easter muirhead - lomond landdesign+statement.pdf · muirhead, has followed a long and...

Easter Muirhead - Equestrian Centre

Design Statement

The Design Statement Methodology

The methodology adopted in preparing this Statement follows the principlesset out under Planning Advice Note 68 Design Statements. As with anydevelopment within a rural setting, landscape sensitivity and achieving asympathetic design are paramount considerations. This statement seeks to:

• set out the design rationale through an appraisal of the context of thesite;

• examine the design parameters as set out under National guidance andDevelopment Plan policy;

• on the basis of the foregoing, identify the most appropriate designsolution.

Clearly, the policy context relevant to an assessment of this application extendsbeyond the purely design based considerations addressed in this document.In order to provide a full understanding of the development proposal it is important that this Statementbe read together with the Policy Analysis submittedas part of the application.

Background

The Equestrian Centre at Easter Muirhead has beenoperating from the former farm steadings there since2002 when the business relocated from Langfauldssouth of Saline. The key objectives of this developmentproposal are:

• to address operational difficulties arising dueto physical limitations of the existing premises;

• to more fully realise the potential of the facilityas a centre of excellence for riding tuition.

Theseobjectivesare bestmetthrough the development of a dedicated facility gearedto the specific operational requirements of the equestrianuse and which more adequately reflects the standard onewould expect for a facility widely recognised as being ofnational standing in terms of the standard of trainingprovided.


Design Statement

The Equestrian Centre OperationThe Equestrian Centre Operation can be dividedinto three main areas of activity:

• riding tuition with a particular emphasison show jumping. The facility is verymuch a specialist operation and does notaim to provide for more typical equestrianactivity such as livery, nor does it operateas a riding school where customers canpay for lessons on the Centre horses.Clients generally travel considerabledistances to receive tuition on their ownhorses which are stabled at the Centre;

• stock development involving thebreeding, braking, schooling and training of event standard horses;

• provision of approved practical training as part as part of the SVQ in horse training andmanagement.

The owner/manager of the Equestrian Centre at EasterMuirhead, has followed a long and distinguished careerin the field of equestrian activity, particularly show jumping.For more than 20 years he himself competed at the highestlevel in the sport, culminating in successful participationin the Horse of the Year Show in the 1990's. Since then thefocus has been on developing the training and breedingside of the sport with the initial establishment of a facilityat Langfaulds south of Saline which operated for 15 yearsprior to the move to Easter Muirhead.The ProposalThe Master Plan submitted with this application indicatesthe key components of the overall development. These are:

1 The Equestrian Centre comprising;

• The Quadrangle. This will provide the same number of stables as the existing structurealbeit now designed to meet approved standards. The Quadrangle will also provideopportunities for the inclusion of additional support and associated facilities which limitationsof the existing steadings has prevented provision of. These are detailed on the floor plan.In addition the Quadrangle will provide accommodation for Centre staff and studentsattending the Centre as part of their SVQ requirements.

• Indoor School. The lack of an indoor schooling area is a major shortcoming with the existingfacility. Provision of the Indoor School will enable development of a much more activetraining programme throughout the year as well as avoiding the inconvenience caused toclients through inclement weather cancellations.

• Outdoor School. This will provide the same size area as currently exists at the site.


Design Statement

• Utility Shed. This will mainly provide for enclosure of the stables spoil heap and storage ofmachinery.

• The associated parking and vehicle manoeuvring area. This will address shortcomings withthe existing arrangements which lack a horse box parking and manoeuvring area close tothe steadings with the result that vehicles currently require to park on the public roadwayfor loading and unloading. In addition the existing parking area is remote form the steadingsfacility thereby forming a negative visual impact through isolation from the main facilityand, more importantly, creating a road safety hazard for pedestrians moving between thecar/lorry park and the Centre.


Design Statement

2 The Residential Development.

The plans for development of the Centres potential are ambitious and a key component of theoverall project feasibility is the cross subsidy provided through residential development. Thereare currently three residential properties on the site, with planning permission granted for afurther dwellinghouse to accommodate the Centre owner/manager. The development proposalinvolves increasing the overall number of residential units on the site from four to six. Thisincludes replacement of the existing properties.

One of the units is intended for the owner/manager of the Centre. The other five are aimed atmeeting known equestrian based residential demand for co-location with the Centre withinproperties with their own direct provision of paddocks as indicated on the master plan.

3 Chalet Accommodation

The calibre of the training at Easter Muirhead is national standard and clients travel fromconsiderable distances to the facility. Clients travelling from as far afield as Cumbria is notuncommon with many more travelling in excess of a hundred miles to the facility and thusrequiring an overnight stay. The provision of Chalet accommodation is aimed at meeting theneeds of clients for overnight accommodation and is not intended as a general tourist facility.


