. The projectwas eventually transferred to my new company,Stirling Developments Ltd in 2004.

I surrounded myself with a great project teamand fortunately Calderwood was successfulduring the two year assessment process; beingone of only two developments from the CDAselected by West Lothian Council for theiremerging Local Plan. Calderwood went on to be included in West Lothian’s FinalisedLocal Plan in 2005 which was then successfullydefended by West Lothian Council at thesubsequent Local Plan Inquiry. It was includedin their adopted Local Plan in the spring of 2009.

West Lothian Finalised Local Plan 2005.

Calderwood had to overcome many hurdles and challenges in its journey to be allocated in West Lothian’s adopted Local Plan.

2002-03West Lothian CDA Presentationsand Proposals from Developers to Council.

2004SPRINGCalderwoodidentified as a PreferredDevelopment forLocal Plan. StructurePlan approved.

2004SUMMERCouncil’s four monthconsultation withlocal communities on preferred LocalPlan strategies.

2005SPRINGCalderwood includedin West Lothian’sFinalised Local Plan.

2005SUMMERLocal Plan DepositPeriod – Only 24objections receivedagainst Calderwood.

2001Draft Structure Plan published.

Edinburgh and LothiansStructure Plan 2015.

West Lothian’s conceptual strategy for Calderwood 2004.

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West Lothian’s Finalised Local Plan waspublished in the spring of 2005 and of the 24 objections against Calderwood less than adozen were from local West Lothian residents.Of these the main concerns were raised byresidents living next to minor local roads,which we’ve been able to address through our new roads strategy.

The project was considered at West Lothian’sobligatory Local Plan Inquiry process andalthough Calderwood didn’t feature much at the Inquiry, the whole inquiry processeffectively delayed the Local Plan beingformally adopted until the spring of 2009, four years after it was first published!

Whilst the timescales to reach a decision at the Inquiry felt like a long period of time theoutcome of the process was general support forthe council’s CDA strategy and the allocation of Calderwood. The Reporter agreed with theextent of Calderwood’s development boundariesbut made some specific recommendation on theRaw Holding’s, an area of land adjacent to thevillage of East Calder.

These recommendations were the subject ofmodifications to the Local Plan and furtherpublic consultation. During this period therewere a number of objections from the LocalCommunity to the proposed changes introducedin the Raw Holding’s but none against StirlingDevelopment’s Calderwood proposals.

This Masterplan and Strategic Design Guide is part of a suite of documents that will form Stirling Development’s Outline Planning Application for Calderwood. The other documents in the application will include:

• Calderwood Technical Document• Calderwood Environmental Impact Assessment• Calderwood Transportation Assessment• Calderwood Sustainability Appraisal

2007SPRINGWest Lothian Local Plan InquiryConcludes.

2008SPRINGWest Lothian Local Plan InquiryRecommendationsreceived, Calderwoodsupported.

2008SUMMERWest Lothianconfirm Local Planmodifications.

2009SPRINGWest Lothian Adopt Local Plan.

2009SUMMERStirlingDevelopmentssubmit OutlineApplication forCalderwood.

2006SUMMERWest Lothian Local Plan InquiryCommences.

Stirling Development’s Vision & Principles Document 2006.

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Local support for the Calderwood project washighlighted when only 24 objections were made during the Local Plan’s deposit period.

INTRODUCTIONPLANNING BACKGROUND (continued)

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Stirling Development’s Calderwood applicationcomprises of five distinctive areas.

The most prominent of which is the proposednew community, “Calderwood”, on thefarmland at Nethershiel and Overshiel. Ouroutline planning application is for 2,400 newhomes and associated community mixed usefacilities. The Local Plan has a total allocationof 2,800 new homes for Calderwood but fromthis total a smaller share is to be allocated in the Raw Holdings.

In addition, the application includes a 20hectare business extension to Camps industrialestate and a site to accommodate the proposednew high school, along with associated areas of new roads and junction improvements.

Also included in our application are proposalsfor a new Park and Ride facility at Kirknewtonrailway station and a north westerly By-pass of Wilkieston village.

Stirling Developments control all the landwithin our planning application/masterplanareas, (with the exception of the Campsindustrial estate extension). This consolidatedposition provides security for the project andadded certainty over its deliverability for WestLothian Council.

The timing and scale of some of the supportinginfrastructure, such as the Park and Ride andWilkieston By-pass, is still to be determinedthrough discussions with the Council.

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The five development areas within Stirling Developments planning application.

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This includes new and enhanced communityfacilities on the eastern edge of East Calder,such as; an extension to St Pauls PrimarySchool and an enlarged village centre car park. The Raw Holdings has an allocation of new housing and enhanced infrastructureand landscaping.

The Raw Holdings is represented by anassortment of small holders and developers andhas become a challenging area to successfullymasterplan. This has manifested as a result of a lack of clarity on the level of new housesconsidered appropriate for this area. Inresponse to local concerns the Raw Holdingswas originally allocated a “very low density”status in the Finalised Local Plan. This wassubsequently amended to “higher density” as a result of the Local Plan Inquiry.

As expected the landowners favour the higherand the local community favour the lowerinterpretation of this. West Lothian Councilhave decided not to allocate a specific numberof houses for this area in their adopted LocalPlan, instead favouring the masterplanning and planning application process to arrive at the appropriate conclusion.

The masterplanning process for the RawHoldings will be led by a consortium of landowners and developers. Stirling Developmentswill play a part in this consortium by virtue of a stake holding in a small area of land adjacentto the proposed new high school. We will do our best to help the consortium achieve an optimum plan for the local community and small holder landowners.

A planning application for this area is expectedin the second half of 2009 and final housingnumbers for Calderwood and the Raw Holdingswill be confirmed by the Local Authority duringthe determination of the planning applications.

The Local Plan’s development allocation for Calderwood also encompasses land at East Calder and the Raw Holdings.

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The Raw Holding’s, located on the eastern edge of East Calder. The Calderwood and Raw Holding’s masterplans will endeavour to complement each other and fit together.