Town Centre Living

The importance of having people live – as well as work in and visit – our town centres is highlighted in Dalkeith, Midlothian, where a new development has brought a neglected pocket of the community back to life. The project led by Smith Scott Mullan, centred on Buccleuch Street, creating 10 new homes and two retail / enterprise units.

The site was a part of a wider masterplan study discussion, focusing on regenerating the town centre. To inform the plans, there were a series of workshops with stakeholders and the community, followed by a three-day drop in and exhibition held in a retail unit in the town centre. Information was gathered relating to a physical analysis of the area, local stakeholders and the community.

Key objectives were to create a town centre which is well connected to the surrounding areas, with streets that provide the appropriate environment for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, a primary open space (Town Square) which will provide a focal point, increased retail and high-quality mixed tenure housing. This masterplan study established a brief for the regeneration of the town centre, of which the Buccleuch Street site is a key element, creating a new pedestrian link to the primary school and park beyond.

An element of public art was required within the development as one of the Planning conditions. To achieve this, Dalkeith Arts, consulted with the community and prepared a range of design proposals for the Council to review. The final result was a decorative railing and gate, in the form of a pear tree, which Dalkeith is known for, which a local blacksmith create.

The economic, social and health benefits

1. Increased number of homes and retail units turning a “dead and derelict” portion of the street into an attractive, distinct, and active area. Significant perception shift.
2. Increased footfall helping local economy. Creating an attractive pedestrian link between two important points in the town, encouraging active travel and movement with reduced interaction with cars. Walkability of the area and better local services improve health and wellbeing of residents.
3. The new building has been built to achieve Passivhaus certification, and the existing building refurbished to a high standard in order to improve its energy performance. This means lower heating bills and therefore more available funds which can be spent supporting the local economy.
4. Use of MVHR ventilation system and natural building materials addresses condensation and mould issue and improves indoor microclimate positively affecting health of residents

Perth and Kinross Council recognised the damaging effect that disused shops and offices and long-term empty homes can have on local communities and economies, and also wanted to increase the supply of local housing for local people. To tackle these issues, the council has an empty homes programme managed by a small team combining housing and planning staff, subsidised by the council’s empty homes council tax, which runs a number of schemes to get empty property back into use.

The council team provides a combination of proactive support and grants. In Perth, their focus is on larger properties which will have most impact in terms of housing need and town centre regeneration. As professional firms have moved out of the city centre, more and more upper floors are vacant – yet there is always demand for flats. The costs of conversion are increasingly expensive as standards increase, but the alternative is town centre buildings in poor repair and unsatisfied demand for flats.

To tackle this, the team contacts landlords of vacant High Street properties (who, in Perth, are often institutional investors like pension funds) to encourage them to let their upper floors. The team knows there is demand for affordable town centre flats, so their question for landlords is: how can we help you meet that demand? This has led to re-letting of vacant flats and also sales to local developers who are more likely to progress schemes.

The Watergate project on Perth High Street is a good example. It brought a prominent vacant B-listed building (previously used as offices but vacant for several years) back into use as two affordable flats for rent. Council funding worked out as £9,200 for each two-bedroomed flat – very cost-effective compared to approximately £100,000 to build new affordable accommodation of the same size. Council staff worked proactively by contacting the letting agent to offer grant support and advice on accessing VAT discounts, and guiding the owner through the relevant consents processes.

The council’s grants are relatively small-scale and are designed to operate as incentives for landlords:

• Empty Homes Initiative offers grant support of up to £7,500 per bedroom for long term empty properties.
• Empty Homes Loan Fund previously offered interest free loans of up to £20,000.
• Vacant Property Feasibility Funding offers up to £5,000 towards professional fees for feasibility studies on bringing an empty property back into use.

The team also offers an Empty Property Matchmaker Scheme, a free service which helps prospective buyers and sellers of empty properties find each other more easily. They also co-ordinate other partners, directing landlords towards support like Perth City Heritage Trust’s City Heritage Grants and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership run by Shelter Scotland.

When the former Chapelpark primary school closed its doors in Forfar town centre after nearly 200 years, Angus Council was left with a valued historic B-listed building on its books – and, unfortunately, little market interest in taking it on, not helped by the complexity and cost of conversion. But the council felt a sense of responsibility to the community to save such a prominent and valued local asset. With high local demand for affordable homes, they decided to convert the school buildings into social rented housing, at a cost of £2.6m funded by the local authority (approximately 70%) and the Scottish Government.

The two year project was managed by the council and completed in 2018. With some demolition of more recent additions to the original school building and new build in the grounds, the site is now occupied by 29 high quality affordable homes: 18 one-bedroom flats, 6 two-bedroom flats, 1 three-bedroom flat and 4 five-bedroom townhouses. The homes were prioritised for existing social housing tenants who scored highly, and future tenants were allocated their homes early in the design process so that they could be closely involved with the design of their new home.

Many challenges were encountered during the project – such as crumbling walls and tall windows – which gave rise to unexpected hidden costs and delays, as is so often the case with conversion of historic buildings. This meant that managing the expectations of the future tenants was important.

As befits such a prominent town centre building, a public open day was held when the project was completed to enable new tenants, former pupils and the public to see the transformation.

The Council has undertaken other similar projects on listed buildings at risk, such as the award-winning conversion of Glengate Hall in Kirriemuir town centre into 9 affordable flats (winner of the SURF Town Centre Regeneration Award 2014). The Chapelpark project won the SURF Housing Award in 2018.

For any queries about the project, please contact Andrea Wilson, Manager – Housing Assets, Angus Council: phone 01307 492618 or email wilsonaf@angus.gov.uk.

The former Carnegie Library in the centre of Coatbridge was built in 1905 – an excellent example of the Beaux Arts architecture, and a much loved B-listed building used by generations of local residents. The building was really important to the town, historically and culturally. So when the library was relocated to a new building in 2010, the Council worked with Clyde Valley Housing Association to redevelop it for twelve affordable homes.

Funding for the £2.5m project was provided by Scottish Government, Historic Environment Scotland, the council and the housing association. From the outset, the objectives combined historic conservation, town centre regeneration and much-needed affordable housing.

The project won a Scottish Award for Quality in Planning in 2018. The judges commented: “From the starting point of a derelict building – the transformation of the library into new, affordable, homes as well as its revived impact on the surrounding place – was self-evident to the judges. The project illustrated a careful but bold preservation, of a once cherished public building, into a modern, clean and attractive place to live. The new homes were also complimented by a simple but elegant landscaped garden. Plus, the project is in line with the [Scottish] Government’s Town Centre First Principle by encouraging, and providing the opportunities, for people to live back in town centres.”