Evaluation of Lochgelly Project - Research Paper Example

Report of critical analysis and evaluation of Lochgelly project Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Aim 4 3. Objectives 4 4. Methodology 5 5. Identification of the interests of the project stakeholders 5 5.1 Local Community (Citizens, Community Groups, Local Businesses) 6 5.2 The state (the Scottish government, the Local authorities) 7 5.3 Landowners 7 5.4 Employees – Suppliers 7 5.5 Investors 8 6. Assessment of the opportunity, which the project addresses, and the development sites 9 7. Assessment of the risk factors internal and external to the project 10 8. Assessment of the institutional and regulatory issues 12 9. Assessment of the strategic and local impact dimensions of the project 13 10. Evaluation of the cost/benefit of the project 14 11. Review the efficiency and effectiveness of the ‘front-end’ development process by which has been brought forward 15 12. Recommendations about how the ‘front-end’ development process could have been improved. 16 13. Conclusion 17 14. References 18 15. Appendix 19 1. Introduction The last decades, the rapid development of technology has offered the chance to improve the conditions of living – at least in those areas where all necessary resources exist. In the sector of urban development, technology has helped to restructure urban areas in accordance with the local ethics and needs. Of course, the completion of the relevant projects is not depended only on the existing technology; other factors, especially the structure of the natural and urban environment (existing buildings, natural sites and so on) but also the resources available (funds invested in a specific urban development plan and the persons - practitioners of different skills – that will be involved in the various phases of these projects) have led to the development of innovative development plans for the restructuring of urban areas internationally. In Scotland the Fife Council has developed its Structure Plan for the years 2006-2026; the specific plan aims to promote the area and help to resolve a series of local problems including ‘economic development, new housing land, retailing, transportation, renewable energy and minerals’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.4). Furthermore, the plan refers to the type of development activities and the issues of place, cost and time (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.4). The above Plan was designed in 2009; Current paper focuses on the examination and evaluation of a specific part of this plan: the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, a project which is consisted from four different frameworks: the movement framework, the urban form framework, the Landscape and Public Realm and the Community Framework. Emphasis is given to a specific part of Lochgelly: its Northern Area. 2. Aim Current paper focuses on the examination and the critical analysis of the planning and decision-shaping associated with the stakeholder engagement process of a strategic housing development initiative; the project involves in the proposed development of housing for the settlement of Lochgelly, Fife Council; the report refers to a specific part of the Lochgelly region, i.e. its Northern area (Figure 1, Appendix). 3. Objectives In accordance with the issues highlighted above, the paper’s objectives could be described as follows: a) identification of the interests of the project stakeholders, b) identification and assessment of the opportunity which the project addresses and the development sites, c) assessment of the project’s risk (internal and external), d) assessment of the institutional and regulatory issues, e) assessment of the project’s strategic and local impact dimensions, f) evaluation of the project’s costs and benefits, g) review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the ‘front-end’ development process by which has been brought forward and h) recommendations about how the ‘front-end’ development process could have been improved. These objectives will be achieved by referring to the plans developed on the specific project; furthermore, a reference will be made to the strategic and legal framework of similar activities in Scotland. The market ethics and the principles of the urban development will be particularly helpful in order to identify and evaluate the project’s various aspects – as presented above. 4. Methodology Current report has a series of aims and objectives – in the context described above. These aims and objectives are used as the basis for the identification of the material required for the development of the study. The research over the report’s issues – as described in sections 2 and 3 above will be conducted primarily through the governmental documents published on the specific project – referring to the Fife Structure Plan, 2006-2026 and the Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework (2008); the document of Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI) promoting the Lochgelly Charrette will be also used as it contains valuable information on the specific initiative. Apart from the above resources, studies related with the issues under discussion will be used – in the case that they include valuable information on the project’s development; the evaluation of the project will be based on the details provided by the authorities that have planned and monitor the specific project but the use of additional sources – especially those referring to key points of urban development – is necessary in order to evaluate all the aspects of the project under discussion. Furthermore, the report has been divided into sections aiming to make clearer the analysis and the evaluation of the project’s various parts. 