Scottish Government

Land Use Consultants
ISBN 0 7559 3957 3 (web only publication)

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1. Dundee Royal Infirmary Home Zone

Introduction

1.1 The first resident survey of the Dundee Royal Infirmary Home Zone was carried out in November 2004 to provide an initial baseline of resident awareness and attitudes to living in a Home Zone.

Site Context/state of development

1.2 The Dundee Royal Infirmary development is not yet complete and elements of the site are still under construction. This includes the conversion works on the main hospital building, the construction of the landscaped green in the centre of the site and the construction of the tennis courts, and some of the site landscaping. In relation to the flats on the site a small number of the Caird apartments were identified as being only very recently occupied. The Lotus houses were also undergoing completion works and were not yet occupied. In relation to the new build houses the final row of houses to be constructed immediately above Dundee College has not been built. A number of residents noted the impact of the construction works in terms of noise, danger to road users and mud on the roads.

1.3 Due to the incomplete nature of the site it was not possible at the time of conducting the survey for pedestrians to move from the west of the site where the flats are located, to the east of the house where the houses are located. This situation creates a physical divide for pedestrians between these two elements of the site. Once the construction works on site are completed the landscaped green will provide a means for pedestrians to move between the two parts of the site.

Method

1.4 The resident questionnaire was carried out using a combination of face to face interviews and self completion by residents. The site was visited on two weekday late afternoons/early evenings in early November. The initial visit focused on the new build housing and each house was visited by the interviewers. If the occupant was available the questionnaire was completed on the doorstep. If the occupant indicated they were too busy a copy of the questionnaire and SAE was left for completion. Properties where there was no reply were noted to be revisited on the following site visit. The second site visit involved visiting the flats on the site and revisiting any outstanding properties in the new build housing. Each flat was visited and if the occupant was available a questionnaire was completed on the doorstep, if there was no reply then a questionnaire and SAE were posted through the letter box. It should be noted that there was a much smaller number of residents in the flats at the time of visiting than in the houses, and a lower interest in completing a questionnaire from individuals in the flats than from the residents in the houses.

Response rate

1.5 Responses were noted if they were from residents living in the houses on the east of the site or the flats on the west of the site, as due to the physical separation of the site the issues relating to residents perception of the site as a Home Zone vary. A total of 44 questionnaires were completed which represents a response rate of about 51% for the total number of inhabited properties. Of these, the majority (59%) were from the residents in the new build houses on the east of the site and the remaining 18 responses (41%) were from residents on the west of the site. The following text sets out the findings from the questionnaire.

Questionnaire Findings

Household composition

1.6 The overall composition of households on the site shows the greatest number of residents between the ages of 16 and 40. The majority of residents can be identified as young couples, families with young children, students and a smaller number of older couples.

1.7 There are a greater number of families with the children living in the houses on the east of the site than in the flats on the west, and total number of children (below the age of 15) identified from the questionnaire responses as living on the site is 16. Nearly two thirds of these are below the age of five.

1.8 The number of children who may play out on the street is therefore likely to be fairly low, although this may increase in the future as the children grow older. The survey also identified seven households with three or more residents in the 16-30 age group. A number of residents expressed concern over the number of houses in multiple occupation on the site and the impact of this on the other residents on the site. The following graph illustrates the distribution of age groups across the Dundee Royal Infirmary site.

Property Ownership

1.9 The majority (84%) of respondents own their own properties and 16% of respondents rent their properties. Levels of renting appear slightly higher in the flats on the west of the site than the houses on the east of the site.

Length of residence

1.10 The length of residence of the questionnaire respondents varied widely from 3 years to just over a month. It was noted when speaking to residents in the Caird apartments that one resident had only moved in a week previously and therefore did not feel able to partake in the questionnaire. The average length of residence on the site is about 12 months. Therefore, although some residents had not lived on the site for a very long period of time and may have had limited experience of the site, others had experience of living on the site for over a year. A number of respondents reflected the length of residence in their comments in relation to aspects of the questionnaire, such as whether they felt part of the community.

