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Development Economics (Session 2)

June 19, 2013 By

14 May 2013, by Marc Lane

Day Two of Development Economics, on Appraisals, by trainer Andrew Drury

 It is a rare quality in an economics consultant to be able to speak simply and eloquently about the development economics, and their impact on affordable housing.  Andrew held the attention of the audience for the entire day.  The sessions were not only informative, but gave practical insights into the thinking behind development appraisals, of great use to housing association members and development officers alike.  His knowledge was extensive, and he effortlessly dived into detail – such as alternative sources of funding the short-term deficit on leveraged loans – while maintaining a clear and logical sequence to his presentation.

One key question that Andrew returned to throughout the day was “what is an acceptable loss?”  Premised on the fact that affordable housing appraisals will not be profit-making (else they would be standard developers), he demonstrated how inputs ranging from the cost of land to the source and nature of the housing grant/benefit could impact on the viability of schemes, and their ‘attractiveness’.  His ability to wear a ‘developer’s hat’ and ‘chairman of a Housing Association hat’ to contrast views on viability / discounted cashflow were insightful, and clearly brought out the choices made by development managers in presenting schemes to others.

Additionally, by explaining the history of affordable housing and looking at new and emerging trends, he was able to explain, and sometimes predict, how the latest changes in the regulatory framework for new housing may impact on developers and tenants alike.

Filed Under: News, Past events, Summary Reports Tagged With: , ,

A Visit to the Old & the New: Aldwych Station & Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station

April 8, 2013 By

A visit to the old and the new: UDL would like to thank Edmund Bird for arranging a fascinating trip through the cavernous Aldwych station and for Crossrail guiding us through the new design of Tottenham Court Road.

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports

Landscape Design Workshop

March 19, 2013 By

by Marc Lane

This workshop explored the benefits of good landscape design, how to implement (or ensure the implementation) of schemes, and the current work on Pocket Parks and the Mayor’s Street Tree initiative.  The workshop finished with a design exercise looking at Bricklayers Arms roundabout.

Disclaimer: Informal intern notes.  Any errors and omissions are my own.  Please email any corrections, to MarcLane@tfl.gov.uk

Speakers:

Philip Cave, Philip Cave Associates
John Parker, TfL Arboriculture & Landscape Manager
Tim Rettler and Peter Massini, GLA
Hanna Salomonsson, Andrew Dodkinsand Martin Jones, LB Enfield
Exercise led by Paul Dodd, OutDesign

Achieving Quality Landscape through the Planning Process

Phil Cave

Philip began by explaining the requirements for a [Proposed] Submission Stage.  A good basic scheme should show a sensible, workable approach to the site, with hard and softscape delineated, including defined parking and trees shown.  The scheme should be shown in plan and section.  The Landscape Strategy should form part of the overall Design Strategy.  Materials should  be generically described, and photos should specifically relate to the proposal, not be ‘atmospheric’.  Philip is in favour of trees being specified at planning submission (both species and maturity), as this is one of the easiest elements to water down at Planning Application, due to value engineering.

At Planning Application, the detail should be as specific as “Sandstone Sett”.  Root protection areas should be shown, as well as areas of porous paving.  Plants should all be specified, incl maturity.

Trees should be selected for purpose, for example, trees that form ‘tabletop’ canopies can create a pedestrian-scale, and Hedges and topiary can be used to define space.  Suggest keeping hedges below 850mm for CPTED.  Mature trees are not necessarily expensive.  A 6m tree may be around £500-£600.  Special soil for planting in a tree well perhaps another £500.

There are many detailed issues to consider as well – size and density of planting heavily affects the outcomes, as does the maturity of species.  Granite is seen by some as a less sustainable material, and while Yorkstone may be suitable for historic areas, it is absorbent and stains.  Often, concrete setts and pavers provide both sustainable and easy-to-use alternatives.   Also consider slip-resistance of design – for example, external sealed timber should have metal bar inserts.  Ongoing maintenance should be dealt with in the Landscape Plan of Management – best practice was for the developer to contract the landscape suppliers for a (say) 5yr maintenance contract as well.

Example schemes were shown, where changes in paving colour delineated through and slow spaces within a larger hardscape ‘urban’ feel, and furniture was made from similar materials (rounded concrete benches) .  This integrated the space, while affording various uses.  Hard paving near railway arches also allowed for the possibility of future use of those arches for cafes.  Thinning and removing closed canopies may sometimes be desirable, where the shade created cold/dark pockets.

Successful Planting and Management

John Parker

John is responsible for the ‘Green Estate’ of TfL, near Red Routes and Town Centres.  He deals with all of the ‘Green Infrastructure’ – shrubs etc, as well as trees.

Tips for Design: There should be a maintenance focus when selecting trees – consider the life of the tree – 15 or 100 years, not just the day of handover.  All designs should show existing condition – trees (including canopies), light poles.  Otherwise, conflict occurs.  If a conflict arises, consider retaining, then pruning, then removing existing tree (as a last resort).  Often, when removal is proposed, John draws the designers attention to public consultation / TPOs and Conservation Area, then CAVAT (monetary value placed on trees, which can run to £100,000s).  One danger with CAVAT is that aggressive developments see this as a price tag (rather than looking for alternatives), and just hand over cheque.  Can transplant trees, but this is not easy in London, and trees often die.

Hardscape – need to consider the size of the tree pit in terms of the mature tree trunk.  Often undersized.  Also consider surface of tree pit.  Resin-bound gravel is/was popular, but roots break up the resin, and debris blocks the pores, turning it into expensive and poor tarmac.  Mulch or breathing (unbound) gravel is better.

During construction, consider how the trees will be protected.  Barriers are important.  Ensure that limbs are not cut for hoarding.

Tree planting down central reservations is popular among councillors.  However, TfL believes it should be considered a last resort, where no other greening method is possible.  This is because the tree pits are very small, receive little water, and are impacted by road on both sides (eg: salinity of runoff during winter de-icing).  It is also very hard to prune these trees, and so often they are poorly maintained.  Raised planters may help, but these have their own issues (below).

In urban areas, consider the effect of litter (eg: rotting fruit on pavement can be a major problem, but leaf fall generally fine), water needs, salt resistance, final dimensions, sun penetration (evergreen vs deciduous) and the local character (existing trees, buildings, planting).  Also be aware of diseases, especially in the local area.  There is very little oak planted now, and less horse chestnut and ash.

Where planting in tree pits is not feasible, raised planters may be an option.  Be aware that these require additional watering.  Planted towers (‘triffids’) help absorb air pollution, but are considered unattractive (when they become dirty).  Bedding plants, green walls, and even ivy over hoarding all green city, but consider maintenance, vandalism and ‘gorilla gardeners’ (competing with tree at centre of pit).  If unsure, contact the LTOA for who is responsible for trees in the public realm.

GLA ‘Design For London’ – Pocket Parks

Tim Rettler

Pocket parks are being encouraged by the GLA.  The movement references Pailey Park in Manhattan, NYC as the genesis.  This made an empty plot (originally private land), into a green oasis, with greening (ivy on walls), a tree canopy, and lots of space for gathering (tables, chairs).  St John the Baptist Church in Barnet is also an excellent example, with a paved edge and benches that allow people to face the park or the high street.

Pocket parks should integrate green space (softscape and planting) into the urban space.  Thus a square may be a non-traditional town square – mostly hardscape, but with grassed mounds for sitting/gathering, and interesting/ornamental species to define the space.  Long benches allow many users, and local needs should be considered (eg: a footstool for nearby hospital outpatients).  Kids play need not be traditional – exploring flowering plants or vegetable beds also creates interest.

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden is a example of a defined space – it looks like a building from the outside, but is open.  Even the open barn in the centre provides the pocket park with activity and extends the range of uses, to include lunchtime dances/performances.

GLA Urban Greening – Pocket Parks II and Street Trees

Peter Massini

The key drivers are the London Plan, and mitigating climate change.  For the latter, we are facing hotter, drier summers, and warmer, wetter winters.  An increase in surface flooding is predicted, and this is probably a larger issue for London.  It may not be as catastrophic as the Thames Barrier failing, but it happens much more frequently, and is more likely to occur, and thus has a high social and economic impact.  Also greening offsets the Heat Island effect, and is aesthetically pleasing.

Approaches taken by the GLA include community ownership of poor quality public realms, to increase legibility and safety of these ambiguous spaces (ie GLA in favour of Gorilla Gardeners), and they often try and foster community management of the space for the long term.  Formal redesign of spaces is also occurring, where railings around estates are being shifted back to allow for more public landscape (a mixture of hard and softscape, well defined).

