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Brighton masterplan visualisation |
Following a period of intense design and consultation work URBED's masterplan for Brighton's New England Quarter has been granted planning permission by Brighton & Hove City Council. URBED has played a key role from the outset of the scheme, acting as masterplanners for the New England Consortium.
A design statement was produced to support the planning application submitted by the New England Consortium and describes the masterplan developed for the consortium over the last 18 months. This has been produced by URBED together with Chetwood Associates and David Huskisson Associates. Additional work has been carried out by URBED in conjunction with Chetwoods to scope environmental sustainability measures.
The masterplan relates to 8.75 hectares (21.6 acres) of land to the east of Brighton Station, formerly the goods yards and locomotive works associated with the station. It is a site with a long history and which has lain vacant for more than thirty years. The aim of this masterplan is to develop the site as a mixed-use, dense urban quarter integrated with and adding to the diversity and character of the surrounding areas.
This masterplan has been developed in parallel with the intensive work undertaken by Brighton Council over the last two years. This includes the community planning weekend held in November 1999, the working group and studies that took The aim is to develop mixed-use, dense urban quarter adding to the diversity of the surrounding areas place over the first half of 2000 and the planning brief approved in October 2000. It has also been informed by the consultation workshops organised by the New England Consortium in December 2000 and February 2001.
The Design Statement is in 5 parts:
1. An analysis of the site within the Brighton context (pages 1-13)
2. A description of the masterplan and masterplanning principles (pages 14-27)
3. Details of the public realm design by Huskisson Associates (pages 28 -36)
4. Details of the core site by Chetwood Associates (pages 37 - 44)
5. Detailed proposals and design briefs for each of the elements of the masterplan (pages 45 - 56).
A common thread running through the views of the consortium, council and community is that the area should become a mixed-use urban neighbourhood – and this respect our involvement as masterplanners has been informed by our work on the Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood (SUN) Initiative. From this a set of 6 principles have guided the masterplan:
A network of streets and squares: Unlike housing estates or retail parks an urban neighbourhood is based upon a network of streets and squares (fig. 14D). These can be edestrianised or traffic routes and provide both a route from A to B and a focus for the people who live and work in the adjacent buildings. This calls for a very different approach to the design of uses such as hotels, housing and supermarkets.
Quality public spaces: These streets and squares should combine to create a high quality public realm which is built with quality materials, enclosed by well propor-tioned buildings and linked to a network of other streets and spaces.
A rich mix of uses: Living places contain more than one use to ensure that streets remain active throughout the day, that there is sufficient activity to sustain a range
of commercial uses and to encourage walking rather than the use of the car. A common thread running through the views of all players is that the area should be developed as a mixed-use urban neighbourhood.
A critical mass of development: Vitality will not be achieved if development is spread out at low densities. It should be a compact walkable neighbourhood based
upon average net residential densities of at least 100 units per hectare.
A feeling of stewardship: Successful places depend on people looking after them and this is best done by the people who live and work locally. It is important
to promote a sense of stewardship similar to that which exists in the North Laine. To this end it is important to accommodate a range of different groups and organisations
in the development.
Minimal environmental harm: It is incumbent on all developers to minimise the environmental impact of their development. As set out in the Planning Brief
it is the consortium’s intention to make the scheme an exemplar for sustainable urban development.
Specifically the masterplan has been developed to meet the following objectives based partly on the brief and partly on our analysis of the site:
To create a scheme that draws on the character and urban form of Brighton.
To help meet Brighton’s housing requirement and to support a resident population of at least 1,000.
To attract significant employment uses to create around 1,000 jobs.
To add to Brighton’s visitor attractions by including at least one good quality hotel and conference centre.
To create strong links to and beyond London Road and North Laine.
To create a fitting gateway to Brighton for travellers by road and rail.
To contribute to the revitalisation of London Road.
To encourage people to use alternatives to the car.
To achieve the highest standards of sustainable development.
For more information contact David Rudlin in the Manchester Office on 0161 200 5500 |
