Environmental Planning Report of Bathgate - Case Study Example

Environmental Planning Report of Bathgate (West Lothian)

Purpose of the report

This report has been created to offer reliable advice that will contribute to a long term urban expansion around Bathgate (West Lothian), thereby leading to constant development in the quality of this region. Also, such planning is meant to enhance the public realm, since there will be a description of increasing the population around Bathgate from 20,000 to around 30,000. The report is made up of various guidelines to enlighten on future development due to its incorporation of prolonged strategic proposals. As mentioned earlier, the proposed strategies will form a framework that enlightens and reinforce expansion control decision-making alongside ways of promoting and supporting the coordinated provision of a number of the project. By doing so, there is a likelihood of establishing clarity to the developers' and their agents' requirements aimed at promoting the growth within Bathgate. The report will offer advice on three main issues; overall goals/ambitions for the project, recommended development approaches, and interactions between policy themes to guide the anticipated urban expansion around Bathgate, thereby leading to greater transparency, consistency, and clarity in creating the quality requirements within the preparation phase.

The overall goals/ambitions for the project (what should ‘fit for 22nd century mean?)

One of the goals for this project considered to 'fit for the 22nd century” recognizes Bathgate as a place that offers a sustainable and different combination of land uses and activities that tend to indicate their more comprehensive role and function. Therefore, in this project, the first goal aims to improve the physical sustainability and quality of Bathgate. Similarly, the objective implies the need to enhance and safeguard existing quality, reinforce developments of this town center that are attractive, inclusive, and safe for everyone, and which uphold sustainable management energy and water.

The second goal recognizes Bathgate as the town centre of established Heritage and Townscape Value. In this case, this objective gives special attention to maintaining the historic significance and architectural character during the vital process of urban expansion. Besides, the goal highlights that due concern will be granted to the contribution the anticipated development might make to the enhancement and regeneration of its wider region. Further, although Bathgate is characterized by some loss of redevelopment and structures, it has various attractive spaces and buildings that support the status of this center (Jenkins, 2019). On the other hand, the enterprising goal of the project identifies that the strength of Bathgate lies in its range of businesses and views this idea as the basis of rebuilding the town that is fully fit for 22nd century. Therefore, this goal can be realized by emphasizing on the need for accessibility, facilitation, safety, cleanliness and attractiveness, and positive image. Decreasing pollution will also serve as a vital goal that will make the project be successful. In most cases, pollution has greatly damaged development of places, especially Bathgate as the region has many industries (Morison et al., 2018). Consequently, a healthy community is an important objective that will ensure that the locals have the strength of contributing in this project in various ways.

Examples of development approaches that will help the consortium to achieve the overall goal

The attainment of the first goal will realized by integrating a variety of facilities in a small area within Bathgate and fully utilize the already significant investment in the developed environment. This type of attraction entails combination of shops, especially those offering variety and choice and a wider range of government, professional, financial services alongside leisure, entertainment, and cultural facilities. Most importantly, the presence of a flourishing local residential population serves as a positive power for change and preservation of quality.

Additionally, the first goal can be achieved by establishing a number of highly accessible transport, have effective preparations for delivery of goods, existence of better transport connections within the centre, and develop adequate high quality short stay car parking near shops. Also, there is the importance of having effective amenities in terms of established townscape and environment, public and streets spaces that are considered safe and clean, and possession of a sense of local character and identity (Bishop &Timmerman, 2019). All these considerations have the potential of enhancing attraction of leisure or shopping centers, which is a key factor of future development, since they will have built the mechanism and vision to adapt customer and market needs, overcome challenges, and secure necessary and appropriate improvements.

With respect to Heritage and Townscape Value of Bathgate, there is the importance of creating schemes for improvements and conservation of buildings that capitalizes on investment in properties through the adoption of private, charitable, and public finance in collaboration. Concurrently, one of the possible heritage initiative is to concentrate on Historic Town Center by working with local communities and other organizations to spearhead the attainment of the outlined proposals (McNeill, Wright, & Demetriades, 2018). Consequently, during expansion, there is the necessity of developing high-density housing, especially adjacent to and within town centers. Also, this form of housing can be established adjacent to public transport facilities.

Below are some of the developmental projects that can be embraced to achieve the enterprising objectives.

Accessibility

• Advocate for comfortable and safe pedestrian movement.
• Enhance accessibility from and to Town Centre by bus, train, or motorcycle.
• Increase clarity of public space system through clearer signalization of car parks and civic amenities alongside townscape improvements.

Facilitation

• Develop an operational public realm for service providers and users, resolving demands through sustainable and practical design interventions.
• Focus on flexible adoption of accommodation and space.

Safety

• Promote passive surveillance by bringing residential usage into Town Center.
• Incline advanced security to business sites.
• Permit convenient and safe pedestrian crossing of major roads.
• Discourage antisocial behaviors, such as theft and violence by the use of potential passive measures.
• Certify that the whole public space network is secure and safe.

Clean and attractive

• Improve and replace poorly maintained structures.
• Enhance and preserve historic and attractive structure.
• Discourage vandalism of soft landscaping, street furniture, and other properties.

