A LONG TERM PLAN
F/LA, Urban Animation and Hamilton and Kinneil Estates have been working to set out proposals for promoting land for development at East Saltoun, a small village in East Lothian.
The plans align the interests of both Estate and Community with those of East Lothian Council Planning and their call for proposals for the next Local Development Plan. The results proposing an evolutionary plan, over 20 years and on 4 sites.
CLIENT / Hamilton & Kinneil Estates
COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT / Urban Animation
QS & PRINCIPAL DESIGNER / Hardies Property & Construction Consultant
CIVILS & UTILITIES ENGINEERS / Cundall
MARKET ADVICE / Savills
TRANSPORT CONSULTANT / Transport Planning
FLA TEAM / Ayla Riome, Malcolm Fraser, Coll Drury, Felix Wilson
BRIEF / Investigation and discussion with the Village and Estate, as to whether careful extensions in suitable sites would assist in supporting dwindling local services while increasing housing provision.
The Community
East Saltoun is a small historic village of 150 homes in East Lothian, part of a larger group of farms and hamlets forming a rich agricultural landscape. The majority of the land surrounding the Village is owned by Hamilton and Kinneil Estates based at nearby Lennoxlove House, who are looking to unlock some of the development potential of the land. Through three successful Community Consultation events, F/LA gathered insight into the structure and context of the existing settlement, as well as values held by the residents and their aspirations for the future of East Saltoun. Locals like the community spirit and village lifestyle at East Saltoun as well as the rural character, landscape and setting. Key to its prosperity is the retention and/or recovery of local institutions, as well as improved bus services and paths and cycle routes.
Fortifying the Village for the Future
There is always resistance to development, but also pressures for change with a lack of suitable housing for young people as well as new blood for the village and its institutions. At the time of the events the Council was reviewing its education services, and the future of the school was not clear. The Saltoun Parish Church was also under review, and it has since been confirmed it will not continue in its historic use. Replacement of the village hall needs resolved urgently but there is no viable solution in place and bus services are already limited. East Saltoun may be threatened by further loss of village facilities which will have an impact on the thriving community spirit in the area but Hamilton and Kinniel Estates hope its initiatives might lever the opportunity for some resolution of the key challenges.
Four sites at each corner of the village were chosen to allow incremental development, over the 20 year lifespan of the LDP, with different methods of development, from small builders to serviced plots or Registered Social Landlords part of the mix.
The 20-Year Plan
The four sites would:
- Focus on incremental development across the village over a period of 20 years or more.
- Encourage local people to stay in the area and provide opportunities to build their own homes.
- Reinforce the existing structure and balance the village rather than tipping it by spreading out in one direction only..
- Avoid overwhelming the existing village, with 15 x 4 = 60 homes proposed.
- Retain areas and relationships to green space or introduce additional spaces such as allotments, and consolidate existing tree planting.
- Create enhanced accessibility and introduce active travel routes throughout and to the village.
