Scottish Government

What are case studies?

Case studies share what people and organisations have learned from delivering or developing a project or programme. They can help you to see what has worked on the ground and can give you ideas about how to tackle problems. They can also signpost you to people and organisations you may want to talk to.

Key contact

Pete Reid, Strategic Projects Manager,
Falkirk Council
Falkirk Community Football Stadium
Westfield
Falkirk
FK2 3DZ
Email: pete.reid@falkirk.gov.uk
Website: www.myfuturesinfalkirk.gov.uk

In a nutshell

Formerly a centre for heavy industry and coal-mining - as well as once being one of Scotland's largest export shipping ports - Bo'ness is an Outstanding Conservation Area, with important historical links to the Roman period.

The £175 million Bo'ness Foreshore Regeneration Project has the potential to transform both the perception and the prospects of Bo'ness and its surrounding areas. It is expected to create a new vibrant waterside quarter linked to the historic centre and provide new homes and leisure opportunities that will benefit visitors and residents of Bo'ness.

The Bo'ness Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is addressing the decline of the traditional town centre by introducing new public realm and restoring key, long-standing derelict historic properties, including the Hippodrome - Scotland's first purpose built cinema.

It is envisaged that the 27.5 hectare development will see the creation of:

• 123 flats;
• 75 town houses;
• a hotel; and
• the redevelopment of the existing 400 year old harbour, into a centre piece marina for leisure craft along with a yacht club, restaurants, bars and shops.

The regeneration plans for Bo'ness have a major role to play in the success of 'My Futures in Falkirk' initiative which aims to transform the Falkirk areas economy into a thriving, diverse, modern economy that attracts businesses and visitors into the area and provides jobs for local people.

The issues addressed

• With a population of just under 15,000, Bo'ness now finds itself to be primarily a commuter town due to ease of access to nearby Falkirk, Glasgow and Edinburgh and therefore suffers from related consumer leakage.
• The harbour and foreshore area of Bo'ness was once the location of the towns many traditional industries (with records dating back to the early 1500s) but has lain derelict for many years with vast contaminated land issues.
• Until recently, major regeneration work in the town were almost impossible due to the BP Forties Field Gas Pipeline, which comes ashore at Bo'ness. This meant that any new build or change of use within a defined 'Restriction Zone' immediately attracted the Statutory attention of the Health and Safety Executive and any proposed works faced public enquiries.
• Many key buildings within the town centre lay derelict for over 30 years, including iconic buildings such as the Hippodrome, a rare example of pre-art deco cinema architecture and Scotland's oldest, purpose built picture house (completed in 1911).

The approach

• The Bo'ness Economic Development Review, prepared in 2000 with extensive contributions from the local community, sought to address the economic decay and profile of Bo'ness town centre with various short, medium and long-term strategies. These included initiatives such as public realm improvements and redevelopment of derelict buildings. The review also sought to bring forward residential development opportunities on the foreshore and the restoration of the derelict harbour.
• Over 6 months of negotiations took place between Falkirk Council, the Health and Safety Executive and other appropriate agencies in order to review the land and ensure the planned regeneration activities were possible in light of the challenges around development within the BP Forties Field Gas Pipeline. Detailed plans to redevelop the foreshore by ING Real Estates were approved by Falkirk Council and Scottish Ministers in 2006.
• In addition to the proposed foreshore regeneration plans, Bo'ness won Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) status, one of only 13 towns in Scotland privileged to qualify and resulting in £5 million worth of investment for Bo'ness town centre. Falkirk Council were keen to ensure that the foreshore regeneration plans and THI works clearly linked and complemented one another.
• Key significant funders to the THI include the Heritage Lottery Fund (who sponsor the initiative), Historic Scotland (through the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme), the Scottish Government's Town Centre Regeneration Fund, Falkirk Council and the European Regional Development Fund.