Features which attracted residents to live on the Dundee Royal Infirmary Site

1.11 Residents were asked to rank a number of features in terms of which was the most important in attracting them to live on the Dundee Royal Infirmary Site.

• 31 respondents ranked the location as the primary or secondary reason for being attracted to a property on the site with individuals noting the proximity to town, the university and schools as being important.
• 15 ranked the pleasant location as the primary or secondary reason for being attracted to a property on the site.
• 14 respondents noted the property price as a primary or secondary reason for being attracted to a property on the site.
• Three residents ranked the open space as a primary or secondary reason for being attracted to a property on the site.
• Only one resident ranked that the site was a Home Zone as a primary or secondary reason for being attracted to a property on the site, and this was alongside an equal rank for property style.

1.12 The high ranking of the location of the Dundee Royal Infirmary site is likely to reflect the proximity to the city centre and university. The low importance to residents of the site being a Home Zone may also relate to the low level of awareness of the Home Zone status of the site. In addition the level of importance given to the location of the development may reflect the wider importance of this consideration in choosing a new place to live.

Attitudes to the neighbourhood

1.13 Residents were asked to indicate the features they like about the Dundee Royal Infirmary site. 29 respondents ticked that the area is quiet as a feature they like about the Dundee Royal Infirmary site and 25 ticked the lack of through traffic. Other important features included the friendly neighbourhood, community spirit and low traffic speeds. Other features noted as being liked about the Dundee Royal Infirmary site included the proximity to Dudhope Park and the city centre

1.14 Residents dislikes about the Dundee Royal Infirmary site varied between the east and west of the site. Residents on the east of the site disliked:

• the construction traffic;
• the layout of the road system (too narrow, no pavements);
• issues associated with students living on the site;
• cars entering and leaving the site too fast;
• lack of play space for children (this should change when the landscaped green in the centre of the site is completed);
• not enough parking.

1.15 Residents living in the west of the site raised issues which included:

• the ongoing construction and length of time to completion;
• lack of parking;
• residents in the Caird apartments had issues with noise from the road at the rear.

1.16 When residents were asked how on the whole they felt about the area 25 of the 44 respondents (57%) said they very much liked living there, 13 (30%) liked living there and 5 (11%) expressed that they were neutral about living on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site. One respondent did not answer this question. None of the respondents expressed that they disliked living on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site.

Social life and networks

1.17 Respondents were asked if they knew another person by name in another household on the DRI site. 37 respondents (84%) replied that they knew another person by name in another household. Of these, twenty one respondents or their children spent time either frequently (once a month or more) or occasionally (less than once a month, more than once a year) with other residents. Seven (16%) of the 44 respondents said that they did not know another person by name in another household on the DRI site, and four of these had lived on the site for less than the average length of residence on the site of 12 months.

1.18 Residents were asked if they felt part of the local community 21 respondents (48%) said that they do feel part of the local community, a further 9 respondents (20%) said that they do not feel part of the community, 14 (32%)respondents were unsure. Some of the respondents who indicated they were unsure whether or not they felt part of the community qualified this by the short length of time which they had lived on the site.

1.19 However when asked if they agreed with the statement " DundeeRoyal Infirmary is a friendly area" nearly all respondents agreed. Only two residents disagreed (both living on the east of the site) and two said they didn't know.

Transport

1.20 Respondents were asked if they had access to a bicycle and 20 respondents (45%) confirmed that they did. Only 6 (30%) of these used their bicycle once a week or more, and nine (45%) of those with access to a bicycle never used it. The location of the Dundee Royal Infirmary site on a steep hill may contribute to the levels of use of bicycles.

1.21 93% of respondents living in the Dundee Royal Infirmary Home Zone have a car or van available for use. Just under one third of these have more than one car per household. This is likely to contribute to the issues raised of a lack of parking on the site.

