The Scottish Government

Name

Will Garrett

Job title

Organisation

City of Edinburgh Council

Address

Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8EU

Telephone

0131 4693636

Fax

Email

will.garrett@edinburgh.gov.uk

1 Scottish Enterprise

2 Edinburgh City Centre Management Co

3 Historic Scotland

4 Edinburgh World Heritage

5

6

Development Plans Development Management Development on the Ground Community Involvement

4 Title of entry

St Andrew Square Gardens

Professional knowledge Innovation Management Sustainable development

Partnership Community interest Regeneration Customer satisfaction

The redevelopment of St Andrew Square has created a major new public open space in the heart of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site. The project redesigned and opened up, to the public, underused and neglected private gardens, allowed greater appreciation of the Melville Monument and created a new pedestrian route through the gardens linking the St James centre and Princes St/Rose St. The contemporary design provides a sensitive and contextual response to the classical geometry of the New Town whilst creating a beautiful public space that responds to the way we live today. A second stage of the project involves the repaving of the Square around the gardens, reinforcing the original paving design. This has been developed in conjunction with the public realm works for the tram.

The underuse of centrally located private gardens had been noted for some time. In 2003, a partnership consisting of Edinburgh City Centre Management Company ( ECCM), Scottish Enterprise, City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage (Trust) commissioned a City Centre Public Realm Review, which identified St Andrew Square as one of a number of opportunities to improve the pedestrian environment of the city centre. Funding was secured for the 'Capital Streets' project, in part, from the Scottish Government in the form of a City Growth Fund and, in part, from Scottish Enterprise for the delivery of three key schemes, including St Andrew Square. The project was taken forward by the partnership members.

The project aims were:

To open up centrally located private gardens for the public enjoyment of office work rs, shoppers, locals and tourists alike.

To create a new garden/place that responds to its historic context but also provides contemporary usable public space that meets the needs of today's users.

To provide a pedestrian connection between two key areas of the city centre, improving pedestrian flow and ease of movement across the city, with resulting economic benefits.

The project was initially identified in 2003 through the Edinburgh City Centre Public Real Review. Funding was secured in 2003 and detailed design and project planning began in 2005. Following negotiations with heritage organisations on the design of the gardens and the securing of an agreement from the proprietors of the buildings on the square, the proposal was submitted for planning and permission was ranted on 16th June 2006. Work began on site in February 2007 and the gardens were opened to the public on 4th April 2008. Works to the pavements will be undertaken in conjunction with the tram works in 2010.

The first stage in delivering the project was to set up a steering group to represent the partnership. Landscape consultants, Gillespies, were appointed to redesign the gardens and pavements around the Square. The design was developed in line with Council planning policies, paying particular attention to its historic context and to how the gardens would be used. Extensive discussions with the private owners of the gardens terminating in legal agreements and a 50-year lease and maintenance agreement were required to achieve buy-in. The steering group managed the project throughout the design and implementation phases. The project is financially sustainable, as the profit from the lease of a new cafe in the gardens finance their maintenance.

Planning was central to the process: identifying the key priorities; ensuring that the detailed design functioned at a local scale, as a garden and through route, and at a contextual scale in relation to both its high-profile historic location and co-ordination with other city centre projects; drawing stakeholders together and acting as mediator to resolve differing requirements and aspirations and determining the planning application and advising on details of implementation. ECCM had a close involvement with the local businesses, securing the lease of the gardens and managing their long-term maintenance. Scottish Enterprise sought to ensure that the economic benefits of public realm investment were brought out in the scheme.

The level of success of the scheme is underlined by the level of use of the gardens, which were immediately adopted by the public both as a place for relaxation and a through route. In the short space of time it has been open; the gardens have integrated seamlessly into the city fabric, and are used by locals and visitors alike as though they have always been there, providing a clear demonstration that there was a genuine need for the project and that it has been successfully implemented.

The project merits an award primarily because the public like it and use it. However, behind that is that fact that a new contemporary public space has been created which is an attraction in its own right. A previously private and underused garden has been redesigned and is now open to the public. The cafe reinforces its status as a destination in its own right. It has demonstrated that even in the most sensitive of environments (conservation area and world heritage site) a modern, fresh and fit-for-purpose design can be delivered. It has raised the profile of the Council's ability to deliver, and can provide a benchmark for future partnership projects. Planning's role in guiding the design and mediating between the different stakeholders was fundamental to progressing the project from initial concept to finished product.

21 August 2008