Urban Design & Place-Making
Good urban design helps to create places where people want to live and work. The term ‘place-making’ is often used to describe the activity of urban design and reflects its importance in relation to making good planning decisions. High quality places and buildings are vitally important to the long term success of Fife’s towns and rural communities.
Design is an important factor that should be taken into account when reaching a decision on a planning application. Planning permission can be refused on design grounds alone.
National design policy is set out within Designing Streets and is supported by a series of design-based Planning Advice Notes that provide more detail on subjects such as Master-planning and Design Statements.
Fife’s design policies are set out within the adopted FIFEplan Local Development Plan.
Making Fife’s Places Supplementary Guidance (August 2018) covers a range of issues relating to the design of development including built and natural heritage, the design of streets, green infrastructure and buildings, sustainability and public art. It also provides information on site assessments and contextual analysis which are critical first steps to good design.
Strategic Development Frameworks
Frameworks (also called Urban Design Frameworks) provide design principles for larger areas. Sites here are often in multiple land ownerships, where there's a need to control, guide and promote change, including future infrastructure requirements. They may be used to coordinate more detailed development briefs and masterplans.
- Cowdenbeath Town Centre Design & Development Framework
- East Sands Urban Design Framework
- Glenrothes Town Centre Design & Development Framework
- Inverkeithing Town Centre Design & Development Framework 2015
- Inverkeithing Town Centre Framework 2016
- Invertiel and Linktown Strategic Development Framework
- Kirkcaldy Town Centre Design & Development Framework
- Leven Town Centre: Urban Design Study
- Levenmouth Strategic Land Allocation - Strategic Framework
- Rosyth Waterfront Development Framework
- St Leonards Strategic Development Framework
Development Briefs
Development Briefs provide more detailed design and development guidance for sites.
- ATS depot, Cupar
- Gap Site : Bonnygate, Cupar
- Gap site at 269-293 High Street, Cowdenbeath
- Millgate, Cupar
Charrettes
A charrette is an event where a series of design workshops are held over multiple days. A design team works directly with the local community and others to create and agree a strategy on how the area should develop or change.
We've held several charrette events in association with communities and other organisations. Since the charrettes have been held, there's been considerable progress and change within the charrette areas.
The Glenrothes West Charrette ‘Golden Glenrothes’ was held in 2017 with Planning Aid Scotland. Further information can be found here:
The Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy Charrette was held in 2014 and produced the following reports:
- Kirkcaldy Charrette - Consultation Report
- Kirkcaldy Charrette - Regeneration Action Plan
- Kirkcaldy Charrette - Regeneration Strategy
The vision set out in the Victoria Road charrette was developed in more detail in a Green Infrastructure Masterplan produced in 2018.
The Levenmouth Charrette for the area around the Bawbee Bridge, was held in 2013 with Planning Aid Scotland. Further information can be found here: