Role of Architecture and Place
Early in 2008, the Scottish Government created a new Directorate for the Built Environment, bringing together internal interests on Planning, Building Standards and Architecture with a view to greater co-ordination of policies. As part of this restructure, the former Architecture Policy Unit joined with the Design Division of Planning to form the new Architecture and Place Division. (APD) The establishment of APD reflects an increased policy focus on place-making and on the development of low carbon housing design, energy efficient buildings, wider sustainable design issues and collaborative working.
APD advises Ministers on architecture and on design aspects of planning and is responsible for the development and implementation of policies on design in the built environment. A key focus in the work of APD is the promotion of the importance of design considerations in reaching planning decisions.
APD also takes forward programmes which link good design in the built environment as set out in the goals and objective for the Directorate for the Built Environment. The role of Architecture & Place Division is to help to turn policy intentions into action with a view to:-
- creating successful, thriving and sustainable communities;
- delivering better public buildings which contribute to improved service delivery and represent good value for money; and
- tackling the barriers to good quality development, through education, skills and advocacy.
National Outcomes
The overarching purpose of the Scottish Government is to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.
The Scottish Government's National Outcomes articulate this more fully and set out what Scottish Ministers aim to achieve in the next ten years.
Work carried out through architecture policy supports the following Outcomes, which have a bearing on the built environment:-
- We live in well-designed, sustainable places where we are able to access the amenities and services we need;
- We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations;
- We live in a Scotland that is the most attractive place for doing business in Europe; and
- We take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity.
These Outcomes are designed to ensure that we have the infrastructure, the physical services, the economic ability, the healthy environment, the cultural references and the social networks that allow our generation and future generations to achieve their potential in a balanced manner.
Better place-making
Scottish Ministers believe that a concern for the quality of Scotland's architecture must go far beyond the design of individual buildings. Distinctive, high quality places as well as high quality buildings are vitally important to the social, environmental and economic success of our cities, towns and rural communities.
Good place-making can provide communities with an important cultural context; a sense of pride and belonging; and a sense of local and national identity. It can provide environments which function well; link well with surrounding settlements and provide attractive areas in which to socialise, to move around and to do business.
The overarching Purpose of this Government is to increase sustainable economic growth, and good place-making supports this Purpose in the following ways:
- Good place-making can influence the economy of an area by making it an appealing place to live, to work, and to visit - and by providing an environment and infrastructure which attracts business and in which business can flourish;
- Through good design, safe, welcoming places can be created to which people would wish to return frequently, and which would have a greater chance of longevity;
- Good place-making can promote active, healthy, inclusive lifestyles by providing attractive and accessible green spaces, and through layouts which discourage car usage and which provide the right facilities within reasonable walking and cycling distance;
- Good place-making can embed community facilities into our communities in ways which are accessible and which provide a richness of opportunity for social interaction;
- Good place-making can have a profound effect on the sustainability of our lifestyles, in respect of the impact that we have on the land and other scarce resources; how much energy we use; and, again, through reductions in car usage.
Planning reform
Planning reform will deliver real change. The 2006 Planning Act represented the most fundamental change to planning for 40 years. It supports a simplified system, focussed on outcomes and promoting engagement. Secondary legislation, intended to built on the successes of planning reform will increase the effectiveness of the new system. Planning policy is focussed towards aspirations, core principles and expectations. A newly consolidated Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) rationalises previous policies into a single statement, improving legibility whilst maintaining the valuable principles of established policy. The result is a system with a commitment to policies which are proportionate, practical and informed by early and broad engagement.
However, in addition to the legislative platform, the Scottish Government has turned its attention to the culture change that is necessary if we are to achieve our goals. The Scottish Government believes that key to the delivery of successful places is the linking of ideas and expertise. It is recognised that positive and informed collaboration is essential across the board if Scotland is to deliver design excellence. Planning modernisation seeks to bring this collaborative working into the heart of the design and development process.
Delivering Planning Reform was published in October 2008. It is a document that lists commitments, not just of the Scottish Government, but of the widest spectrum of public and private sector partners, towards the delivery of an effective and efficient planning system. The new emphasis on collaborative working seeks to forge meaningful relationships between all of the partners involved in delivering quality design that meets the specific requirements of all involved.
Economic growth
The Scottish Government's Economic Strategy sets specific indicators towards achieving its overarching Purpose of creating a more prosperous Scotland by increasing the rate of sustainable economic growth. Its aims include increasing the rate of new house-building, reducing our ecological footprint, increasing the proportion of journeys to work made by public or active transport, increasing renewable energy production, reducing waste, and improving perceptions, attitudes and awareness of Scotland's reputation.
We believe that the promotion of economic growth and the promotion of environmental quality and a responsible approach to sustainable living are interdependent. The Economic Strategy thus also aims to deliver a planning and development regime which is co-ordinated and combines greater certainty and speed of decision making within a framework geared towards achieving good quality sustainable places and sustainable economic growth.
The present global economic climate is a central factor in our consideration of priorities for policy. A number of adverse factors, including the effect of rising oil prices on the cost of raw materials and the credit crunch, have had an effect on parts of the construction industry in Scotland, most notably in the housing market. We believe, however, that high quality in Scottish design is one of the keys to maintaining confidence in the housing and construction industry.
Sustainable development
"Good design" in the built environment must, by definition, involve an approach which responds to issues of climate change and other sustainable development concerns.
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 received Royal Assent on August 4, 2009 and is intended to embed a more sustainable way of thinking and create certainty to support investment in new technologies as we move towards a low-carbon economy. The Act was developed following a public consultation which received over 21,000 responses, and the duties imposed by this Act place Scotland at the forefront of global efforts to tackle climate change.
The Act creates a long-term framework that establishes a strong duty across the public sector to play a full part in tackling Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions. This framework is intended to contribute to the country's sustainable economic growth by moving the public and private sectors towards a low carbon economy.
Building Standards
A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland
(The Sullivan Report)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson, MSP, appointed a panel to advise on the development of a low carbon building standards strategy to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Scottish Ministers were looking to the panel to recommend challenging but realistic targets for both domestic and non-domestic buildings, with a move towards the rigorous energy performance levels imposed in Scandinavia.
The panel made 56 recommendations for the Scottish Government, the majority of which are within the remit of the Building Standards Division. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the reduction of carbon emissions in the development of the built environment, though will have to consider the cost implications of the panel's recommendations, which include:-
• staged increases in energy standards in 2010 and 2013 to substantially reduce carbon emissions from new buildings;
• the aim of net zero carbon emissions for space heating, hot water, lighting and ventilation within the next 10 years, if practical;
• the ambition of total-life zero carbon buildings by 2030; and
• consideration of zero fees for building warrant applications where new buildings are to be significantly above the current energy standards.