Street Trees: The GLA has a target of 10,000 street trees – there is an ongoing issue with small tree pits and less mature species being used to meet target, but they are getting better at this.  They are particularly in favour of Stockholm Tree Pits – a long pit along a pavement, that has a rain garden, then gravl, then the pit.  This allows the tree pit to take on more runoff (detension), and for that runoff to be filtered.  A good example, just built, is on Bethnal Green Road, Tower Hamlets.  With declining car ownership, there may also be the ability to claim back some roadway.  RE:LEAF is the GLA’s programme for funding exemplar projects of this nature.

Painters Lane Pocket Park, Enfield

Hanna Salomonsson, Andrew Dodkins and Martin Jones

This was originally an uninviting, fenced and hoarded park along busy Hertford Road (corner Mollison Avenue).  Although the land was derelict and had anti-social behaviour issues, there were a few objectors who were very influential.  Therefore, they employed a consultant to conduct a public consultation.  Using a shed on site, the Growing Room, they approached 1100 people, and conducted 166 interviews.  The verdict was a 79% ‘Yes’ to creating a pocket park.  The consultation also gave them new feedback – 79% also in favour of fencing the park, so that it is locked at night.  Many wanted the park to be used for local fauna, and so most of the park is still wild.

The design features encouraged a variety of uses.  For example, mounds were kept low for CPTED, but cuts in the mounds using Corten steel, and moulded benches within the cuts meant that they could be used for informal kids play (jumping down) as well as sitting.  Some of the bespoke features were cheaper than expected – the lasercutCorten steel gatewas only £7000 – really just the cost of materials. Even the boulders for climbing were cheap – bought them in bulk and spread them around the borough.  Generally sought low maintenance materials.  Total budget was £200k.

Park has been a success – it is open and used, far less antisocial behaviour, no more drug use.  They have managed to accommodate wildlife to the rear, into which school groups can go by appointment. 

Forgotten Spaces Exercise

Paul Dodd

This exercise, in the last hour of the workshop, took a typical ‘forgotten space’ – in this case the Builders Arms roundabout, and explored landscape alternatives.  This exercise ties into RIBA’s Forgotten Spaces project, which this year is looking at flyovers, although in the case of Builders Arms, the roundabout is already being improved by TfL at the moment.  Background reading: By Design and Manual For Streets 2, all schemes should aim for a Green Flag award.

The participants were divided into four groups and each prepared a vision and objectives for their shceme, and them proposed a solution.  No two solutions were the same, and varied from radical redesign, to tweaks (such as filling in the underpasses for tree beds, and putting in level crossings) that the TfL redesign has also incorporated.

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London Cycling Design Guidance Workshop – Day 2

March 18, 2013 By

by Marc Lane

This workshop (primarily for engineers) looked at common issues in cycleway design and explore working case-studies brought by attendees.  Day Two considered Chapers 5 to 8 inclusive of the London Cycling Design Standards (LCDS), being 5. Junctions and Crossings, 6.Signs and Markings, 7.Construction and Surfacing and 8. Cycle Parking.

Disclaimer: Informal intern notes.  Any errors and omissions are my own.  Please email any corrections, to MarcLane@tfl.gov.uk

Trainers:

Phil Jones, Phil Jones Associates
John Parkin, Professor of Transport Engineering, South Bank University

Chapter 5 :Junctions and Crossings

The trainers explained that the three primary concerns in junction design is to 1) minimise delays, 2) minimise hazards and to 3) accommodate all users.

Where cycle and motor vehicle users share a road/intersection, the aim is to increase the motorists awareness of cyclists.  This is consistent with Smeed’s curve, iemore activity = less risk [Smeed’s Law & Cycling is elaborated in this ECF Factsheet].

Otherwise, separation of movements is a common way of reducing potential conflict points -such as by reducing the number of lanes that approach a given junction or replacing four-way intersections with staggered T-junction (a design commonly seen in 1960s road layouts).  Thus separated cycleways are desirable (to reduce cycle/motorist conflicts).  However, there is a trade-off between safety and comfort, on the one hand, and speed and volume, on the other, in intersection design.  Sacrifices must be made. Equally, road priority must be considered where the two are separated, as signaling and road rules generally favour motorists.

There are two schools of thought regarding separated cycleways.  The Danish approach, which is to segregate the links but bring traffic together at intersections, and the Dutch approach, which separates both links and junctions.  For example, Advance Stop Lines (ASLs) are a [modified] Danish approach- as the cycle traffic is brought across all lanes, and then passes through the intersection together with traffic, rather than going around intersection or in its own lane.

Crossings are really ‘just another type of junction’, where the cross-traffic is pedestrian and cycle only.  A Toucan crossing is a form of signalized junction, for example.  However, the system needs some tweaking for cyclists, especially zebra crossings.  Currently, pedestrians have sole priority, which means that while cyclists may use the crossing technically they must dismount if they wish to use a zebra crossing with (rather than after) pedestrians.  That said, TfL are running a trial to amend this, as discussed further in Signing the Way, which made make the next TSRGD, due 2014/5.

At this point, some attendees raised the point that common practice diverges from the legalities here.  Cyclists don’t dismount at zebra crossings, and both pedestrians and motor vehicles tend to give them priority.  The trainers observed that there was still a danger, however, and a better approach would be to design in signal-controlled cycle crossings.  The best approach in their opinion was a Toucan crossing, that provided separate pedestrian and cycle lanes, marked by elephant footprints.  Again, there is a balancing act to be considered, between clarity and reducing clutter.  Compare for example the different approaches around Hyde Park – at Bayswater Road in the north (separated), and Hyde Park corner to the south (integrated).

There was a discussion of priority junctions, where a cycle lane crossed a T-intersection.  Often the stop line for motor vehicles is drawn at the cycle lane.  This creates a hazard, particularly with turning traffic at the junction mouth, which tends to encroach on the cycle lane.  The stop lines should be brought back (although sight lines then need to be checked), although perhaps the better solution would be to interrupt the cycle way line marking (ieindicate a shared part of the road, and let cyclists use judgement as to how far they can move into the travel lane).

Roundabouts

Large roundabouts are an issue for both pedestrians and cyclists.  They ought to be getting less common, as designers have been encouraged to ‘continental’ style roundabouts since [Traffic Advisory Leaflet 97/9] in 1997.  However, uptake has been slow.  Even with continental roundabouts, controlling the speed of motor vehicles is important – if the design speed too fast (splays and diams too big), then it will still impact cyclists.  There are still issues with highway interfaces (roundabouts on approach roads).

Continental-Style Roundabouts (Called “Compact Roundabouts” in the DMRB)

- Smaller – a single lane around the roundabout, to reduce the conflict points.

- Perpendicular approach and exit.  Entry/exit mouth about 4-5m wide (single lane, MV + cycle)

- Small radii to slow traffic: entry curve path 20m dia. / inner circle 25-35m / island 16-25m / circle carriageway 5 – 7m wide.  ‘Dinnerplate style’ with re-entrant curves.

- Tends to reduce the traffic capacity of the intersection by 10 – 30%

This can be contrasted with:

the Dutch-style segregated approach, which provides separate cycle and pedestrian crossings to roundabout on all sides, but requires ~55m central area, and wide tapers. One participant observed that a hybrid approach could be used, with cycle + peds separated from MVs, with extra-wide zebra crossings.  Trainers concurred – Zebras can be 2.5 – 10m wide.  Equally, the trainers observed that there may be methods used that are not technically compliant but are still effective, for example blockwork stripes across intersection approaches.  This is being trialled.

The Danish-styleintegrated approach – cyclists are within the carriageway, usually with a cycle lane marked along the external curve.  In the trainers view, this did not solve the issue of cyclists being hit by exiting traffic – and in any event, the UK was heading towards a Dutch model (egWaterloo Road / Blackpool), with informal crossings, designated shared use, tabletops.

Signalisation

One issue for signalisation is the detection of cyclists at advanced stop lines (ASLs).

Lorry conflicts need to be considered – especially if cyclists are at the rear end of a lorry because of queuing in the cycle lane due to the ASL being full/blocked.  May need to widen cycle approach.  Again this is a question of volume.

Where there is heavy MV left turning traffic, or heavy cycle right turning traffic, may need to consider a central cycle approach to the ASL.  Ensure MV lanes are min. 2.5m wide, no less than 2m, and cycle lanes should be ~1.5m wide.  If MV lanes are too narrow, they will encroach on cycle lane regardless.