5. Identification of the interests of the project stakeholders The proposed project is considered as necessary in order for specific interests to be served. In order to identify these interests it is necessary to refer primarily to the persons and organizations that will be benefited by the project, i.e. the project stakeholders. The project is expected to benefit primarily the people of the particular community – referring to the people living in Lochgelly but also to the people living in the surrounding areas (including the businesses operating in the region); at the next level, the project will benefit the state (the government and the local authorities), the landowners, the schools and the Universities; finally the project will benefit the people that will be involved in the realization of the project, i.e. the employees working in the various parts of the project and the suppliers; it will also benefit the potential investors. The project’s stakeholders are presented in graph 2 (Appendix). It should be noted that the interests of the stakeholders in the project are differentiated in accordance with their role in the whole process – for example the state would be benefited in case that the project would be completed on time and without additional cost while employees would be benefited if the duration of the project would be extended. These issues can be better understood through the analysis of the interests of the project stakeholders. These interests have been also highlighted in the document (p.4) announcing the Lochgelly Charrette for the period 8-13 March 2010 under the supervision of the Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative. 5.1 Local Community (Citizens, Community Groups, Local Businesses) The people living in the Northern Area of Lochgelly will be benefited by the initiatives suggested through the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework (as aligned with the Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026); people will have easier access to public services, they will be able to travel easier across the area and they will have the chance to enjoy appropriately customized open spaces. The performance of local businesses will be increased – since the access to the market will be easier. Finally, a series of additional benefits will result for the Community – referring especially to the development of existing community facilities and infrastructure. 5.2 The state (the Scottish government, the Local authorities) Through the improvement of the urban environment, the transportation infrastructure and the interconnections among key community places, the economic activities in the region will be developed; the profits from various community initiatives and infrastructure will be also increased supporting the further growth of the area. The profits from direct and indirect taxation on the activities developed across Lochgelly will be increased offering to the State and the Local authorities the power to support more actively the improvement of the area’s infrastructure. 5.3 Landowners The landowners have a crucial role in the success of the project. As noted in the Lochgelly Charrettes document (2010) it is required that landowners cooperate with the authorities and the designers/ developers in order to ensure the quality and the effectiveness of the relevant plans. Landowners will be benefited from the specific project, as the value of their property will be highly increased by the project’s completion. 5.4 Employees – Suppliers The persons that will work on the development of the project, either directly or indirectly, i.e. employees in all phases of the project and the suppliers have specific interests on the specific project: the Lochgelly project is going to create a significant number of positions in various roles; in this context, it can be noted that employees and suppliers have different interests from those of the rest stakeholders: while the rapid completion of the project is for the interest of all the project stakeholders, employees and suppliers are the exception: the extension of the project would result to increased salaries and fees for all workers and suppliers; because of the existence of opposite interests in regard to the specific project, it would be necessary for the Fife Council to develop a mechanism that will monitor closely the progress of the project ensuring that any delay will be appropriately justified. 5.5 Investors The development of the project is supported by both the government and the private sector – referring not only to the funding of the project but also to the development of various activities that aim to support the project, like the Charrette Programme which ‘will feature numerous opportunities for the public to get involved and have their say about the nature of future development at Lochgelly’ (Charrette Programme, 2010, p. 6); the above Programme is funding by the Scottish government, the Fife Council and investors of the private sector, like the University of Hertfordshire, the Turnberry Consulting and the Duany Plater – Zyberk and Company (Charrette Programme, 2010, p. 8); the above investors – and the ones that will participate in the Project up to its completion – have a specific interest: the completion of the Project on time, within its budget and the timescale set by its Designers. 