Design Statement

Site and Area Appraisal

The Area - Landscape and TopographyThe site is located in the countryside area betweenthe settlements of Blairingone in Perth and Kinrossand Saline in Fife (Figure 1). The general area ischaracterised by agricultural influences ondevelopment and exhibits a strong traditional fieldpattern with boundary tree planting and hedgerowsinterspersed with small mixed woodland areas.Numerous agricultural steadings punctuate the areaand these are predominantly traditional in formalthough there are a number of more modernstructures.

The Local Plan indicates that the site is not locatedwithin an AGLV and there are no other specificdesignations, including archaeological, natureconservation, tree preservation orders etc that requireto be considered as part of the design appraisal.

The site itself is surrounded by agricultural landunder active mixed arable tenure. A high degreeof visual containment is provided for the site throughthe existing mature woodland around it and as aresult of its lower level relative to adjoining land.

The key topographical and landscaping features forthe site itself are displayed at Figure 2.


Design Statement

The Site - Key FeaturesThe main built structure, which currentlydominates views of the site, is the existingsteadings building which comprises anaccumulation of single and two storey heightstructures which have grown upincrementally over time. As a result thesteadings, although grouped, lack anycoherent theme in terms of layout or style.The spoil heap for the stables is located tothe south of the steadings buildings and isreadily visible in relation to key views of thesite from the roadway to the south. This andthe other main receptor views are displayedat Figure 3.

The row of cottages with the abandoned concrete silage/manure pit and hard standing area for lorryparking also form a key focus for views of the site, albeit obscured partially by the steadings in

relation to the view from the south. The cottagesthemselves are of a fairly basic form, offer sub-standard accommodation and exhibit littlearchitectural merit. The existing lorry/car parkingarea comprises a hard standing area remote fromthe main steadings and lorries and horse boxesparked there form a prominent feature by virtueof their isolation from the main steadings building.


Design Statement

The Design Principles

The National ContextThe National Policy context as set out under The Policy Statementfor Scotland "Designing Places" and the associated SPP's andPAN's recognises three key princilples in relation to developmentin the countryside:

• the need for a more flexible approach to development inthe countryside;

• the importance of good design in terms of social andeconomic objectives as well as the purely visual;

• continuation of the core principle of sound environmentalstewardship.

The Local ContextThis balance between adopting a more liberal approach todevelopment whilst adhering to the principle of sound environmentalstewardship is reflected within the Development Plan policies andsupplementary policy relating to housing development in thecountryside. Policy 1 of the Local Plan sets out some broad principlesfor sound environmental stewardship.

More detailed advice under Policies 2, 5, 6, and 36 as well as the"Housing in the Countryside Policy" can be summarised as requiring:

• absorption of development into the landscapesetting;

• screening of development where necessary;

• landscape enhancement;

• preservation of landscape features and senceof local identity;

• compliance with the Kinross-shire LandscapeCharacter Assessment. This indicates thatthere is scope for the area to absorbdevelopment and that the capacity of thelandscape to accommodate new structures isrelated mainly to development of anagricultural style and scale;

• high standards of design with particularreference to materials, modern design, local context, and avoiding excessive underbuilding;

• compatibility with adjoining landuses;

• avoiding isolated development and prominent skyline/ridge top development;

• provision of appropriate landscape enclosure.


Design Statement

The Design Solution

• Landscape FitThe overall landscape setting for the development enjoys a high degree of containment due to theexisting mature woodland planting around the site as well as the relatively low elevation and levelrelief compared within the surrounding undulating landscape. These factors are of key importancein enabling the proposed development to achieve a very good landscape fit. The existence of a tree

belt running to the north of the site isalso a key feature in providing asuitable backdrop against whichdevelopment can be set and moreeasily absorbed. As well as this thevertical context provided by the treebelt and those surrounding the site isof particular significance in reducingthe visual impact of the development.

In addition a high degree of visualabsorption into the existing landscapesetting is achieved with a developmentwhich is closely associated with theexisting steadings buildings which areto be retained. As well as this, carefulclustering of the new developmentaround the existing steading willminimise the enlargement of builtdevelopment which will be visible fromany angle, particularly distant views.The majority of the open countryside

will therefore remain untouched.The proposals also provide for additionaltree planting for the site as indicated atFigure 4 and this will add significantly tothe visual amenity of the area bystrengthening and enhancing the existingstructural planting.• Building DesignThe key to creating a facility whichprojects the status of a centre ofexcellence is the use of high quality ofdesign and materials.In seeking to


Design Statement

address the policy considerations and characteristics identified under the site appraisal the proposeddesign can generally be summarised as promoting a continuation of the agricultural theme in termsof, architectural form, location, scale, and finishing for each of the distinct components. Thesecomponents as identified under Figure 5 are:

a) The Quadrangleb) Indoor School and Utility Shedc) The chaletsd) The main house groupinge) The Centre owner/managers house.