Where there is a left turning lane, best practice is to carry the cycle lane across the left-turn lane, and to reduce the taper to 1 in 3 – this will signal to the MVs that they are crossing the cycle path, and reduce them ‘drifting’ across it when going into the turning lane.

Cycle lane markings through junction are preferred by TfL.

The lengthening of Intergreens (the delay between a red signal and the next green signal) allow cyclists to clear intersection.  There is a formula for determining the intergreen length that adds an additional 5, 6 or 7 seconds to attenuated intersections – in these cases, an extra 1s for cyclists would also be prudent.

Otherwise, consider Early Starts / Green Waves – a green signal for cyclists in advance of the MV green, that gives the cyclist more time to clear intersection.  This is being trialed at Bow Junction, where the signaling will also prevent cyclists from entering the ASL if the MVs have been given a green.  Offsetting traffic in time rather than space could also have a beneficial traffic calming effect.  This is not the only time-based method, however – Ireland uses cycle hook-turns.

Chapter 6: Signs and Markings

The Mayor’s Vision is for [fewer] key routes, like a Tube map, to create mental links across London.  This exercise is separate from the local links created by individual boroughs.  [ietrunk routes].  TfLis tasked with integrating all this together.  There is uncertainty about exactly what strategy should be followed – the idea that the routes literally follow the Tube lines (eg: Jubilee Quietway) is being rethought.  Participants raised questions about whether people are even aware where their Tube line or bus route runs, or would recognize a route called “CS7” as having such a relationship.  There is a difference between wayfinding within a local area, and route planning, concerning travel to a destination.  There was an indication that TfL were reconsidering the Quietways, as a network.

There is a strong push to declutter signs (as part of general decluttering of streets).  This means using smaller fonts, less signs and integrated signs (eg: shared posts, using existing posts).  General good practice is often common sense – arrow pointing in the right direction, signposting common destinations and travel time/distance, creating one signboard rather than a forest of individual signs.  Generally, however, the observation has been that markings on the carriageway are most useful to cyclists.

As an aside, the trainers observed that the worst sign was “Cyclists Dismount”.  This was tantamount to declaring you had given up on cyclists.  No-one says “Motorists, get out an push”.

Chapter 7: Construction and Surfacing

The use of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) was strongly recommended over Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA), as it created a smoother surface for riders.  There are small issues with SMA being slippery whemn first laid, and creating a two-stage maintenance process for resurfacing.  Nevertheless the trainers recommended it.

Conversely, clay bricks were the worst surface for cyclists due to skidding.  Continuous pavers generally should be avoided.  [NB there is no issue using paver strips, say to define a cycle zone].

Tactile paving is a known issue, which TfL is reviewing.  They are considering scrapping these requirements as they create a poor cycle environment.  For example, the ‘corduroy’ delineation of cycle vs pedestrian realm at the edge of a shared space is difficult for cyclists to navigate.  One participant drew attention to Waterloo Station [Station Approach, cnr York Road], where navigating the tactile paving when turning right on York Road (towards Waterloo Roundabout) was a hazard.  This issue is exacerbated on bikes without suspension, eg: Brompton bikes.

Lighting should be increased for cycle paths off carriageways. Be aware that this may be a challenge for local residents – there is a perception that any increase in light is intrusive.  There has been some success with LEDs embedded in cycleways, and using solar-powered lights (PV cells) on bollards.

Chapter 8: Cycle Parking

The issue here is fitness for purpose – any type of frame may be acceptable.  A Sheffield Stand with cross-bar, 850mm wide, allows both front and back wheels to be locked on most bikes.

In terms of location, look for an area with good surveillance, lighting and ease of use (eg: not within 300mm of a building).  Ensure that the stands are not placed in the pedestrian path (across desire lines).  Aim to place stands close to the destination, not tucked away distantly. The trainers have found that on shopping streets, for example, pairs and groups spaces at 50m intervals along street works well, rather than the current approach of providing a cycle rack at one end.

When removing guard rails (say, during a decluttering exercise), recognize that these may have been de-facto cycle parking, and replace with racks.

—

The final part of the workshop was a case-study exercise, where the participants broke into four groups and looked at real-life challenges.  Generally, these involved junctions.  Large roundabouts were the greatest concern, both because they were still being designed and approved (despite earlier expectations to the contrary), and because existing large roundabouts (such as Marble Arch) posed such a challenge to redesign.

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports Tagged With: , ,

Housing Network Meeting

March 13, 2013 By

by Marc Lane

A bullet-point summary of the one-day session on changes to housing benefits, the impact on the delivery of new housing, new housing vernacular and the ‘relaxation of rules’ regarding change of use from B1(a) commercial to C3 residential.

Disclaimer: Informal intern notes.  Any errors and omissions are my own.  Please email any corrections, to MarcLane@tfl.gov.uk

Benefits Changes

Kate Webb, Shelter

  • Housing benefit changes are summarised here.
  • This is another step in 3 years of cuts, including:
    • Moving benchmark from ‘average’ accom. (50%ile) to ‘bottom end’ (30%ile);
    • Severing link to local rents (April 2013), and replacing this with CPI
    • Future (2014/5) cap on increases to 1% (potentially below CPI)
    • This equates to an average £12 loss, out of average £71 benefit for single/wk [ie 15% down] – but effect can be much higher – in some London boroughs, a loss of £81 or more.  Full housing benefit only for over 35s, under 35s now = share room equivalent.
  • All this designed to create pressure on landlords to lower rents.  University of Cambridge 2012 modelling showed this would not happen in 27% of cases, where tenants would not have market power, and would thus have to relocate.  25% of these (6-7% of total) would probably wind up homeless, enlivening councils’ statutory duty to rehouse them.  This one-off TA cost is £120m.
  • Expecting to see an increase in temporary accommodation demand due to shorthold tenancy pressure, rather than the traditional demand (due to relationship breakdown or family circumstances).  Expect that there will be a doughnut effect, as central London councils need to rehouse their residents (TA) on the fringe.
  • Those that can stay in their accommodation do, as people prefer not to move.  This will create ancillary problems – increase in payday lending, less spending on food, overcrowding.
  • ‘Bedroom tax’ (as popularly known) will affect 420k disabled – of which only severely disabled (high care) have been carved out (as of yesterday).Affects working tenants only, including council-owned TA.  Carve-out for children in defence forces / foster carers between children.
    • Lack of smaller stock means downsizing (the intention) is difficult to achieve.  Workarounds are likely, eg: lodgers – but even this is going to be unlikely for those (220k) with children.  Therefore ~£14 loss in assistance in real terms. £30m DHP, wholly at council discretion, may mitigate this, but in all likelihood only 40k of 220k affected families can be assisted.
  • New Overall Cap (all benefits, incl housing) of £500/wk parent/couple / £350/wk for single, has staggered introduction between April > Sep, with a 9mo grace period for newly unemployed.  This will only affect a smaller pool of people (54k), but half are in London, with an average loss of £83/wk.  Thus this change is hard hitting for those affected.Generally those it are large families, but ¼ have under three kids.
    • Will impact TA, DHP fund, and contribute to doughnut effect.
    • Supposed to be a ‘work incentive’ but only 30% affected are job seekers.
    • Biggest impacts are London (£50+ per week shortfall), and South-East (£20-50 per week), except Kent.  Will this mean a flood of TA in Kent?
  • Universal Credit will come into effect in October 2013.  This is a single monthly payment for all benefits, made directly to beneficiary.  It will have a ‘soft launch’, so increased impact in 2015. Not a monetary change, but direct payment may have indirect impacts, particularly an increase in arrears, and a knock-on effect to housing providers, who rely on guaranteed income stream.

David Baptiste, London Borough of Ealing

  • Impact of Housing Delivery:
    • Council has a target 950 homes/year, of which 1/3rd are to be affordable.  They are still seeing overall target delivered, but the share of affordable housing is declining.
    • Only 2 weeks away from seeing real impacts – predicting an increase in rent arrears, especially if no behavioural change by recipients.  Thus it is ‘getting personal’.
    • Housing providers are nervous, as 70% of their income stream is from benefits payments.  Benefits cap affects fewer tenants, but 1/3rd of those affected are in TA.  They are going to need to be housed out of London.
    • Bedroom Tax shortfall bites – £14-£28 per week, but the number affected in Ealing are low.
  • Impacts on Council:
    • more rent collection issues (already a difficult task).  Ealing is speaking with credit providers about possibly providing free bank accounts, to allow benefit to be deposited / standing order.
    • more social issues particularly debt, homelessness, demand for advice and support (already seeing this), discrete financial support, overcrowding (already ¼ of borough, 1/3 of housing applicants)
    • Inner London boroughs will become unaffordable
    • Subsidies for building affordable housing are down by 2/3rds, so expect drop in supply in the short term (at least), as developers adjust their financial models.
  • Affordable Rent Model has the effect of skewing housing stock.  Because 1 – 2br flats are priced ‘reasonably’ at ~£200/wk, but 3-4br are deflating, there is little viability for new build 3-4br.
  • Workarounds that Ealing is exploring:
    • TA on decanted estates no longer slated for (imminent) redevelopment
    • Using council assets with private developers (where council would underwrite loan, assume rent collecting task), to assist developers secure loans
    • Design tweaks, such as more ‘tenure neutral’ product that can switch in future, more energy efficiency / adaptability (lower maintenance/ongoing costs, higher density development (to increase viability), development near transport, using development for a local employment (an income to offset shortfall from benefits changes), and providing furnished flats to reduce need for (say) payday loans for new tenants.

