KEY STRATEGY AREAS-

The townscape study has examined theexisting character, qualities and activityin Dalry. This work has includedexamination of the building fabric,materials, land use and history.

Key areas of the town centre have beenidentified as making a significant impacton the activity and townscape qualitiesof the town centre. By addressing thesekey points major improvements canhopefully be made to the town.

DALRY TOWNSCAPE STUDY for North Ayrshire Council March - August 2006 SUMMARY SHEET 1

KEY ISSUESA. TOWN EDGE AT ROCHE WAYThe new road at Roche Way is unusual for modern roadin that it helps define the town centre in a more positiveway- almost a moat to the town wall. This edge howeverlacks structure with the town fabric yet to be reinstatedafter the road construction. Improvements to thetreatment of this edge will help further define the edge ofthe town.

B ENTRY TO MAIN STREETThe buildings on Main street open up to form awelcoming entry to the town. The impact of this entrycould however be enhanced to give a higher qualitygateway and sense of place. Improvements to gableends, materials and signage could all be considered.

C GARDENS ON ROCHE WAYThe landscape edge to the town offers a recreationalspace for visitors to the town. With its south west facingslope this garden has the potential to be a sunny opengreen space accessible from the town.

THE HILLTOP SETTING OF DALRY TOWN CENTRE GIVES THE TOWN A STRONG SENSE OF PLACE

D TOWNEND STREET NEW STREET JUNCTIONIn a similar way to the end of Main Street thejunction of Townend Street, New Street and AitkenStreet create a notable arrival point in the towncentre. The corner buildings define the comingtogether of routes in a very positive way. This ishowever eroded by the corner treatment of thecorner gap adjacent to the Post Office.

E NEW STREET GAP SITESNew Street forms a transitionfrom the more suburban roadsinto the denser town centre.The gaps in the new streetfrontage part ly erodes theenclosure of the bui ldingsundermining the quality of thisstretch of town.

F SMITH STREET CAR PARKThe Smith Street Car Park site represents the biggestdevelopment opportunity in the town centre. The site whileproviding much needed parking has the feel of awasteland. Development of this site should be encouragedwith parking, connections to the Town Centre and longerterm development of adjoining sites all prime issues

G COURT HILLThe parkland at Court Hill provides and opportunity foraccess to a major recreational space. The point wherethis is closest to the town centre is however of poorquality. Improvements to this should be considered.

H TOWN CENTRE PARKINGThe main method of transport to thetown is undoubtedly the car with therailway station removed from towncentre. The success of the town willcontinue to be dependant on providingadequate parking facilities.

I THE CROSSThe quality of the space at The Cross is akey feature of the town centre. Thisshould be nurtured and enhanced in amanner appropriate to i ts use andbuildings

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THE PROPOSAL-A N E W C O N S E R V A T I O NAREA FOR DALRYThe listed buildings in Dalry are a highquality collection of buildings which givecharacter to the town centre on itshilltop . The town centre is a reasonablywell preserved series of streets typical ofmany Scottish towns. This arrangementof streets ensures the listed buildingsare seen in their historical context.

The proposal is for the creation of a newconservation area encompassing the keylisted buildings of the Main Street , TheCross and New Street. This designationwill ensure the whole area is givengreater protection from unsympatheticdevelopment and hopefully encouragethe enhancement of the town centre.

DALRY TOWNSCAPE STUDY for North Ayrshire Council March - August 2006 SUMMARY SHEET 2

TOWN CENTRE ENHANCEMENT

The buildings of Main Street are largely intactas a convincing streetscape. The buildings arepredominately two storey plus a dormered atticA typical Scottish town street. The buildingshave suffered from inappropriate windowreplacement however there is enough of theoriginal fabric worth preserving in details, roofmaterials etc.

The Cross is the focus of thetown. Enclosed by a collection ofcivic and commercial buildingsthis is a convincing piece oftownscape which deserves to beprotected and enhanced. Thechurch buildings, banks, libraryand hotel buildings all generatea sense of place and destination.

St. Margaret’s Church is the dominant buildingin the town. The importance of the spire isenhanced by its hill top location. The church isvisible from a great distance as you approachDalry, marking the heart of the community

Aitken Street marks a shift fromthe commercial town centre to amore domestic scale with thePublic Halls and Catholic Churchsitt ing alongside several f ineVictorian vil las. The views ofAitken Street, New Street andTownend Street from their junctionprovides a fitting context to theentry to the Town Centre.

Possible Conservation Area

THE PROPOSAL-A N E W C O N S E R V A T I O NAREA FOR DALRYThe listed buildings in Dalry are a highquality collection of buildings which givecharacter to the town centre on itshilltop . The town centre is a reasonablywell preserved series of streets typical ofmany Scottish towns. This arrangementof streets ensures the listed buildingsare seen in their historical context.

