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3. Chapter Three Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

3.1. This section of the report draws together key conclusions from the evaluation. The conclusions are presented in 2 ways, firstly in terms of the 4 pilot Home Zones, and secondly in terms of key themes or findings more broadly.

Dundee

3.2. As the only new-build Home Zone in the evaluation project, the Dundee Royal Infirmary Home Zone is a valuable case study of issues associated with the incorporation of Home Zone principles in new housing developments. It should be noted that the conclusions for this Home Zone are based on a partial evaluation since, due to its implementation programme, the scheme was not fully completed within the project timescale. At the time of the evaluation, a small number of new build houses and the 'village green' feature between the new build and conversion parts of the scheme, had not been completed.

3.3. The Dundee Home Zone highlighted issues to do with the community and social dimension of new build Home Zones. Since there were no opportunities for residents to become involved in the planning and design process, the scheme has a much lower sense of community ownership and awareness than Home Zones elsewhere. While marketing material did include a number of references to the Home Zone, the residents survey and community discussions indicated that, at the time of purchase, a significant proportion of people were unaware of the development's Home Zone status, or what this meant in terms of street design or aspirations for community involvement. This has been exacerbated by the multiple occupation of a number of properties, with increased parking pressures and suggestions that some patterns of behaviour conflict with the principles of Home Zones.

3.4. The scheme was designed without the benefit of the Home Zone design guidance, published in 2002, and a number of issues have emerged as a result. One of the main elements of the scheme is the inclusion of a narrow (3.5 metre) 'shared space' without footways or parking bays or adjoining pedestrian areas. While there are a number of horizontal and vertical deviations, it has not been possible to include roadside planting to reduce sight lines. There is anecdotal evidence that vehicle speeds are sometime not as low as had been anticipated, meaning that people on foot (including children) feel less safe than might otherwise have been the case. The narrow roadway means there have been examples of vehicles over-running onto graveled areas alongside the road, or onto grassed garden areas. The lack of parking has combined with residents' apparent reluctance to use garages and high car ownership associated with multiple occupation properties to create significant parking pressures within the scheme. The present lack of outdoor play space was highlighted by community discussions, though this may change once the village green has been completed. The evaluation gathered little evidence of the scheme promoting increased use of outdoor spaces by residents. The scheme highlighted the practical issue of accommodating public utilities within narrow shared spaces. The solution in this case involved the creation of a service strip across private gardens which in turn restricted the ability to plant trees and shrubs adjacent to the roadway.

3.5. The Dundee scheme was the only Scottish pilot Home Zone where accessibility for disabled people was raised as a concern following a site visit by a representative from the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland. Key issues included concerns about the level of street lighting, the navigability of the scheme for visually impaired people unfamiliar with the Home Zone, and the effects of ad hoc car parking within the Home Zone.

Ormlie

3.6. The Ormlie Home Zone provides an example of a community initiated, retrofit scheme. The project has highlighted a number of important findings. Principal amongst these relate to the challenges and benefits associated with community involvement in project planning, design and implementation. Key challenges included the length of time it took to move from inception to completion, maintaining momentum during the periods when the council was engaged in the detailed design or securing funding for implementation, and the way in which professionals were able to engage with the community to explore and explain options. Many of these issues were made significantly easier by the involvement of a locally based community worker who was also able to link the Home Zone work to a range of other local environmental and community initiatives. The involvement of local children in the development of the Home Zone, and in the design of community art within the scheme, is a key aspect of the project, in part reflecting the involvement of Save the Children in the wider Ormlie area. The evaluation work concluded that once completed, the Home Zone secured a high level of support from the local community, had contributed to an increase in community 'capacity' and was linked to a number of spin-off projects. These benefits appear to be more significant than the more traffic based effects on vehicle speeds or use of the roads by pedestrians. There is some evidence that the Home Zone has increased use of outdoor space and promoted social interaction within the area. This is likely to be the product of specific features (community garden, wavy wall etc) but also the process of developing the Home Zone which has brought people together.