Image

• Attract large number of higher quality retailer alongside other prospective business.
• Exhibit a high quality and positive image.
• Develop a hospitable and appeal first impression.

Many reports have showed that one of the inhibitors that will make Bathgate unable to transform into a “fit for the 22nd Century,” is the increased pollution. This problem calls for the need to embrace green economy in various ways as exhibited. According to Esfahanian et al. (2017), policies should be put in place that discourages local manufacture and importation of vehicles that uses fossil fuel, instead, the government should be encouraged to invest in hybrid cars. In this case, hybrid vehicles are believed to use more efficient fuel, since they are lighter. This type of vehicles will make Bathgate be a green nation that fits into 22nd century as they have a rechargeable battery and an electronic motor (Esfahanian et al., 2017). As a result, the energy that can be lost when the driver is braking is channeled into the charging battery that has the capability of powering the car.

Most importantly, pollution of this area will be largely reduced, since the internal combustion engine comes into use when the battery runs out, thereby decreasing auto emissions by over ninety percent (Kalghatgi, 2018). This goal can also be achieved by investing in local engineers to ensure that they have necessary resources to develop new technologies that do not make use of fossil fuel. In most cases, fuel cell changes chemical energy into electricity, which is an extremely efficient way that do not generates pollutants. Concurrently, there should be establishment of industries that limit air pollution alongside granting more projects to those that embrace green practices. The industrial approaches that can be adopted to attain this goal is by removing pollutants from the exhaust streams related plants before escaping into the atmosphere (Saxena, & Sonwani, 2019). Essentially, there should be filtering out of particulates and breaking down of nitric and sulfur oxides by catalysts, thereby minimizing the pollutants that contributes towards acid rain.

Additionally, higher attention should be placed in building healthy community around Bathgate through local engagement. “Fit for 22nd century” of the region cannot be attained, without adopting ways that guarantees that locals are involved in decisions that affect their wellbeing (Taylor et al., 2017). Therefore, community engagement is essential for the achievement of the goals of this project. Complete attainment of a healthy community is important as it will ensure that the population has increased from 20,000 to 30,000. Apart from increasing the population, healthy community will provide opportunities that will ensure that the locals have shared information on the appropriate actions they need to undertake to positively contribute towards the success of the project at hand.

Interactions between policy themes (are there contradictions that need to be resolved, or synergies which can be exploited?)

• Synergies which can be exploited

Bathgate is characterized by many intrinsic strengths in terms of its townscape quality and structure that can be exploited in the course of this project for attainment of optimum prosperous results. In this case, the area has a vibrant and attractive market town personality supported by good range and many independent services and businesses. This condition has been aided within the mature core central region by well refined built structures, permitting for small individual assets to develop constant vigorous street frontages (Jenkins, 2019). The existence of pedestrian connections from the surrounding areas have positive contribution to the establishment of animated and linked public realm and prosperous urban environment. Most importantly, the availability of uses and other actions, such as offices, library, police station, community theatre, and light industrial practices on the peripheral of the central region, can all be combined to appeal guests to the Town Centre for various motives. Significantly, the closeness to the wider retail units and outdoor market, regularly found inside and outside of the sites have the capability of supporting this project, since they are equated with fruitful development of urban centers. In spite of the current tolerant conditions that entails high traffic levels along South Bridge Street/ King Street and economical pubic car parking, Bathgate generally does not experience congestion of vehicles (Jenkins, 2019). Jenkins (2019) stated that less traffic is encountered since there is enclosure of the central car park sites in the urban blocks, and as a result of the pedestrianization of roads, such as George Street, which are perceived to have optimum length. Therefore, pedestrianization of such streets have optimum length that can present adequate access points with effective clarity from trafficked streets to guarantee that it successfully operate as pedestrian point.

Contradictions that need to be resolved

The parties involved in the project have to know that there is no perfect place; similarly, Bathgate has its flaws that should be resolved for successful improvement of the region. There are several poor quality shop facades and buildings within the central area of Bathgate that diminish from an appealing townscape, which negatively affect the portrayal of the Town Centre. Some of these structures entail larger, more contemporary trading units along George Street, features reduce proper visual impression of the regions. Also, the outlook of the township is negatively impacted by highway untidiness and poorly associated collections of street furniture. According to Jenkins (2019), this challenge is heightened by dense condition of street trees and large planters in search of arboriculture works. Most commonly, several public spaces around and inside Bathgate have worn out, while some of them are generally dangerous with poorly-maintained vegetation and lack natural surveillance.

Conclusion

The above report was meant to offer advice to consortium planning a long term urban expansion around Bathgate (West Lothian) and increasing the population from 20,000 to around 30,000. Three main issues relating to overall goals/ambitions for the project, recommended development approaches, and interactions between policy themes have been based upon to draw meaningful and relevant information. This discussion signals the importance of understanding that securing meaningful improvement requires things to be carried out differently. This report should help all the parties involved in the whole process of development to recognize that for Bathgate to be transformed and perceived “fit for the 22nd Century,” quality must be embraced and all people be dedicated to attract success. Concurrently, every project, be it small or large should have the ability to validate how it can build a region. In this case, a dedication to quality will uplift the established expectation of transforming Bathgate, and therefore, lack of attention and though to details should not be tolerated.