Housing Delivery

Alan Benson, GLA (Affordable Homes Programme)

  • Where We Are Now?
    • 2011/2012 (to Sep) – 16k homes target, all delivered
    • 2012/13 – 7.5k target, currently 4.2k delivered (to date).  Forecast [completions ?] are on target, however (in fact, over 8k).  Probably will be same in 2013/14.  This is because of ‘hockey stick’ effect – massive increase in delivery #s in last month, in last week.
    • All new starts must be ‘on site’ by September 2013.
    • Believe we’re on target because GLA will not grant new builds if current programs lag.  However, because of backloaded targets in NAHP, most new builds won’t commence until 2015.  For 2014/15, currently nothing on books – a ‘cliff edge’ (beyond NAHP sunset)
  • Where We Are Going?
    • “Boris Boost” of £100m for 10k key worker home:£78m for flexible products (rent / shared / own) plus ~£20m for ‘innovative products’.  This is designed to increase home ownership.  Forecast completions out to March 2016 – ie beyond the current pipeline.
  • What we are Seeing?
    • DoH ‘Care and Support’ (ie Aged and Disabled) underspend
    • Build Your Own Home not really working yet.  Lacks “London Vernacular” typology.
    • Community Right to Build – no-one has yet come forward to try

So, GLA initiatives:

  • £100m Housing Covenant – currently looking at Affordable Homes, Supported Homes (=DoH Care and Support), Empty Homes, Hidden Homes.  [Not otherwise discussed]
  • Build to Rent Fund – considering increasing the £200m allocation
  • Debt Guarantee – not sure how this will work, yet
  • Setting up a Development Panel.  4 year plan.  PPP.  Intention to be a ‘one stop procurement shop’, similar to previous programs.  Developers will be pre-qualified, and Development Panel will hold a mini-competition among pre-quals to get best outcomes.  Available to the Development Panel is 650ha of land (and some water), inherited from various former authorities.  Not all is suitable for residential development.  Most is in East London, consistent with former authority holdings.  GLA is also setting up a single property unit within GLA to manage these assets as well as TfL, fire and police land.  Will use integrated online Land and Property Database.
  • Boris’ Vision for London is planned for release in April 2013, to be simultaneous with London Finance Commission report. Looking at a target 1m new homes by mid-late 2030s.  This means a massive increase in delivery.  Looking at Business Institute recommendations about how to raise private  equity.  Proposal to keep London stamp duty for GLA.  Proposal to lift cap on borough loans.  If not greenbelt housing, then must be industrial redesignation, densification and public land.  Target will be to provide homes for those driving London’s economy.

Laskis Pavlou, GVA Grimley

  • State of the London Housing Market:
    • Most supply (net builds) has traditionally come from Tower Hamlets (18k homes), and Islington / Greenwich / Hackney / Southwark (each 10k homes).  BUT Tower Hamlets was mostly to feed Canary Wharf – ie high value homes as much as low.  Least supply came from City/Kensington/Chelsea.  Both due tolocal opposition, and as boroughs are small.
    • Completions peaks in 2004-5, although they continued to be above average until 2010.  Trough from 2010 – 2012, from which we are just emerging.
    • Demand – sudden drop after 2007, but steadily rising since.  Islington and Hackney almost back at pre-crisis [2007] levels.
    • New Build Sales – most sold by completion, shows high demand.  For example the Battersea Power Station redevelopment sold £600m in 4d.  Query % exchanged, probably most.
    • High OS demand – Flight to Quality (Location, Transport access, Communication, state of repair, value for money).  London a good place to buy – 35% sterling depreciation (on average) against many currencies in the last 5yrs, and a higher ROI in London rental market than elsewhere.This means London housing prices are back to 2007 levels – average ~£300k London (1% below peak) vs £163 in the rest of the UK (still 10-12% below peak).Boroughs with highest prices have most price growth – generally Central and West, Crossrail stops: Paddington, West End, Canary Wharf – all seeing 50% increase in value.  Those with money are getting good deals.  But this is seeing widening gap between high/low value.
  • The impact of Office to Residential Conversions depends on whether allowed in borough [many have applied for exemptions].  If allowed, predict that this will explode.Currently we are seeing a maximum 18k houses/year being built.If target 1m by 2030s (as projected in Mayor’s Vision), then average will need to be 40k new homes per year for 25 yrs.

Steve Beard, Appraisall (Housing Consultant for London and Wales)

RSL Delivery Models:

  • Analysed a series of changes to the delivery model, all explained in his slide presentation.
  • Generally, these changes have the effect that the RSLs are now competing on land cost, alone, driving up the cost beyond market value.  This is a tension -RSLs are designed for low cost rent, yet they are reliant on rent increase for viability of model.  They are fighting themselves.
  • If rent stabilises, their viability plummets.  This means:
    • Rent Convergence
    • Greater Social housing on existing estates and providing mixed housing on estates
    • Reliance on freehold donations from boroughs, to stay viable.
  • The outlook is grim – When DPF and cross-subsidised grants dry up – what then?

Jo Wilson, Future of London (Director)

  • Future of London report issued last week, embarking on some further research, this is a précis:
    • mortgage stress to increase
    • Comparing 2000 – 2009: There has been an increase of 50% in overcrowding
    • Since this time last year: an increase of 20% in homelessness
  • London by 2030 is to be a 10 million pax ‘megacity’.  How do we achieve this and avoid more of the above?  Some boroughs are looking at solutions – may be able to build on / but not for all:
    • Southwark – Affordable Housing Fund – pooling money
    • Hackney – HRA reform, cross-subsidised housing, borrowing against rentals – 2000 homes
    • Barking & Dagenham – have delivered 14k homes [how?]
    • These schemes require free land to be given by councils, or significant regeneration schemes. Affordable Rent Model ‘might save us’ – this is what their research is focusing on.

—LUNCH—

Julian Hart (UDL) – New London Vernacular

  • Background: David Burbeck (Design for Homes) coined the term ‘New London Vernacular’, as opp. to ‘blobby’ architecture of the 1980s – 1990s. Just need to look back to Coin Street SE1, when low density was still being built on Thames, and the tower was controversial.  All changed with Rogers’ Urban Design Taskforce Report, that said that high density does not mean tall towers.  Led to GLA and the London Plan, lifting London’s density.   Unfortunately, this led to experimentation until about 2000, as there was no local experience in high density.  Thus blobby buildings, acontextual.  Popular for foreign investors, but do not endure well.
  • Now, 2010 – 11 Housing Design Awards – suddenly all about low rise ‘historic’.  Restrained.  Similar look & feel – eg Bridport Place.  Similar materials – eg brick etc.  Background architecture, not statement architecture.
  • Aside from façades, drivers are London Housing Design Guide (statutory instrument – Housing Supplementary Design Guide), commercial conservatism (easier to get planning permission), less new housing grants, so managers looking for less communal, lower management costs (esp lifts).

What is the Vernacular?

  • Aesthetic Features are elevation driven, eg: Brick/stone facades, Parapets – usually used as balustrades for recessed upper storey, taller ground floor, windows portrait, geometric regularity and deep reveals.
  • Structural Features are less shared access, communal gardens now quadrangles (eg: St Andrews Scheme, Tower Hamlets), reduced corridor lengths, perimeter blocks, varied forms – each a single tenure type.  Eg: terraces one side, flats stepping up.  This allows development to be better staged for viability.
    • Quads are similar to University Quads in form and function, with public access – ‘front doors’ from quad, limited kids play / terraformed gardens,  and multi use eg: bicycle racks
    • External Access Desks are still used, but now recessed behind brick facades.
    • Balconies now recessed behind façade (though this tends to only be in higher value tenures)

Benefits of the Vernacular are a reduced sales risk, lower D&C risk – less contingency needed for ‘innovative’ design, reduced component parts, ability to standardise components for bulk cost savings, more accurate land valuations, durable design, and more market appeal: a “boring façade” is rarely a turn-off for average buyer (conservative), can be wow’ed with the interior. Also allows cross-subsidisation within the one building, by vertically dividing tenancies with separate entries.

