Urbanism
Environment
Design

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In March 2007 URBED completed its first major project in Scotland – the development of a vision for the five towns of Irvine Bay. We were commissioned by the newly established Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company to establish a programme of physical works for the URC over the next 15 years. As a result of the work the URC has now secured around £60 Million of funding from the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and North Ayrshire Council. URBED have been assisting the URC bringing one of the sites to market, looking at development options for another and design reviewing a third.

The five towns are all very different. Irvine is one of the Scottish new towns, developed in the 1970's to a 'bold' masterplan which was only partly completed. Saltcoats is a traditional resort for Glasgow's factory workers and Stevenston is a historic village at the gates of a large 'energetics' complex founded by Nobel. Kilwinning is an Abbey town where the masons on the abbey formed the first freemasons lodge (the mother lodge) and Ardrossan is a commercial port now concerned mainly with the ferry to Arran.

The strategy was concerned with supporting the existing economic base of the area while generating new activity based on its coastal location within the catchment of Glasgow.

The strategy was based on five themes:

i-Work: Support and diversification of the economic base

i-Live: Focusing housing growth in the heart of the towns and along the coast

i-Sea: Turning the area back towards the sea by creating a coastal park.

i-Play: The promotion of leisure for visitors and locals such as water sports.

i-Bay: The transformation of the areas image including planting the Irvine Forest.

The study was led by URBED (Urbanism Environment and Design) working with King Sturge and the Transportation Planning Partnership. Expert input was provided by Stuart Gulliver of Glasgow University and Peter Hunter.