6. Assessment of the opportunity, which the project addresses, and the development sites The project has a specific target: to help towards the improvement of the urban environment in the Lochgelly region; in fact, infrastructure in all areas of Lochgelly will be equally improved through the specific project. As noted in the Charrette Programme the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework is expected to ‘aid the regeneration of the town, creating employment opportunities and enhancing the profile of Lochgelly’ (Charrette Programme, 2010, p. 2). Through the improvement of the urban environment in Lochgelly it is noted that people will be able to cover their housing and working needs and they would prefer to stay in Lochgelly rather moving to another region (Charrette Programme, 2010, p. 2). As mentioned above, the project includes four different frameworks. It should be also mentioned that in the context of the project the region of Lochgelly has been divided into four different sites: the Lands to North, the Lands to South, the Lands to East and the Lands to West; current report refers to the development of the Northern Area (see Figure 1, Appendix); this area has been characterized as an area that needs further expansion; towards this direction, the following parts of the areas infrastructure have been examined – in order to estimate the performance of the Lochgelly project in relation to this area: ‘a) the physical development potential, b) the market development potential, c) the public transport accessibility and d) the visual/ cultural heritage’ (Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p.7). The mode of development applied on the specific region has not been finalized: three different scenarios exist (see Figure 3, Appendix, as in (Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p.13); the scenario that would most benefit the Northern area is the second scenario which is based on the high urban development of the Northern area which, in this way, becomes the key part of the region. 7. Assessment of the risk factors internal and external to the project The project is related to a series of risks; these risks could be internal and external – referring to the project’s environment (Boelens, 2009, p.15). As already noted above, the Fife Structure Plan has been developed in order to help the development of the local Community and the growth of the local economy; the targets needs to be achieved within 20 years, i.e. from 2006-2026 – at least this is the initial aim of the Fife Council (see also the Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.20); however, because the project has a series of risks – as analyzed below – it is likely to fail to meet its objectives if these risks are not appropriately addressed. The internal risks of the project are related with the development of the project, i.e. all its part up to the completion of its final phase. The Fife Council has identified these risks; measures need to be taken for the minimization of these risks during the development of the project. In accordance with the Council’s report, the project’s internal risks can be identified in various phases of the project; when implementing the strategy the following risks exist: ‘a) the risk of sterilization of mineral deposits, b) the risk of the built heritage, c) the risk of mining subsidence, gas and mine water and ground contamination’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.24); in the next phase of the project, its development, the following risks may appear: ‘a) risk of compatibility with the surrounding area, b) risk of failures in the application of the designer’s guidelines’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.25); furthermore, in the delivery phase of the project it is noted that the following risk can be identified: because of the potential differentiation of regional urban, social and economic needs (referring to the year 2026) compared to those existed in the projects planning, it is necessary that the project includes both ‘spatial and ‘non spatial’ deliverables’ (Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p. 30); these deliverables will ensure the flexibility of the project’s parts; in this way, appropriate changes can be made in any phase of the project when such a need appears and the overall performance and quality of the project is not affected (Hard et al., 2008, 32). There are also external risk factors related with the specific project; an indicative factor of this type is the failure of the local authorities to allocate the funds required for the continuation of the project – due to an extreme financial crisis that could prohibit the development of such projects; this risk could lead even to the failure of the whole project in case that the risk factor appears in the early phases of the project (Krieger et al., 2009, 47). It should be noted at this point that the development of the area under examination has been planned to begin early – before the other areas of the region – as Figure 4 (Appendix) indicates; so the above risk seems to be limited in regard to the Northern area. Another external risk related to the specific project is the potential cancel of the project under the order of the government in case of severe political or financial turbulences or in case that the oppositions of the local community against the project are so strong that the public peace is set in risk in the particular area; the above risk is in fact quite limited; however, it is possible that during the development of the project certain stakeholders understand that their interests on the project have been reduced – or eliminated (for instance if different suppliers are chosen or if the guidelines of the local authorities are not followed, McCarthy, 2007, 81); then the reaction of the stakeholders to the project could lead to its cancel – a constraint for the government to give such an order would be the rights for compensation that could be developed in favour of the landowners or other stakeholders, for instance the project’s investors. 