Office to Residential Conversions

Nick Belsten, CBRE

  • Every borough except 3no (Barking & Dagenham, Berkley, Redbridge) have applied for exemptions.  However not all boroughs looking for total exeption. (City is).
  • Criteria very strict for exemption: Nationally significant economic activity; Substantial Local Economic Effect (without a positive benefit offset).  All exemptions to be assessed by April.  No guidance given by govt as to exemption mechanism, so hard to gauge impact.
  • Prior Approval – unclear other than carve-outs: transport/highway impacts, flooding etc.
  • It may be that conversion permitted (except above carve outs), subject to standard conditions such as “floorspace to be no greater than 1000sqm” which would have a limiting effect on impact.  Say 1000sqm because this is trigger for other residential contributions.
  • That said, Gov probably don’t realise implications, and will firefight later.  For example, there is a technical legal issue with s106 > it will probably be sought when detailed plans of retrofit are submitted to council after change of use.  However, technically not attachable because no “new” floorspace is created – all created at change of use stage.  Also implications for para 51 NPPF, housing supply & mix, sustainability of developments that hinge on office component.
  • Too many outstanding issues – in NB opinion, will lead to a 2nd round consultation.

John Lett, GLA

  • Mayor not against conversions per se, issue is ‘in a planned manner’:
    • Do not want to lose all the affordable business space in the city (under £20/sqft, sometimes as low as £10/sqft) – this is the space that incubates business, thus jobs.
    • Want to build on existing successes – already have been releasing excess office space by approval, and this has worked well > managed supply.
  • Mayor playing for tight boundaries, to increase the chance of the exemption being approved.  Thus Category A “Nationally Important” Econ Activity.  For the GLA, this is:
    • Central Activity Zone
    • Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf)
    • Tech City (Old St area)
    • Enterprise Zones

the rest is up to the boroughs to flesh out in their areas of London.

  • Cat B: Plan is generally around Town Centres and where mix is critical for industrial viability.
  • JLL putting together a typical vals report for GLA on conversion of comm> residential, to allow GLA to assess those at most risk, and pipeline.
  • Quantities: Of 28m sqm office space in Greater London, 18m is in the Central London, of which 17m (ie most of London) is in the CAZ and Tech City.  Thus exemption critical.
    • Of this: ~4m leases expire within 5 years, so potential to lose 270 – 340k jobs  BUT would supply in region of 48 – 50k homes.  This may seem a good thing, but we are currently building 30k of 35k needed, so why flood market?
    • ~2.5m in pipeline (0.7m under construction, rest planned).  Not likely to be at risk.
    • However 50 – 70% of existing stock might be considered for rebuild [intensify/update] – this churn would be quashed due to econ. uncertainty, est. 0.4 – 0.5k pot. jobs lost.
  • Rent:
    • People use metrics: £110/sqm Westminster > £65/sqm City > £40/sqm Canary Wharf  However, there is sig. variation within each area.  Each area has high churn and intensification within small footprints.  If uncertainty, lose churn, and undermines agglomeration economics, perhaps even macro economics eg: CrossRail.

Luke Tozer (Architect)

Practical Implications

  • Challenges to conversion may be a limitation, ie:
    • Requirement for external alterations to be with borough approval may provide council with control over conversions – especially window retrofit.
    • Major challenge is Fire: shorter escape distances for residential.  Probably need to add 2 to 4 new staircases on a standard office.
    • Part L Thermal Performancealso a challenge.  Offices mostly cooling, Residential – Heating.
    • Mix of Types might be more difficult to achieve due to penetrations – fixed riser positions.
    • Amenity Space might have to change – Wintergarden or roof space – not a major constraint, EG: Manchester office conversion (with consent) – all 2br units, with units offset behind glass-brick façade to allow common wintergarden on each floor (shared by 3x flats).
    • Narrow floorplate buildings will be easier to convert – eg: CentrePoint is very good for conv.
    • Deep floorplate are difficult / unlikely to convert without punching lightwells, and having inner facing beds/kits, or single aspect dwellings with atriums.  That said, possible.

Future adaptation issues:

    • Easier to convert comm> res than res > comm.  What happens if res oversupply?
    • Big issue will be out of London, eg: Croydon Business Park already has residential, whose only amenity is a McDonalds drive thru’ (and this was with approval).  Balancing falls over.
    • Issue with future non-resid use, once a resid use introduced into an area eg: noise.
    • May not lead to 2nd round consult, just because there are issues, it could be the same as the S/L regulations,with multiple additional regulations in the future when problems manifest.

 —

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports Tagged With:

Olympic Site Visit

December 17, 2012 By

Olympic Site Visit

7th of December 2012

Summary report by Yoana Tulumbadzhieva – intern at Urban Design London

On the 7th of December UDL made a visit to the Olympic Park which since the end of the games in August has been closed and inaccessible until its redevelopment is completed. This short review will run you through the most significant transformations that are now starting to take shape on site.

During the Games more than 3 million people and around 14 000 athletes visited the venues and area of the Olympic Games.  Currently the area is undergoing a major transformation to turn it from an Olympic Games site into a public park and a place where people will come to live, work and play. The former site of the Olympic Games will form part of the history of East London. To support the redevelopment of this enormous site, Design for London and Mayor of London have been working together on the so called Olympic Fringe Programme which comprises of different projects that aim to support the neighbouring areas so that the achievement of the Olympic Park is uplifted by the success of the areas around it.

Over the next 18 months the Olympic Site will be transformed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, recognising the celebration of the Queen’s diamond jubilee year. The site of the park crosses 4 boroughs and once finished it will be a bit larger than Hyde Park, for which it will form a whole new part of the city and of East London. The transformation of the park will lay the foundation for further development across this part of London over the next 20 years’ time.

The stages of development of the park are called Clear, Connect and Complete. Clear: clearing and removing the venues, security areas, temporary spectator facilities, fencing, barriers, temporary sports surfaces, etc.  Connect: connecting roads, pathways and circle ways; bridges, footways and underpasses to improve public access to the park. Complete: completing the venues for long term uses and doubling the amount of open space.

 A big challenge for the London Legacy Development Corporation is improving the public perception of the Olympic Site – pre-games the area was inaccessible for 7 years during the construction of the Olympic Park which acted as a barrier for the neighbouring areas. During the Games the park was open only to those who could afford and get a hold of tickets. Currently the site is just how it was pre-games and the controlled access will continue to be the same until end of July 2013 when the North part of the park will open for the public. A way to overcome this negative perception of the general public is the reopening of the viewing platform that is accessible through the Greenway cycle and pedestrian route, which happened earlier in December.

The whole area of the Park forms five future development sites which will exapand into five new neighbourhoods: Sweetwater, Pudding Mill, Chobham Manor, East Wick and Marshgate Wharf. Some of the main roads that already exist will remain but some new ones will also be introduced to modify the new neighbourhoods. These sites will be developed over the next 20 years, meanwhile interim uses will take place on different locations to test options on site and unlock the enormous potential for activation of the area.

The North part of the park will be the first site of the former Olympic Games Park to reopen for the public in late July 2013. It will provide a large green open space area for the adjacent communities of Leytonstone and Hackney Wick, where they will find a place for family picnics, jogging, leisure time activities and children’s play. The park will provide events spaces along the River Lea which will encourage creativity and will host exhibitions by local artists.  The landscape of the North park area is inherited from the Games and in its vast majority will remain as it is to provide a lasting legacy for people to enjoy in the future. The amount of open public space will be doubled and the wildlife in this urban meadow will be preserved. Harvested rain water and treated black water will be used to irrigate the vast landscapes of the park.

The former Press and Broadcasting centre is located in the North Park and is now being transformed into a major commercial district to provide jobs for the generations to come. Cyclists will be able to access the North park through a cycle route which will connect the former Velodrome with the national cycle system and a new cycle workshop will be provided along with the redevelopment of the Olympic BMX track. The nearby located Basketball arena will be dismantled and be the site for the first housing development on the park. This part of the park will see the opening of the first venue after the end of the Olympic Games, called the Copper Box – multi use arena which is designed to accommodate 7, 500 spectators and will cater for sporting activities and community uses.

