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Extracts from PAN 44: Fitting New Housing Development into the
Landscape (sections highlighted where wording appears in representation
CLDP056, but is not always referenced, apart from paragraph 33.)
the need for advice on landscape fit
8. As the most extensive new urban land use, housing has a major impact on
our standard of environment. It must be seen to make a positive and specific
contribution in fulfilling the principle of sustainable development to which the
Government is firmly committed.
9. Scotland enjoys a long and distinctive tradition of urban design, with urban
form closely fitted to the landscape. The pattern, evolved over centuries, has
now seen some additions at best mediocre or indifferent in quality. Lack of
integration with the landscape is particularly noticeable on the edges of our
small and medium sized towns. Many new housing developments have been
planned and carried out without evident regard to existing urban form and the
local landscape, or to their wider visual impact particularly when seen from
road and rail approaches. Insensitive development can undermine the special
environmental quality of towns and their setting in the countryside which have
drawn people to live and invest in them in the first place.
10. The Government - in answer to growing concern about insensitive new
housing developments - wishes to ensure that proposals are made sufficiently
responsive to the sense of place, and to the general and particular character
of the place. The capacity of the landscape to absorb development must be
given proper attention, alongside other considerations such as the need and
demand for housing, the availability of land, energy efficiency and the
provision of infrastructure.
11. Locally, a great deal can be achieved. Individuals and companies,
developers and planning authorities, all have a part to play. The guiding
principle of new housing development is that it should help to maintain and
enhance the environment.
PART B - THE DESIGN PROCESS
THE NEED FOR SITE PLANNING
33. All new development should make a positive contribution to the
continuing evolution of our settlements. The necessity of relearning the
basic skills of site planning and the successful incorporation of these
skills into planning practice is fundamental
34. This part of the manual reviews the key principles of site planning,
analysis and design which need to be addressed by planners and developers
alike in order to ensure that future development is appropriate and well
considered. Many of these principles are handled intuitively in the hands of an
experienced designer. There is no substitute for skill, It is possible, however,
to set them down in an ordered way, as presented here. These principles only
provide a starting point. The weight attached to any one and the balance
between them is of fundamental importance and will vary according to
different site conditions and development objectives.
35. This work draws upon proven and respected techniques and practice, in
particular the work of Kevin Lynch which is yet to be surpassed in its clarity
and coverage on the subject of site planning.
[Site Planning, Kevin Lynch and Gary Hack. The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Press, ISBN 0-262-12106-9, (Third edition 1985)]
36. The process of design must begin with an acknowledgement of the
elements of the existing landscape in order to establish opportunities for
enhancement and requirements for conservation. Each site has an individual
capacity to accept change. Some sites are inherently scenic and may require
minimum intervention while others may already be degraded and invite
improvement and alteration.