1.22 Only five respondents have primary school age children and two of these walked with their children to school and gave the reason for this as being healthier, and the other three respondents took their children by car stating it was more convenient and also due to the location of the primary school. There were no families with secondary school age children in the respondents.

Safety and Play

1.23 Respondents were asked to indicate how safe they thought children and adults are from road traffic and crime on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site. In relation to road traffic two thirds of respondents felt that children and adults were either very safe or fairly safe. Thirteen respondents expressed concern over safety particularly over the level of safety of children walking, cycling and playing. Concerns were also expressed about construction traffic on site. Other respondents noted that traffic drove in and out of the site too fast. Concern was expressed about the safety of the entrance and exit onto Constitution Road and also on the west of the site the junction with Barrack Road.

1.24 In relation to the levels of safety for children and adults from crime on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site the majority of respondents indicated that they thought they were very safe or fairly safe, with only two respondents indicating that they felt people were not very safe. No supporting comments were made in relation to why people would not be safe from crime when on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site.

1.25 Residents were also asked if there had been any road accidents or near misses. Nine of the 26 respondents (35%) living in the east of the site indicated that there had been incidents or near misses. Comments particularly related to incidents between vehicles, and between vehicles and people, and reported incidents included those occuring on the adjoining roads. These included:

• Near misses between cars leaving the DRI site onto Constitution Road;
• Cars travelling the wrong way up Constitution Road (a one way street) causing accidents;
• Cars driving into the back of each other on Constitution Road;
• Parked car being hit twice by neighbours when parked in the drive;
• Children nearly being hit by speeding cars on the DRI site;
• An adult and 3 children were nearly knocked down by a car driving too fast on the site.

1.26 Three of the eighteen respondents (17%) living on the west of the site indicated that there had been road accidents or near misses. The incidents noted were all between vehicles entering and leaving the site, reflecting the lower levels of use of the street on the west of the site by pedestrian. Incidents noted included:

• People entering the site too fast;
• Incidents at the tight corner at the entrance to the site exacerbated by parked cars on the entrance road.

1.27 Residents were also asked if they had been a victim of crime whilst living on the Dundee Royal Infirmary site. Four instances were reported and these were:

• A car bonnet being stood upon and dented and scratched on the west of the site;
• One resident of the west of the site was aware of a car being broken into on site;
• A resident on the west of the site mentioned that they had heard that one of the flats had been broken into;
• Theft of a skateboard from the side of the house on the east of the site.

1.28 Residents were asked to indicate who spends time outside around the Dundee Royal Infirmary site. The responses to this question marked a clear distinction between the east and west of the site. Residents of the west of the site indicated that they observed very few people spending time outside of the flats with only three of the fifteen respondents providing a response to this question. This may partly reflect the low numbers of children in this part of the site, the nature of living in flats and the current lack of space outside in which to carry out any activities. One resident from the west of the site noted that ' when the site is fully developed and the landscaped green and tennis courts built there will be more scope for social activities.'

1.29 Respondents living in the east of the site identified children spending time playing in the street, adults chatting, supervising children, gardening and undertaking DIY and other activities.

Environment

1.30 Respondents were asked to rate the quality of the local environment in relation to a number of features as good, OK or poor.

1.31 In relation to street cleanliness the majority of respondents rated it good or OK with only five residents rating it poor which was largely due to mud on the road from construction traffic.

1.32 The majority of respondents (84%) rated the local environment good or OK in terms of both litter and dog fouling. One respondent on the west of the site noted that there was a problem of litter around the back of the flats and rated this as poor. Respondents were largely not aware of dogs on the site. In relation to the quality of the street lighting all respondents on the east of the site rated it good or OK with only three rating it OK. There was a lower level of satisfaction with levels of street lighting on the west of the site where five respondents rated it good, ten rated it OK and three rated it poor.