The South part of the Park is due to open later in 2014. It will see the creation of a large green space area animated with temporary installations. The South part will host the former Aquatics Centre whose spectacular seats are currently being dismantled and will be replaced with glass windows making a totally different structure.  Major milestone of the developments in the south part of the park is the opening of the South Park Hub building which was won through a competition by the architect of the well-known High Line in New York. The Hub will provide a vibrant place to meet, eat and share a drink, and buy tickets for the Park events. The former Water Polo arena will be dismantled and its features will be given out for school projects and recycling initiatives. The Olympic Stadium’s structure will be reduced in size and will be used for major international championships, other sporting fixtures, concerts and arts events. The viewing platform of the Arcelor Mittal Orbit will remain providing café and restaurant facilities on the top and offering a magnificent view over the whole park area. The east athlete’s village will be ready in the late summer of 2013 as it is currently being transformed installing kitchens and making the apartments usable.

Key parts of the park are its waterways for which a strategy for the canal and river is developed aiming to be a complementary to the north and south park areas. The canal park project will focus on creating a public space along the canal as generous as possible to cater for pedestrian and cyclists and to be a park stretch that relates to the surrounding park activities.

A big challenge for the LLDC is making the link between the north and the south parts of the park and maximising the potential of the link. The only physical connection is the Belvedere bridge structure which is also the highest point in the Olympic site and the question of how to address the height difference between the north and south park areas is still to be resolved.

Touring around the big construction site that the Olympic Park currently is does not seem to give one the perfect idea about the atmosphere that is aimed to be achieved in the area. The feeling of a big change happening is on the agenda, but among all the tarmac removing and building works the human scale is lost and it is yet hard to see the bigger picture of the development taking shape. For a site that has been closed for construction for such a long time, then open for such a short period and closed again, one can almost say that the marvel/sensation of the Games has vanished. Visiting the site now makes it hard to even imagine the crowds of millions of people strolling around in excitement during the Olympics.

Whether the transformation currently taking place will be successful is yet to be evaluated.  Most of the Venues, being its architectural landmarks, will be more or less preserved in their physical appearance, and maybe people will be able to recognise them in the future. But more importantly there is optimism that the message they have inherited from the games will not change its meaning over time. Or maybe the spirit of the Olympic Games will be effectively preserved in the vast open areas that in the future will provide publicly accessible spaces for play, sport and education for generations to come. Only time will show. One thing is certain – the phased opening of the different parts of the Park will hopefully regain people’s trust in the site and give them the opportunity to weigh up the outcomes themselves.

Filed Under: News, Site Visits Blog, Summary Reports

Streets Network Meeting – 24 October – Summary Report

November 5, 2012 By

Speakers:

Michele Dix, Transport for London

John Dales, Urban Movement

Phil Jones, Phil Jones Associates

Nick O’Donnel, London Borough of Ealing

David Rowe, Transport for London

Jim Smith, Trees and Design Action Group

Stephanie Groot, Transport for London

 

The Mayor of London’s Roads Taskforce

The Taskforce is the first major strategic review of London’s road network in decades. Michèle Dix from TfL gave a full overview of the issues it sets out tackle, the initial direction of the work, and the results of consultation undertaken so far. This was followed by an appraisal from John Dales of Urban Movement, who looked at some of the more controversial issues that the Taskforce might need to grapple with.

 Michèle set the scene with some arresting statistics:

  • 28.5 million journeys are made on London’s roads daily
  • London’s growth means an extra 1 million trips a day by 2016, with the majority expected to be by public transport, cycling or walking
  • 90% of freight in London currently travels by road
  • By 2016, there may be up to 30% more vans making freight and servicing trips
  • Road congestion costs the London economy £2 billion per year
  • Even with everything proposed by the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, including unfunded measures, congestion is projected to worsen by about 14%
  • Road traffic contributes significantly to poor air quality in London, with EU limit values for NO2 regularly exceeded

The Taskforce itself consists of 26 invited members, who will meet several times over the coming months with the aim of producing a final report in Spring 2013. The members have been selected to represent a range of user interests as well as being able to bring specific skills and knowledge to the process. Their initial thinking has included developing a typology of roads to help in considering the balance between ‘moving’ and ‘living’ functions in different areas: a framework that owes much to ‘Link and Place’ theory. There is an explicit recognition that streets are where people live, work and shop and that London’s international profile depends on the quality of its public realm and street environments as much as it does on the ability to get around.

Consultation, which ran from July to September 2012, has highlighted several areas of concern, including: the impact of population growth; recognition of the need to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists and to support public transport use; concerns around air quality, noise and vibration; the need to improve the physical state of London’s road network; and challenges of managing street works and utilities infrastructure. A suggestion has emerged that reinstating a hierarchy of road users would help inform thinking about future priorities, while the kind of delivery options mentioned by consultees have ranged from using rivers and canals for haulage to funding new infrastructure through tolls.

John Dales was enthusiastic about the agenda set out by Michèle Dix, finding much to commend in the scope of what he felt should rightly be called the ‘Streets Taskforce’. He supported the notion of taking the time to look properly at what the future may hold. However, he voiced concerns about several specific points, while also worrying that the views of certain road users would be outweighed by others in the process, particularly the perceived ‘motoring electorate’.

He questioned the assumption that we need to accommodate an increasing amount of motor traffic when traffic volumes have not been growing in recent years, and he was concerned at the suggestion of a return to a ‘predict and provide’ approach to road space. If it’s about making more road space available, then we need to be clear about who it’s for and where it gets us once we consider other policy areas and take ‘the bigger picture’ about the future of London into account.

John also cautioned against reading too much into headline-grabbing statistics, particularly the notional cost of congestion to the economy. Even if we can really calculate how much future congestion will cost London, are we able to weigh that against the economic potential of other modes? How would we factor in the value to the economy of air quality, visitor friendliness and resilience to climate change? There may be lessons we can learn from international experience to help with understanding how to measure and predict social, economic and environmental impact.

He also took issue with overly simplistic ideas about traffic behaviour, such as the assumption that traffic calming measures in one place will shift traffic and cause congestion elsewhere. While research could no doubt be more extensive, there is no current evidence to prove that street improvement and traffic calming measures have a traffic displacement effect. The Taskforce should take an evidence-based view of these issues, not allowing instinctive reactions and “numbers masquerading as facts” to colour its judgements.

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”

Doc Emmett Brown, Back To The Future

In conclusion, John offered his own version of the Terms of Reference for the Taskforce, suggesting that the key question should be “what do we want London’s streets to be like when we’re done?” rather than starting with “what do we do to address existing problems?” If we are to protect the qualities of London as a fine city for people, then we need to have an open mind about the future and a willingness to challenge assumptions. Sometimes that’s about going back to basics – does all the motor traffic we see on London’s streets really need to travel that way? Who does it benefit? – and sometimes it’s about seeing through political barriers – if extending road user pricing is unacceptable now, that doesn’t mean it will always remain that way in the future.

 

Ealing Cycle Hub

The day continued with a presentation on the Cycling Strategy of the LB of Ealing by Nick O Donnell and its achievements so far. The strategy is been developed to provide for the next 6 years and is driven by three main targets: to increase the number of cycle trips in the Borough; to reduce the rate of KSI cyclist per journey and to increase the detection rate for stolen cycles. To support this strategy the borough has run a number of programmes in recent times to engage the community with the cycling idea and to encourage more people to use the bike as their regular mode of transport. Nick briefly introduced the results of a town centre research that was carried out in 2011, based on which the council recognised that the top priority of the Cycling Strategy should be the establishing of cycle hubs to develop a wider network within the borough. The study findings clearly showed the high cycle parking usage outside Ealing Broadway which identified the station as the location of the first cycle hub. The indicated site for the new hub originally contained a taxi shelter and 37 Sheffield Stands in a bad condition, which had its negative reflection on the overall perception of the area. It was strongly emphasised that the project for the new hub was a part of a wider plan for improvements around the station area and aimed to address the needs of local people, and designed as to help with the integration and enhancement of the surrounding environment, which was convincingly backed up with recent photos of the finished article. The new cycle hub features around 130 cycle parking spots, new taxi shelter with integrated facilities (toilets), CCTV coverage and a new Brompton Cycle Hire Dock. The presentation finished with a short overview of the recent effects of the Ealing Cycle Hub which include an improved pedestrian and cyclist circulation, lower cycle thefts level and local businesses uplift. The overall impression of the delegates was that the successful cycle hub project definitely deserves a site visit.

