MASTERPLAN

Design and Access Statement Place-Making & Project Packages

*All subject to planning approval from Fife Council*

Place-Making & Project Packages

Place-making and design are at the heart of the masterplan. Whilst proposals are indicative, the land-use mix, scale, location and layouts of the masterplan look to demonstrate the policy framework (NPF4/ LDP /Designing Streets) has been followed and how good and best practice will support a sustainable quality restoration and redevelopment of the site.

Design Principles for Place-making

The Masterplan adopts a place-making approach based on a series of high-level principles reflecting policy and shaping the masterplan layouts for the spatial layout but also informing the proposals for individual areas and project packages in reflecting NPF4.

Strong Connectivity & Permeability

  • Access and Street hierarchy compliant with Designing Streets

  • Integration of Active Travel Network

  • Safe access and movement between activities

  • Connecting longer distance off-site routes & Core Paths

  • Activity defining streets creating strong passive surveillance

  • Adoption of Local Living & 20 Min Neighbourhood principles

Mixed-Use Infrastructure Supported Investment

  • Complimentary Mixed-Use creating a visitor destination

  • Central hospitality facilities providing a local neighbourhood centre to provide for local needs and community services

  • Open access facilities providing for local/regional and international tourism activity and use

  • Multi-generational Care Village facilities meeting West Fife & Central Belt Regional need

  • Renewables and employment delivering local benefits

Integrated Blue-Green Network & Open Space

  • Integrating nature/biodiversity within parkland setting

  • Addressing fragmentation of habitat/ landscape features

  • Connecting path networks

  • De-culverting watercourses and retaining wetlands

  • Integrating sustainable drainage

Clear & Legible Built Form & Central Hub

  • Hierarchy of development scale arranged around Central Hub

  • Central core creating distinctive place quality & sense of arrival

  • Hierarchy of streets defined by buildings / frontage activity

  • Variable height massing within flexible perimeter block layouts

  • Build orientation support solar gain /renewable energy

  • Streets avoiding car dominance integrating safe active travel

Sustainable Environmental Stewardship

Creating a single Environmental Management body to address landscape & environmental stewardship,(management and maintenance) across the whole site

  • Developing within development packages clear management/factoring responsibilities

  • Encouraging community participation in a local management group with particular reference to heritage assets and local interpretation and waymarking.— Quote Source

PROJECT PACKAGES

The Masterplan Proposal is for a range of land-use activity across the site that address policy framework and promote a tourism and leisure led development with supporting renewable energy elements alongside an enabling element of housing. The masterplan adopts place-making as a central principal promoting the central core of the site as an ecologically managed nature park.

Comrie Development Company have identified strong market interest in the proposals with the market recognising that the elements are mutually supportive and will require a mix of developer interests to create a momentum of collective activity (tourism /leisure/care/hospitality/ housing) to drive investment, place quality and create market viability.

The layouts reflect masterplan principles based on designing places, place-making and national and regional policy guidance. Discussions with HSE (COMAH Zone) have additionally influenced layouts as have movement/access/circulation to support active travel, support 20 minute neighbourhood living and facilitate sensible segregation and dispersal of traffic. The masterplan provides the following scale of development.

LEISURE & TOURISM

Chalet & Holiday Pod Accommodation providing 350-420 units (c25ha) of tourism/leisure style resort development accompanied by a services support building all set within a landscape environment.

Hotel and Hospitality uses (hotel/licensed leisure visitor centre / gym/spa) clustered centrally (c4.25ha) providing a destination for visitors and service support and leisure facilities for the whole site.

The hotel will look to support a range of facilities linked to the small conference / wedding and tourism markets (Fife Golf Leisure / Knock Hill Events / Outdoor Leisure) The proposals include a multi-purpose visitor centre, Par 3 golf course, outdoor active leisure and high amenity waterside lochan and event space (weddings/conferences/events) collocated with the hotel.

CARE VILLAGE

Approximately 300 retirement properties providing a mix of housing (retirement homes / sheltered housing -warden assisted living / supported care including ancillary services health care/leisure day centre facilities within a village setting.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

100 acres of the site are reserved for renewable energy development, in the form of solar farm. Energy generation will support private wire local energy network (net zero) with future capacity in other areas of renewables. Other elements of renewables will include battery storage, ground source heat pumps, district heating based on ongoing geothermal feasibility studies.

SOLAR FARM

EMPLOYMENT

Approximately 5,000m2 of flexible, sub divisible light industrial units providing small/micro workspace and small business space for local enterprise activity.

INDUSTRY / EMPLOYMENT

RETAIL

Market inquiries have indicated an interest in a medium scale garden centre to the A907. The masterplan provides for 2,500m2, paired with ancillary hospitality (hotel /leisure cluster) accounting for a combined 5,000m2 supporting retail/commercial uses across the site.

GARDEN CENTRE

RESIDENTIAL HOMES

Approximately 200 units of medium and low density residential advanced as enabling development to support site masterplan commitments and site remediation.

RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD

Landscape & Blue/Green Network

Native woodland planting will be provided on site to encourage a biodiverse habitat accessible via a network of paths. The remainder of the development areas would be given to associated landscaping, service facilities, surface water drainage, internal access roads and paths, infrastructure (including rail infrastructure), parking and other ancillary development.

CENTRAL PARK