1.33 The majority of residents (93%) also rated the street good or OK as 'pleasant to walk along', although some residents on the east of the site noted the lack of pavements as a disadvantage. Only three residents rated it poor . Those who rated the site in relation to noise noted issues with noise from the roads adjacent to the site and from other residents, with eight residents rating it as poor .

Attitudes to Home Zones

1.34 Respondents were asked if they were aware that the site was a Home Zone when they moved in. Eight out of the 44 respondents (18%) were aware the site was a Home Zone when they moved in. Only two respondents had heard of the Home Zone scheme before moving to the DRI site. These two respondents rated the significance of the fact that the area is a Home Zone in their decision to move to the DRI site. One respondent rated it as high and the other as low. None of the other respondents noted that the status of the site as a Home Zone had any influence on their decision to move there. However they may also have been influenced by the layout of the streetscape and housing and not attributed this to the fact that the site is a Home Zone, or they may not have recalled being told that the site was a Home Zone as they did not fully understand what the term meant in relation to the development at the time of viewing the properties.

1.35 Of those residents who had heard about the Dundee Home Zone three had got this information from the estate agent, one from friends and family, one from the sales literature and one from the local media, and one didn't indicate how they had heard about it.

1.36 None of the respondents were aware of any of the other Home Zones elsewhere in Scotland or the UK. 63% of respondents indicated that they would have welcomed more information about what Home Zones are before moving to the DRI.

1.37 Residents were asked to identify any advantages of living in a Home Zone. A number of residents were unable to identify any advantages, however 42% did identify advantages and these included:

• Quietness;
• Traffic speeds;
• Safety;
• Friendly environment.

1.38 The majority of residents were not able to identify any disadvantages of living in a Home Zone. Only eight respondents identified disadvantages and among these only one was resident on the west of the site and mentioned the number of flats let to students or in multiple occupancy. Other disadvantages listed by residents on the east of the site were:

• Lack of street parking;
• Difficulty getting in and out of drive (east of site);
• No pavement for walking on, when cars come along you have to walk on driveways;
• The roads are too narrow for cars reversing out of driveways and there have been a few bumps between residents cars (east of site).

1.39 Respondents were asked who they thought should have priority on the road within the Home Zone. 15 respondents said it should be equal (34%), 21 (48%) said pedestrians should have priority and only 3 (7%) said vehicles should have priority. The remainder of respondents didn't answer or didn't know. Two residents commented that they felt that the design of the street with no pavements meant that vehicles had priority.

1.40 Respondents were asked who they thought gains the greatest benefit from the Home Zone scheme. 60% said everybody, 23% specified young children/parents with young children and the elderly and 7% said nobody.

1.41 Respondents were asked if they would consider choosing a house in a Home Zone if they had to move somewhere else in Scotland or the UK. 26 (59%) said yes, 6 (14%) said maybe, suggesting it might be a consideration in the future and if they had a family, two said no, and two were not sure.

Comments

1.42 Respondents were asked if they had any further comments, and raised points in relation to a number of issues. These included the ongoing construction of the site, the lack of landscaping of the site and the staging of the construction phases which residents found disruptive and unsightly, alongside the dangers of construction traffic. Respondents also commented on the design of the properties on the site suggesting they could be more varied, and that the design of the driveways and lack of landscaping made it look like a car park, and that this might deter prospective purchasers.

1.43 Problems were also highlighted with regard to parking on the site which is necessarily limited and deters users of the adjacent Dundee College from parking on the site. For houses in multiple occupancy there is insufficient parking space, however it was suggested that there was potential for bus companies to expand their services around the area.

1.44 One resident noted 'A lot seems to be made of the 'Home Zone' but in practice, on the ground it would appear to have no consequence.' Positive comments included:

• ' it is a successful scheme'
• 'I wasn't aware I had purchased in a Home Zone but definitely would in the future'
• 'Really enjoy living here'

1.45 Two residents commented that the questionnaire seemed a bit premature due to the on going construction of the site, and recognised that a number of the current problems raised with the site are due to this.