The new Ealing Cycle Hub

Old Sheffield Stands and taxi shelter

               

 
 
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Update on Tactile Paving
 
Next speaker for the day was David Rowe, Head of Borough Projects and Programmes at Transport for London who introduced an update on discussions regarding possible changes to advice on tactile paving resulting from the experience gained in the boroughs and TfL in applying the current Guidance. The existing Guidance on the use of Tactile Paving Surfaces provides an insight on a range of different types of tactile surfaces that serve as a way of communicating the environment to the visually impaired pedestrians and helps to direct their way of movement in order to warn of a possible danger or to indicate the presence of an amenity. The document presents various approaches for applying the tactile pavement on different crossings to catch the desire line of the visually impaired pedestrians. David presented a number of case studies of the use of tactile on crossings and his direct conclusions were that the paving designs imposed by the Guidance in many ways result in excessively complex layouts that could be more confusing rather than helpful. Since that Guidance was published a lot of research has been carried out by different organisations on the value of tactile surfaces each one of which focusing on very specific issues and none of them succeeded in recommending changes to the original Guidance document. David then mentioned that on the basis of these notions a joint research is to be carried out with DfT, CIHT, DPTAC and IDAG looking at ways of potentially simplifying and improving the layout at crossings without compromising the needs of visually impaired pedestrians, which can eventually lead to modifications to the original Guidance document. The study will look at two issues in particular, whether 600mm wide areas of tactile are detectable and so are an appropriate width, and whether the ‘Westminster curve’ arrangement where the back of kerb side pad is in line with the kerb line not direction of crossing (but blister lines still follow line of crossing) works as well or better than current practice of keeping the back of the tactile pad straight, which can lead to large triangular shapes at some crossings. The research will include a systematic assessment of how blind, partially sighted and mobility impaired people can find, understand and use varieties of tactile configurations on crossings so professionals can gather a better understanding on how to address the needs of pedestrians when deciding on the use of tactile paving.
 
 
Trees in Townscape
 
Afterwards Jim Smith from The Trees and Design Action Group took over reporting on their recently launched guide for decision makers on Trees in the Townscape. The Action Group is a collaborative of professionals, individuals and organisations aiming to increase awareness of the importance and role of trees in the built environment. The guide in itself is a tool that is being used to persuade designers to think more carefully when placing trees on streets and public spaces. Jim briefly introduced the overall 12 principles of the Trees in the Townscape guide and continued with more in depth description of the once that fit directly into the context of streets and design, namely: have a comprehensive tree strategy, embed trees into policy and other plans, make tree friendly places, pick the right trees, seek multiple benefits, be risk aware (rather than risk averse). The action-oriented principles respond to the challenges of present times and outline the main issues that need to be addressed to maximise the benefits in economic, environmental and social aspects when dealing with urban settings. Jim strongly supported a notion that trees are a critical part of the infrastructure and they must be comprehensively integrated into public spaces and streets in order to respond to the objectives of the earlier mentioned Mayoral Road Task Force, especially the climate resilience challenges.
 

Chewing gum: new report on impacts on streets and mitigating measures

The meeting ended with a presentation by Stephanie Groot from TfL who talked about her research on street solutions to chewing gum. The challenges that chewing gum causes when disposed of on the pavement surfaces are not to be ignored. At first that issue might not seem such a big deal, but it does cost a lot of time and capital to be removed – the annual expense of removal in Britain along is estimated at £150 million. Boroughs are often faced with the challenges of removing chewing gum from the public spaces which is their legal responsibility, but when gum becomes flattened councils are no longer under duty to clean it and it becomes a problem. Stephanie presented several solutions to tackling that issue. One resolution is the protective and restorative coating “MagicCote” that helps prevent surface soiling from oil, coffee, food, gum, etc. Treating spaces with that substance makes them easier to clean and substantially cuts the costs for that service as case studies from Westminster, Southwark and Tower Hamlets showed. After the treatment most surface contaminants would even wash away during a heavy rainfall which is a much desired outcome in the first place. Other street solutions that Stephanie presented included the use of smart bins around lamp columns or sign posts, recycle bins and the innovative Gumdrop bins made out of recycled chewing gum. Among the policy solutions the introduction of a tax on gum companies to contribute to clean up cost of their products was remarked as a possibility. When concluding the presentation Stephanie gave her recommendations to talking the chewing gum issue by a wider promotion of the existing surface treatment opportunities and the development of programme of cleaning and restoration of existing pavements to improve public spaces and reduce the costs of maintenance in the long run.                                        

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports

Housing Design Foundation Course – 10 October

October 23, 2012 By

 Summary report by Yoana Tulumbadzhieva – intern at Urban Design London

On the 10thof October the Housing Design Foundation Course took place. The venue of the event was The Redmond Community Centre in Hackney–part of the first phase development of the 20 year regeneration project for Woodberry Down for which Berkeley Homes is the appointed developer.

The course was led by David Birkbeck who has been the chief executive of Design for Homes since 2000. He wrote the Buildings for Life matrix which became the country’s tool for assessing new-build homes. He is the author of several other publications dealing with housing estates and good residential design.

In the morning session David started with a short overview of the UK housing standards of the past 30-40 years and the density issues linked to that. The housing crisis of the 80s urged the search for a new ways of delivering housing standards that ignored the possibility of making people live inbig apartment blocks. That resulted in building houses with low density even in central urban areas – the Coin Street development was mentioned as a good example of that notion. Later on, in the 90s PPG3 was introduced – a piece of urban planning policy that intended to increase the volume of houses per hectare by setting a minimum housing threshold. David’s remark on the more recent effects of that policy, namely, the yearly doubling of the average density in London between 2000 and 2001, and 2001 – 2002, led to the introduction of some of the findings of his research conducted in the end of 2001 on what kind of housing types actually work in higher density situations.

Introducing case studies from all over Britain of residential developments, David’s study focused on the question of privacy in higher density settings – which are the significant issues in perceptions of privacy and how can they be effectively tackled through design. Performing interviews and focus groups with tenants and owners, the study interestingly showed that the key aspects of privacy issues for people were sound, space, sight and security. Apparently, people wanted to be protected from noise and not be overheard; to have enough private indoor space and to be able to enjoy their own piece of private outdoor space as well; to feel safe and protected. Questions were raised about how planning decisions relate to such sort of issues and what is the role of the planner when dealing with applications. Recommendations included providing every higher density household with their own private outdoor space and using garden squares in order to provide privacy and amenities, but emphasis was put on consulting with future residents about plans and support setting up of neighbourhood groups to regulate the communal spaces.

 The day continued with a guided walk around the massive Woodberry Down scheme which is developed and iscurrently being delivered by Berkeley Homes. The idea behind the regeneration project was properly introduced by a Berkeley associate at the Vision Suite at Woodberry Park. The overall scheme includes a mix of over 4,600 private, social rented and shared ownership homes, and a range of facilities – community centre, health centre, extended primary school, and a new Academy, as well as commercial and retail units. Berkeley works closely with Hackney council and other partner organisations to provide for community development projects, together with training and employment support for the local residents so that they benefit directly from the regeneration of the area. Among the partner organisations is the housing association Genesis Housing who are the social landlord for the scheme and together with Berkeley and the council they help deliver social housing in the development.

   

The unique location of the Woodberry Down area – on the northern side of two existing reservoirs –makes it even more attractive and helps create a very natural and welcoming atmosphere for its residents and visitors. The development is to be delivered over the next 20 years in 4 phases, the first of which focuses on the Woodberry Park area on the edge of the West Reservoir. It has been almost entirely finished and by the end of the year will see the completion of 800 new homes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Providing new build one, two and three bedroom apartments and penthouses, the development has approached the earlier discussed issue of privacy in housing estates by providing each apartment with a private outdoor space in the form of balcony, roof terrace or garden. Apart from that the scheme includes public realm and streetscape improvements along with a notable and open linear park next to the water banks creating a relaxing and enjoyable recreational area.

The walkabout led us next to the housing developments on Woodberry Groove and Seven Sisters Road which are part of the following phase of the Woodberry Regeneration project and currently undergoing construction works. Being built with a careful attention to detail material wise, both comprise of privately and socially rentedapartments offering a range of typologies and layouts, supplied with balconies.

After the lunch break the walkabout continued with visits to a selection of examples of past-century Georgian housing developments and new-century modern ones around the local area of Hackney. Within the most recent developments the density was evidently higher and it is a case of the detailed arrangement of the apartments and amenity spaces to know whether the scheme will be successful and well accepted. Some designs of the block facades provoked a discussion on their ability to associate with the existing surroundings and the importance of planners’ influence on the design process when assessing a planning application. Witnessing schemes that are completed or are in process of delivery assisted in understanding the diverse typologies and layouts of residential designs and how they actually work in the urban environment.