a) The Quadrangle

This principle building is located to create a strong and formal entrance giving a sense of place and


Design Statement

arrival. The architectural form of the Quadrangle is deliberately simple with the two storey elementproviding a feature of interest on the main frontage elevation. This simplicity of design is characteristicof many traditional quadrangle structures and serves to provide a strong reference to the agriculturaltheme. In terms of scale the structure occupies a footprint similar to that of the existing steadingsarea. This and the location of the Quadrangle opposite the existing steadings provide a visual balanceand symmetry of form which is currently lacking at the site. The height of the Quadrangle has alsobeen kept to that which will achieve a balance with the original steadings.

The orientation of the Quadrangle is towards the south so as to provide interest on this mainelevation. This orientation also serves to clearly establish a functional linkage with the existingsteadings block thereby promoting visual integration. In terms of external finishing materials theemphasis is on simplicity and traditional references through the use of wet dash render on thesecondary elevations, with stone on the frontage two story element. Pan tiles are proposed for thetwo storey frontage and grey tiles to the rear, again providing some visual interest.

b) The Indoor School and Utility Shed

Although these structures are functional in design and location additional detailing will improve


Design Statement

their individual appearance and add to the overall quality of the building complex. They are locatedextremely closely to the proposed Quadrangle. This is essential for their strong functional linkagebut also reduces their visual impact from distant views. Such an arrangement is characteristic ofmost active agricultural steading groups and withinthe overall context of the area is entirely compatiblevisually.

c) The Chalets

In terms of architectural form the chalets followa simple styling which is characteristic of suchproperties. The grouping of the units as a circleis intended to provide the overall developmentproposal with a degree of depth and contrast tothe formal arrangement of the Quadrangle andassociated sheds. It will also allow for socialintegration between visiting guests and students.Figure 6 indicates the proposed layout.

In order to emphasise the temporaryaccommodation status of the units it is not intendedto provide the chalets with defined curtilages.Instead it is proposed to set them within alandscaped grass area and define the overall chalet area with hedge planting.

Given the linkage between the use of the chalets and the Equestrian Centre, issues relating to amenityimpacts are not of significant concern and the location adjacent to the steadings is considered astrong functional advantage, allowing proximity to the activities of the stables and school.

d) The Main Housing Group

Rural housing is generally characterised by development in clusters focused most often around theoriginal farmhouse or other traditional farm buildings. These tend to develop incrementally overtime and as a result have sporadic and varied orientations, layouts and architectural styles whenconsidered as a group. It is this variable characteristic that is dominant in rural development incontrast to the more regular nature of urban development. This random cluster is the key aim of thehousing group proposed and this is achieved by tight location, variation in orientation and contrastingarchitectural styles. The individual properties comprise:


Design Statement

• one unit based on a hunting lodge within a walled garden fronting the roadway and architecturallysuservient to the main farmhouse;

• a single large farmhouse unit;

• a barn/steading conversion style property to the rear of the farmhouse in close proximitythuscreating an informaal courtyard.

Figure 7 and the associated elevation within the main application pack indicate the proposedarrangement.

e) The Centre Owner/Managers House

The existing approved dwellinghouse granted for the owner of the Centre reflects a suburban formwhich is less appropriate for this site. In addition, the location of the approved dwellinghouse ispoorly related to the main building group and lacks integration with the overall facility.


Design Statement

The revised proposals are for a property which is much more in keeping with a countryside locationand will form a feature at the entrance to the site from the west and will serve to introduce the overalldevelopment on this main road entrance.

Currently Approved Dwellinghouse


Design Statement

The location of the dwellinghouse as a dominant feature at the entrance to the site is characteristicof the arrangement on many farms where the main farmhouse stands as a prominent feature closeto the main steading buildings. In order to add credibility to this approach the proposed house isstyled and finished as a traditional farmhouse.


Design Statement

• LandscapingGiven the wider landscape setting that the development will sit within and its ability and capacityto absorb development without adverse visual impact, as well as the care and attention to highquality building design, orientation and materials, it will not be necessary to carry out substantialscreening/structural planting as the development itself will add quality to the area. Converselyattention will be paid to complimenting the high quality of building design with landscaping of thecommon and private amenity areas. In this regard the intention will be to avoid an overly ornamentalformat with the use of simple indigenous planting most appropriate to a rural setting.

Overview

The design considerations in this Statement demonstrate that the proposed development can beimplemented without detriment to the character of the countryside and that a net positive impactwill arise through the improvement of what is at present a fairly run down and degraded site. Assuch the development has the potential to contribute significantly towards promoting the policyobjectives of the Development Plan.


Design Statement

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