3.7. The Ormlie Home Zone project also highlights a range of funding issues. In part these reflect the scale of funding that is required to successfully implement a Home Zone, particularly in a low density residential setting. They also reflect the difficulty in marrying the extended programme of Home Zone design, consultation and implementation (in part a reflection of the approach set out in the Home Zone Regulations) to council and external funding cycles. Funding issues were one reason that the council adopted a pragmatic approach to the design of the Home Zone. Rather than opting for the comprehensive remodeling of roadways, footways and other public spaces, the council decided to concentrate resources at key locations (gateways, junctions, parking areas, etc.). However, it also decided to invest in high quality materials which would have lower maintenance costs and a longer life. The scheme also included a range of elements of public art whose design and construction involved local people, including children. The funding issues associated with the project have led to the council suggesting that it will not bring forward other retro-fit Home Zones in the near future.

Edinburgh

3.8. The Edinburgh Caledonian Home Zone offered the prospect of a pilot project within a high density, tenemented part of the inner city. Key issues to address in such a location would have included parking (the area was perceived to have an existing shortfall in parking spaces so any reduction would have raised concerns locally) and the difficulty in maintaining community support in an area with a relatively young and mobile population, particularly since the scheme was initiated by the City Council rather than the community itself. Funding priorities, allied to the lack of clear local support, were instrumental in the decision not to proceed with the Home Zone. While funding was available from the Scottish Executive, the City Council decided that the implementation of 20mph zones around schools was a higher priority than the Home Zone. The city has, however, decided to encourage private developers to adopt Home Zone principles in the design of new residential schemes in the city.

Aberdeen

3.9. The Aberdeen Tillydrone Home Zone was planned as part of a wider community regeneration project. While a first round of traffic calming measures had resulted in a reduction in speeding through the area, the inclusion of the Home Zone project within a wider initiative meant that many local people were either unaware of the project or what it would mean. A review of the progress of the larger regeneration project indicated that many of the area's social problems were deep-rooted and were not adequately being addressed by the programme of housing refurbishment and renewal. This led to the City Council deciding to change the emphasis of the regeneration project, electing for a scheme which would result in the demolition of the area that had been proposed as a Home Zone. As a result, the Tillydrone Home Zone scheme was abandoned. While it may often be appropriate to bring forward Home Zones as part of wider initiatives, the pilot did demonstrate the low visibility that this can create, together with the vulnerability of the scheme to wider changes in policy or project implementation.

Key conclusions

3.10. The evaluation of Home Zones in Scotland has therefore drawn the following conclusions:

• some of the principal benefits of Home Zones relate to community involvement and empowerment, with comparatively minor changes in vehicle speeds etc. To some degree this is likely to reflect the nature of the pilot locations with Ormlie in particular recording relatively low traffic flows and speeds prior to implementation
• the key exception to this conclusion is the new build scheme in Dundee where there was no community involvement during planning, design and implementation and where different expectations and a number of local issues have resulted in a lack of community cohesion amongst those who have moved into the development. This suggests that councils may need to involve community development staff alongside planners and engineers in order to ensure that the community dimension of Home Zone development is supported. There may be opportunities for the greater involvement of housing associations in new-build Home Zones where this can help build community capacity
• the pilot Home Zones confirm the importance of focusing on the role of Home Zones in relation to children. The potential benefits of children's involvement in the process of Home Zone design and the creation of safer places for outdoor play (formal and informal) can be an important factor in identifying potential locations for Home Zones and informing the process by which projects are designed and implemented
• funding is inevitably a key issue, largely due to the significant sums involved in implementing Home Zone projects and the difficulty in synchronizing development with council and external funding sources. Funding was the principal reason for the abandonment of one Home Zone project and underlies another's decision not to consider further retrofit Home Zones. While inclusion within wider regeneration projects can provide a way of addressing funding, such Home Zones can be vulnerable to wider changes in direction
• successful Home Zones are dependent on the commitment of those involved in the process, both professionals and communities. The long timescales involved (typically 5 years), and the need to bridge the gap between technical design issues and community expectations and involvement, can create significant challenges. The Ormlie example demonstrates the benefits of a community project officer acting as a champion for the scheme and a conduit between professionals and the community. Such officers can also play a role in mediating different views and ensuring that all parts of the community are provided with an opportunity to be brought into the process
• from the Home Zones included within the evaluation exercise, there is only limited evidence that the schemes have resulted in increased community use of outdoor space. While it is likely that such effects have occurred in Ormlie, due to a combination of physical features and a process which has significantly increased community capacity, in Dundee the opposite appears to have been the case, with little outdoor communal space and a lack of social capital resulting in little outdoor activity or interaction
• implemented schemes demonstrate a pragmatic approach to the design of Home Zones. Ormlie in particular demonstrated the benefits of concentrating investment at key points in the Home Zone rather than opting for a more comprehensive scheme which would have spread resources more thinly. There was also a locally tailored approach to community participation and consultation which was contrasted with the prescriptive approach set out in the Home Zone regulations
• new build schemes offer the potential to include the physical elements of Home Zones but present significant challenges in relation to the community or social dimension, particularly where awareness of area's status is low among incoming residents. The Dundee scheme raised a number of technical issues associated with the creation of shared spaces and the provision of services
• Home Zones have the potential to raise issues for partially sighted and blind people where shared spaces are provided and there is an absence of kerbs to delineate different parts of the street and provide a navigational feature. Textured surfaces such as setts can present problems for the mobility impaired