One of the significant lessons learned from the visited case studies was that what delivers the most value to housing estates is the element of community feeling and the best way to achieve that through design is to keep a balance between the levels of density within the estate and the proportion of the provided private and communal spaces.

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports

Observations from Coventry

October 23, 2012 By

Courtesy of Nick Chitty, Regional Programme Planner, Transport for London

UDL ran a trip to see the recent changes in Coventry City Centre on 16 October. This is my perspective on the scheme.

The project is a lesson in bold and visionary thinking, achieving consensus among decision makers and sticking to the plan despite vocal opposition and major setbacks. It was designed and built in about 18 months. They had a fixed deadline being a host city for Olympic football.

The focus of the scheme is very much on regeneration of the city centre, and as far as we have ascertained, there were no explicit modal shift or environmental objectives. While reducing impact through lower speeds, car access is considered to be of high importance and new on-street pay and display car parking bays are proposed, including in the nearside lane of dual carriageways as a ‘traffic management’ measure.

There are few cycle specific facilities, but these are considered unnecessary due to minimal congestion, low motor traffic speeds, tighter geometry at junctions and the lack of traffic signals and 1-way streets.

The scheme is radical in a number of ways. Most of the signal controlled junctions in the city have been or are being removed and replaced with uncontrolled junctions (some described as shared space). One side of a dual carriageway on the route from the station to the city centre has been converted to a footway and gardens. In the main city square, motor traffic has been removed completely (except servicing access) and the space has been designed to enable events to take place. There are wide zebra crossings, and a number of informal crossings with white chippings embedded in the carriageway.

There is noticeably low traffic noise with low speeds, no ‘stop-start’ due to signal control and carriageways are surfaced in low noise asphalt. There are also some electrically powered buses.

The whole City Centre has been made a 20mph zone, and early indications are that speeds have been significantly reduced. DfT Signing the Way said:

This (Coventry) scheme aims to provide a 20mph zone without physical traffic management features but by designing out speed using many of the principles set out in the Manual for Streets, to provide safer and more attractive streets.

The de-cluttering is impressive, with much of the street lighting fixed to buildings. Vistas to historic buildings have been opened up. The whole city centre is to be made a controlled parking area with marked bays and no yellow lines (up until now Coventry was the last remaining large city to have free on-street parking).

Following scheme opening and a very successful Olympic period any opposition to the scheme has largely faded away and council approval has been given for further stages. One of the main issues exercising council officers is how the scheme is used by the blind and partially sighted. These will be among stakeholder groups engaged in the development of the next stages.

While Coventry is very different to London and the visit was out of peak time, there are many elements of the scheme that could be considered in London, particularly in local centres without high motor traffic flows. Coventry is only an hour from London and I would highly recommend a visit for those interested in transport and urban design.

Filed Under: News, Summary Reports

Site Visit to Emirates Airline Cable Car

July 23, 2012 By


Here are some panoramic images of our site visit to Emirates Cable Car!

This one was taken inside the cable car

And this one was taken right outside the Royal Docks station

 

Filed Under: News, Site Visits Blog, Summary Reports

22 June 2012 – Site Visit to Exhibition Road – Summary Report

July 6, 2012 By

Summary Report by Eric Pisani (MSc student at UCL)

On Friday 22 June, we visited Exhibition Road in South Kensington, a street that runs through the heart of one of London’s most important cultural districts. The street is home to three national museums, Imperial College London, and other major institutions such as the Royal Geographical Society. It has recently undergone an extensive redesign, completed in October 2011, where a ‘single surface’ design approach was applied.

For the walk, we split off into two groups, with mine led by Peter Weeden, the Project Supervisor with the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Peter was quick to note that the redesign did not take a complete ‘shared space’ approach (as has been commonly said in the media), but rather creates a single surface– a roadway free of kerbs, changes in level, and formal markings between areas of pedestrian and vehicular traffic (although through subtle visual clues, pedestrians are encouraged to use the west side of the street across most of the length). The design also follows the concept of ‘decluttering’, involving removing excessive street furniture, utilities, and signage from the streetscape to open the space up. The idea seemed to work, as I really noticed the grand architecture of the buildings and had a feeling that I had lots of room to move about. Along the main section of the road, in the absence of formalized crossings, pedestrians can cross at any point, which brings an element of freedom to the street (although you still have to be wary of traffic – the street is not fully pedestrianized)! The ‘X’ shaped pavement pattern almost seems to encourage this.

We learned from Peter about the innovative target cost contract that was used for the project. The contract was based on two figures: a target price and a cap price. The cap was the maximum that would be paid for the work by the authorities. The target was a lower figure that both the contractors and authorities aimed to meet, with financial incentives: if the contractor met the target, savings from the cap are shared equally between the local authority and the contractor, and the same applies for added cost if the target is exceeded, but only up to the cap price. This kind of contract gives certainty about total cost, and shares risks and benefits fairly between involved parties. Peter returned to this point several times along the walk, stating its importance to the project’s success and being delivered on time and on budget. I left with an understanding that good design needs to be coupled with sound implementation strategy in order to be realized effectively.

The visit was very informative, and since I will be including a case study of Exhibition Road in my dissertation on sustainable street design, it was very valuable personally. While I think the redesign undoubtedly creates an improved pedestrian realm and brings an innovative, attractive treatment to an important public space in London, I wonder if the redesign has made positive impacts in terms of sustainability. Has the redesign resulted in a more sustainable place and encouraged sustainable transport? In several areas, it would appear so. The street is heavily used by pedestrians for a range of activities, from passing through to sitting to visiting the attractions. The cafes to the south end are bustling. Street tenants were readily consulted, and were able to influence changes in the design. Accessibility was considered through conversation with the Royal National Institute of the Blind and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (although they did force a judicial review of the scheme, arguing the design is unattractive for blind persons). The natural stone setts used are extremely durable, harder than concrete, and don’t require any coating. The unique character of the area, with its nationally important museums and cultural institutions, was highlighted, preserved and enhanced by the quality of the design. There was no net loss of trees. The street design also addresses sustainable transport, most notably walking but also cycling with the three Barclays Cycle Hire stations located along the road and all-day bus service (Route 360).

Peter was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, and was able to answer all of the questions posed to him – except, notably, “What would you have done differently, looking back on the project?” as he believes it was a great success, especially the contract scheme. He said he would have to get back to the person on what could be improved, as nothing came to him on the spot! A question going forward might be how cyclists perceive the street and use it – would the single surface encourage them to use the whole width of the road, potentially conflicting with the large numbers of pedestrians on the west side, or would they stick with car traffic on the east side? On-going monitoring of the scheme’s safety record and perception by blind persons are also some concerns.  

 

Filed Under: Summary Reports

15 May 2012 – Planning Network Meeting

May 29, 2012 By

Neighbourhood Planning & the National Planning Policy Framework

 

Perspectives on the design elements of NPPF and implications for London

Ben Castell, Technical Director, Strategic Planning & Urban Design, URS

Penelope Tollitt, Head of Policy & Design, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Matt Bell, Head of External Affairs, Berkeley Group

Andrew Lainton, Cutting Edge Planning & Design [Read more...]

Filed Under: Summary Reports

11 May 2012 – Site visit to Leicester Square and St Paul’s Churchyard

May 16, 2012 By

Summary Report by Claudia Fuentes

On Friday the 11th of May we went to visit both the construction site of Leicester Square – which will be opened to the public in about two weeks – and the street improvements of the surroundings of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Summary Reports

18 & 24 Apr 2012 – London Cycling Design Standards Workshop

May 4, 2012 By

Summary Report by Claudia Fuentes

During the 18th and the 24th of April, the London Cycling Design Standards Workshop took place. The first day of the course was held at London South Bank University, where we started by discussing general issues like the benefits that cycling brings to society, including improvements in wellbeing, traffic congestion, and sustainability. Then, we gradually turned to the more specific aspects to consider when designing schemes. These involved available widths, major barriers for cyclists, traffic operations, pedestrian amenity and activity, and new developments. We talked about the key elements of CRISP (Cycle Routes Implementation and Stakeholder Plan) and CHIP (Cycle Superhighway Implementation Plan), and ended the morning by addressing LCDS design principles on cycling permeability, the values of shared space, and the desirable traffic lanes widths and corner radii. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Summary Reports

08 Feb 2012 – Housing and Planning Network Meeting

March 1, 2012 By

Urban Design London’s ever popular Housing and Planning Network meeting brought together speakers from a range of organisations including RICS, Camden Council, the GLA, the University of York and the Prince’s Foundation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Summary Reports
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