8. Assessment of the institutional and regulatory issues The project is quite important for the local community; on the other hand, because of its size the project is expected to be quite expensive – see the cost evaluation in section 10 below. As a result, any potential failure to the project would result to severe financial losses for its stakeholders. For this reason it is necessary that the project is aligned with the legal rules that govern the particular activities. In the case of this project two different legal frameworks need to be applied: the one including the laws regulated the activity of Local Authorities and the one that sets the rules under which the human intervention in the natural environment can be permitted. In the Fife Structure Plan (2009, p. 54) it is made clear that the ‘development will be permitted under the term that the assessment concludes that there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest which can be only related to human health, public safety or beneficial consequences of primary importance to the environment’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.54); in accordance with the above plan these issues need to be taken into consideration ‘where such a site hosts a priority habitat and/or priority species as described in the Directive 92/43/EC’; at the same time it is stated clearly that ‘full account will be taken of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.54). In case that the rules of the above Legislative texts will be violated then the damages can be compensated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the environment-related laws but also of the laws that regulate the operations of the governmental authorities in Scotland – as noted above (the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004 could be also applied). 9. Assessment of the strategic and local impact dimensions of the project The project is based primarily on the needs of local community; this means that the rules applied cannot be violated (Saunders, 2006, 94); otherwise a series of legal consequences will be developed – in the context noted above. These needs as clearly stated in the previous sections are related with a series of complex activities; for this reason, the strategic plan on which the project is based had to be clear and precise; all its terms should be clearly explained while alternatives should exist in case that failures are developed. At the same time, the failure of the project – totally or partially – could cause severe damages to the local community. In order to protect the interests of the state and the local community the designers of the project developed three alternative scenarios (see also Figure 3, Appendix section); the choice of the scenario that would be finally applied is based on specific criteria (as described in the Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework (2008, p. 13); another strategic tool that decreases the risks for a potential failure of the project is the term added to the project under which the project will include both ‘spatial and ‘non spatial’ deliverables’ (Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p. 30); this strategy increases the flexibility of the project and makes its strategic dimensions open to changes – when required in order for major damages to be avoided. 10. Evaluation of the cost/benefit of the project The evaluation of the cost/ benefit of the project has to be based on the analysis of the project’s cost and benefits using the documents released by the relevant authorities – also additional documents related with similar projects. The benefits of the project are already analyzed above and can be summarized as follows: the project is expected to support the area’s ‘economic development, new housing land, retailing, transportation, renewable energy and minerals’ (Fife Structure Plan, 2009, p.4); the above benefits of the project could be evaluated using its cost. The project’s duration has been estimated to 20 years, i.e. from 2006 up to 2026; on the other hand, the project addresses a series of areas, as indicated above. Because of its size, no estimation of its cost is included in the relevant document of the Fife Council; it can be assumed that the project’s cost will be estimated on a year basis – in accordance with the parts of the project developed within the specific period. Another assumption is that the cost of the project is rather extremely high – at least based on the fact that it refers to all aspects of the region’s urban environment; the local authorities decided – probably – to avoid referring to the project’s estimated cost under the fear of the opposition of the local community – a fact that could lead to the failure of the project as explained above. Regarding the above it should be noted that the project’s plan should be reviewed; the terms of its development – especially the issues of cost and time – should be analytically explained; it is the only way to avoid the opposition of the local community in later stages of the project. 