3.11. The evaluation process was also designed to draw conclusions on the operation of the Home Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2002. Neither of the 2 implemented projects have been formally designated as Home Zones. While this is partly a reflection of the fact that the projects started before the point where the regulations came into force, it is also likely to reflect the more onerous publicity, consultation and hearing requirements associated with formal designation. There may also be a mismatch between the onerous and prescriptive nature of the Regulations and the 'community' dimension of Home Zones, and some difficulties for councils in reconciling the extended design and consultation timescales with budgeting and funding applications. However, it appears that Home Zones commenced since the Regulations came into force are seeking formal designation.

Recommendations

3.12. This part of the report sets out a series of recommendations, flowing from the conclusions set out in the previous section. These recommendations are set out under 4 headings:

Home Zone (Scotland) Regulations

3.13. There is some evidence that the Home Zone Regulations are proving onerous in terms of consultation and budgeting timescales and the 2 implemented Home Zone pilots have not been formally designated. This may reflect the fact that the Regulations came into force after these schemes had commenced. It may also reflect the timescales involved and the difficulty in marrying the requirements of the Regulations with more fluid processes of design and community involvement.

3.14. It is recommended that the Executive monitors the proportion of Home Zone projects that are formally designated and, if numbers remain low, consider simplifying the designation process. A post-designation feedback questionnaire could also gather additional information on the process set out in the Regulations. Guidance should explore how different forms of community involvement can meet the Regulation's requirements for consultation.

Funding

3.15. It is recommended that the Scottish Executive continues to provide funding for the creation of Home Zones in Scotland since the implemented Home Zones have achieved significant benefits, particularly in relation to community development. There would be benefits in increasing funding and distinguishing it from that available for other road safety measures. The Executive should continue to encourage councils to bring forward Home Zone projects. Consideration should be given to regularly updated advice on sources of funding for Home Zones.

Guidance

3.16. It is recommended that the Home Zones Guidance consultation is updated to reflect the findings of the evaluation. Specifically, the guidance should include:

New Build

3.17. It is recommended that there is a clearer distinction between new-build Home Zones, and new-build developments which incorporate Home Zone elements.

3.18. The former should include measures to involve new residents in the design of the Home Zone and should be focused around the development of a new community. This may be more successful where structures are in place to help build social capital (for example by the involvement of Housing Associations). Elsewhere local authority officers should aim to work across departments (e.g. planners, engineers, community development) to ensure community as well as physical infrastructure is provided within new Home Zones. Consultation with Home Zone specialists, or with authorities that have successfully implemented schemes, will also help ensure that community aspects of the project are not neglected.

3.19. Where schemes incorporate physical and community measures, they should normally be designated formally as Home Zones. Incoming residents should be made clearly aware of the status of the area as a Home Zone (sales literature, deeds, etc.) and what this means in practice. There may be potential to leave some elements of the scheme 'undesigned' until people have purchased properties or even moved into the scheme, though this may result in key features (such as play facilities or speed reducing measures) being absent when the Home Zone comes into operation. Community structures should be put in place to ensure that opportunities to realise the social benefits of the project are maximised.

3.20. New build schemes incorporating Home Zone elements or features, but where a community component is absent, should not be designated. Such schemes will tend to focus on speed reducing features such as gateways, shared surfaces and play areas.

3.21. Additional advice should be provided for a number of technical issues relating to new-build Home Zones, including the design of shared spaces, the provision of lighting and the provision of service infrastructure. The latter should refer to Home Zones guidance produced by the Roads Authorities and Utilities Committee Scotland.

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