The proposal is for the creation of a newconservation area encompassing the keylisted buildings of the Main Street , TheCross and New Street. This designationwill ensure the whole area is givengreater protection from unsympatheticdevelopment and hopefully encouragethe enhancement of the town centre.

THE PROPOSALS-OUTLINE IDEAS FOR THETOWN CENTRE

Dalry has a reasonably successful towncentre with successful businesses in anattractive setting.

Inc reas ing compet i t i on f rom o therdestinations however suggest furtherimprovements should be made to ensurecontinuing use of the the town centre.

Outline proposals have been prepared for aseries of key areas of the town. These showindication of how new ideas can benefit theuse and enjoyment of the town andenhance the existing qualities.

Kilbirnie has some unique qualities which ifallowed to develop can help regenerateactivity in the town. Each area has adifferent characteristic whether ecomonic,historic, recreational or visual and all thehighlights taken together can add up to amore vibrant busy town.

DALRY TOWNSCAPE STUDY for North Ayrshire Council March - August 2006 SUMMARY SHEET 3

OUTLINE STRATEGY

A. TOWN EDGE AT ROCHE WAYImproved planting and retaining structures to thepavement edge on Roche Way would provide aclearly defined boundary to the town centre alongthis stretch.

Owners of buildings left with gable walls exposed tothe new road should be encouraged to develop theadjoining land either for extension to their propertyor merely creating completed elevations to theexist ing bui ld ings. This essent ial ly repairs“damaged” building fabric to give a sense ofcompleteness to edges and corners. Improvementsto buildings at the ends of Main Street and NorthStreet would enhance the town edge in theselocations.

B ENTRY TO MAIN STREETThe triangular space at the start of Main Streetcould be enhanced to become a notable entrance tothe town centre. Works to heal the exposed gablesmentioned above coupled with general upgrading ofbuilding elevations would have significant benefit.Careful treatment of surface materials to roads andpavements and consideration of street furniture andsignage would complete the upgrading of thissignificant space

C GARDENS ON ROCHE WAYAs with the northern stretch of Roche Way there isan opportunity to improve the definition of the towncentre boundary by improving the edge of thegarden areas. Enhancement of the pavementedge with hedges, boundary walls and fenceswould successfully form an edge with an enclosedan protected garden behind. The garden itself canbe landscaped to form a series of sunny terracedareas offering a pleasant leisure space accessiblefrom the town centre and schools opposite. Thecombination of town centre and landscapedgardens is a great opportunity.

D TOWNEND STREET NEW STREET JUNCTIONThe space at the junction of Townend Street, New Street and Aitken Street isunlikely to be fully developed given its restricted nature. The existinglandscape works while an improvement still leave the corner having a “gap”quality. Alteration or extension of the adjoining commercial premises andPost Office would provide proper elevations looking into this space.Encouraging these owners to enhance their buildings with new bay windowsor entrances in this manner would give a more completed sense to this smallscale site

E NEW STREET GAP SITESInfill development of this siteshould be encouraged tocreate a completed streetf rontage. The extent ofdevelopment and use of thebackland area should beviewed wi th f lex ib i l i ty toensure this type of urbanrepair can be implemented

F SMITH STREET CAR PARKThis site offers a great opportunity to enhance thesetting and activity in the town centre. The site haspotential for both commercial and residential uses. Thekey issues are however common to any use.Development should allow for new connections to beopened up from the town centre through the site to theresidential areas to the east. Allowing easy pedestrianaccess will help increase activity in the centre.Planning of the site should recognise the potentialfuture development of adjoining light industrial sites. IfSmith Street is developed the viability of adjoining sitesbecomes more significant.Use of the site should be maximised with the density ofdevelopment and car parking considered in full.

G COURT HILLA new formal entrance and viewing are is proposed forthis corner of the park. The point where the parklandcomes closest to the town centre should be anattractive welcome to the landscaped resource the parkrepresents.

H TOWN CENTRE PARKINGProvision of car parking will be of continuingimportance for the economic activity of the towncentre. Detailed study should be made of theexisting parking areas to ensure the maximumspaces are provided within the context of townamenity. The areas behind St. Margaret’s Churchand around the pensioner’s lunch club all offer somescope for limited increases in parking.

I THE CROSSThe central focus of the town is a space of some quality. This couldhowever be enhanced by improvements to the hard landscapematerials and street furniture. Consideration could be given tocreating more pedestrian friendly streets and spaces with peoplegiven priority. This should not be in the form of pedestrianisation.Vehicles should continue to use and park in the town centrehowever measures to ensure a less tarmac orientated space wouldimprove the sense of place in the town.The proposals also suggest the creation of a town centreconservation area to encourage the enhancement of the historicbuilding fabric