4.11 St. Vincents Quarter

Principles

Degree of Intervention
The St. Vincent’s Quarter is in a state of transition and opportunities for dramatic change will be presented. The degree of intervention recommended for most of this quarter is therefore Repair and Recovery due to the industrial heritage contained within it. At St. George’s Close a process of Reinvention and Reconfiguration is recommended to improve the existing residential area.

Managing change
To manage change within the quarter and to ensure that new developments and land uses make a positive contribution, a pro-active strategy should be developed. The implementation of this strategy could be managed by a development agency team Including: SCC, NUCA and other partners specifically established for this quarter.

Activity
Mixed use development should include local amenities such as shops, launderettes, post-office etc. Ancillary University uses such as print shops are also encouraged.

The provision of active frontages at street level will be encouraged to increase pedestrian activity and provide natural surveillance to enhance safety on key routes.

Architectural Style and materials
Encourage the innovative reuse of vacant buildings to preserve industrial heritage whilst establishing a new identity for the quarter.

Otherwise, innovative and contemporary infill developments should be encouraged. The use of modern materials in the built form such as steel, timber and aluminium will be acceptable.

In the vicinity of the important groupings of industrial and residential buildings, the scale and material finishes of new development should reflect that of the surrounding context.

Housing should be designed to a consistently high standard to accommodate all a positive mix of tenure types and create an inclusive community.

Detailed guidance on building design, orientation and materials is set out in Part 3.2 Guidance - Architectural Quality.

In the distinct character areas of the quarter building materials should be sensitive to the character of that area with the use of red brick and stone encouraged. Outwith these areas modern materials will be permitted. These should be sourced locally and from sustainably managed resources whenever possible to contribute to the sustainable development of the quarter (refer part 3.2)

Building heights
Generally, infill developments are to respect the existing building height of 2-4 storeys and the tight street pattern.

Along the Broad Lane, Tenter Street and Gibraltar Street edges, strong built form will be required to emphasise the gateway aspect of these streets. At nominated the gateway sites of Hoyle Street, the Tenter Street roundabouts and Brook Hill/Broad Lane, there are opportunities to introduce tall buildings.

Within the industrial hinterland of the quarter, around Scotland Street, new developments should generally be a maximum of 4 storeys in height so as to retain views from and towards the Solly Street ridge. On steep sites there may be scope for wider variation to create a lively townscape.

Refer ‘Creating a sense of Enclosure’ in architectural guidance.

Public realm and open space
Creation of attractive new public spaces to provide a community focus and exploit views afforded by the topography of the quarter.

The St. Vincent’s quarter will generally adhere to material palette and street furniture suite for Secondary Zones as set out in table 5.1 and 5.2 respectively (part 5.1).

The public realm in the residential areas should be simple in design and incorporate soft landscaping to create a pleasant pedestrian environment. Communal private spaces should be provided in residential blocks.

A carparking management plan is required to rationalise and consolidate parking throughout the quarter. Commuter parking must be discouraged.

Carparking should be provided as basement or ground floor parking in new commercial developments

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