11. Review the efficiency and effectiveness of the ‘front-end’ development process by which has been brought forward As noted above, the project has been developed using particular strategic techniques aiming to reduce the chances for major failures; in this context, the ‘front end’ development process has been employed by the project’s designers. Through this process the main issues and challenges of the project are addressed in its initial phases; an indicative aspect of this process is the development of three different scenarios (see Figure 3, Appendix) through which the expected – future – risks of the project are estimated and evaluated and measures are proposed for their elimination. The specific process can be characterized as quite effective; using appropriate diagrams and analysis the project’s designers have identified all potential risks; in this way, it is easier for appropriate suggestions to be made towards the elimination of failures in regard to the specific project (Murgante et al., 2009, 43). At this point, a specific issue should be highlighted: in the front – development process the reference made to the specific risks related with each particular area (North, South, East, West) of Lochgelly is limited; despite the analytical presentation of the regional characteristics (in terms of transport, infrastructure and so on) the actual risks that the application of the project on these areas could cause have not been highlighted; in fact, these risks can be identified only through the various sections of the Fife Structure Plan (2009), i.e. the general plan on which the specific project is based. 12. Recommendations about how the ‘front-end’ development process could have been improved. As noted above, the front-end development of the project can be characterized as satisfactory – despite its weaknesses related with the clear presentation of the risks involved in the project’s development. In this context, the recommendations regarding the improvement of this process could be summarized as follows: a) clear reference should be made on the benefits/ risks of the project on each particular area in Lochgelly, b) the measures taken for the limitation of these risks should be also categorized – referring to each area separately, c) the cost of the project should be analyzed – both for the entire project and per area and d) more alternatives should be developed in relation to the potential appearance of failure in the early phases of the project (Wang et al., 2007, 23); moreover, clear guidelines on the application of these alternatives should be included in order for the effectiveness of the front-development process to be increased. 13. Conclusion The urban development of Lochgelly is quite necessary in order for the area to become more competitive – in terms of infrastructure and facilities available. However, the relevant procedure has been proved to be quite complicated; in fact, the complexity of the project has led its designers to develop alternative scenarios (see Figure 3, Appendix) in order to make sure that alternative schemes are in place if signs of failures appear in the early phases of the project (Netzband et al., 2007, 19); however, it is not made clear whether the failures during later stages of the project can be healed (or even compensated); it is just mentioned that the existing laws will be applied in order for the development of the project to be appropriate in all its dimensions. On the other hand, the participation of the public in the development of the project can be characterized as remarkable, the Lochgelly Charrette Programme (2010) is an indicative example of the support towards the Lochgelly Project by the local community. This trend leads to the assumption that the project’s effectiveness is secured; apart from its complex strategic dimensions, its effectiveness is guaranteed by the local community, a fact that needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating the project’s cost – which is rather high but justified by its benefits. 14. References Boelens, L., 2009. The Urban Connection: an actor-relational approach to urban planning. 010 Publishers Hard, M., Misa, T., 2008. Urban machinery: inside modern European cities. MIT Press Krieger, A., Saunders, W., 2009. Urban Design. University of Minnesota Press McCarthy, J., 2007. Partnership, collaborative planning and urban regeneration. Ashgate Publishing Miller, G., Spoolman, S., 2008. Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions. Cengage Learning Murgante, B., Borruso, G., 2009. Geocomputation and Urban Planning. Springer Netzband, M., Stefanov, W., 2007. Applied remote sensing for urban planning, governance and sustainability. Springer Ratcliffe, J., Stubbs, M., 2009. Urban Planning and Real Estate Development. Taylor & Francis Saunders, W., 2006. Urban planning today: a Harvard design magazine reader. University of Minnesota Press Van Bilsen, A., Der Hoeven, F., 2006. Urban transformations and sustainability: progress of research issues in urbanism 2005. IOS Press Wang, X., Hofe, R., 2007. Research methods in urban and regional planning. Springer Case study - documents Fife Structure Plan, 2009 Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework (2008) Lochgelly Charrettes, Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI), 2010 15. Appendix Figure 1 – Northern area, development of housing for the settlement of Lochgelly, (source: Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p.7) Figure 2 – The Lochgelly Project – Stakeholders Figure 3 – Development scenarios for Lochgelly (source: Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p. 13) Figure 4 – Phasing Strategy for Lochgelly, source: (Finalised Report of the Fife Community on the Lochgelly Strategic Design Framework, 2008, p. 31) Read More