Setting up the work

• ING Real Estates were selected as the successful bidders for the regeneration of Bo'ness foreshore and harbour in 2003 - indeed, one of the main deciding factors for ING selecting Bo'ness as a development area was due to the THI Strategy being in place.
• However, since ING's selection as the preferred developer, there have been significant changes in national and international market conditions. Not withstanding this, Falkirk Council and ING have continued to work together by signing a Development Agreement in respect of the outline planning application that was achieved for the scheme.
• It was decided that such financial pressures, along with the historic industrial site remediation and structural engineering costs made the original development proposals unviable. Therefore ING amended their approach to the scheme, looking at rephrasing and delivery mechanisms - resulting in residential developments taking place first, with the marina development taking place in the future.
• There was strong community and political backlash to the revised phasing of the regeneration works as it was elt that the foreshore and harbour redevelopment were key to the regeneration of Bo'ness. At that time, the impact of the economic downturn was just emerging and not fully appreciated by the community.
• Falkirk Council undertook further community consultation on the revisions to the masterplan and in April 2008 an extensive debate between Council members saw the revised plans being approved.
• Whilst Falkirk Council undertook negotiations with stakeholders to agree revisions to the harbour and foreshore regeneration plans, THI works for Bo'ness continued. This included substantial public realm upgrading and addressing derelict buildings in the town centre. The critical THI project however was the restoration of the Hippodrome picture house.

Hippodrome

• Some 97 years after customers first took their seats in Scotland's first, purpose built picture house, the A-listed Hippodrome re-opened its doors to the public. The £1.7m restoration project saw the distinctive round stone design of the movie theatre, and created by local architect Mathew Steele, brought back into life.
• Originally seating over 1000 people - in very cramped conditions - the new look Hippodrome accommodates around 175 people and contains state of the art cinema technology. The restoration saw preservation of original Art-Deco signs, oak paneling and the original cast iron radiators.
• This key building is now a hub for the local community with keen cinema goers from across Scotland visiting to sample its unique atmosphere.

Evidence of success

Due to the Bo'ness regeneration project being in early stages, it is difficult to pinpoint exact measures of success. The Local Authority are currently working through the pre-condition period dealing with title ownership, Section 75 and design issues before entering the pre-planning discussions.

However, at this stage, a measure of success could be the outcomes of the THI which is attracting developer investment and confidence, through grant assistance. A further measure is the opening of several new specialist shops and an emerging air of confidence in the town centre.

One great thing - Community enthusiasm

There is an abundance of enthusiasm from the local community in Bo'ness to become involved in projects taking forward the regeneration of the town.

A number of community groups exist in Bo'ness, each responsible for delivering many small but important regeneration activities. Through the regular Bo'ness Regeneration Development Group Meetings, attended by representatives of key local community groups, town centre retailers, local members, council officers and ING - the Local Authority were able to harness the enthusiasm which in turn is helping the delivery of the foreshore and THI projects.

Top five lessons learned*

*From a Local Authority point of view

1. Be careful when raising community expectations, as it can be difficult to amend or reduce a regeneration project as market conditions change. Ensure you are able to retain the support of the community.

2. It is important to harness the enthusiasm of all community groups, in a coordinated form, through a single main group.

3. When carrying out a survey to review community support, make sure delivery of survey documents is through a reputable mailing company - otherwise it can go horribly wrong. It is important to get such small matters right first time, as the community are not always sympathetic.

4. It is important to work with planning leading up to an application, so as to avoid potential delays.

5. THI funding mechanisms for project delivery is critical, as is the requirement for developers to have an understanding of Outstanding Conservation Areas and partner funding requirements.

Scottish Centre for Regeneration

This document is published by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration, which is part of the Scottish Government. We support our public, private and voluntary sector delivery partners to become more effective at:

• regenerating communities and tackling poverty
• developing more successful town centres and local high streets
• creating and managing mixed and sustainable communities
• making housing more energy efficient
• managing housing more efficiently and effectively

We do this through:

• coordinating learning networks which bring people together to identify the challenges they face and to support them to tackle these through events, networking and capacity building programmes
• identifying and sharing innovation and practice through publishing documents detailing examples of projects and programmes and highlighting lessons learned
• developing partnerships with key players in the housing and regeneration sector to ensure that our activities meet their needs and support their work

Scottish Centre for Regeneration
Scottish Government
Highlander House
58 Waterloo Street
Glasgow
G2 7DA
Tel: 0141 271 3736
Email: contactscr@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.partnersinregeneration.com

The views expressed in case studies are not necessarily shared by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration or the Scottish Government.

June 2010