Views sought on plans for hundreds of homes at Staney Hill
Adam GuestPeople are being asked to give their say on plans to build about 300 houses at Staney Hill in Lerwick.
A drop-in event is being held next Wednesday, with a draft ‘masterplan’ prepared by a design team led by Malcolmson Architects of Scalloway.
The draft is intended to guide the layout and design of the area.
Building on the town site is expected to take place over 10 years and will be driven by Hjaltland Housing Association.
Most of the site will be developed by the association, but some land will be sold for private development.
Architect Iain Malcolmson said next week’s session will be the third in a series of consultation events, to help understand people’s views.
Two previous drop-ins were each attended by around 60 people, as well as workshops and questionnaires to gather opinions.
Mr Malcolmson said: “We had an excellent response during the previous consultations and, as far as possible, we’ve taken account of what people told us. “Generally, everyone wanted plenty of open space, so a large part of the site will remain as it is now.
“That’s partly also because we had to avoid disrupting the setting of Clickimin Broch; and of course we didn’t want to propose building where the land is very steep or exceptionally exposed.
“We’ve also done our best to deal with other concerns, including road safety; protection and extension of the tree planting in the area; and water run-off
from the hill that affects some properties in the neighbourhood.”
Access to the site will be from the new road connecting the Anderson High School to North Lochside.
Designers say from there, a “spine route” will rise steadily up the eastern side of the site, then bear westwards towards another access point near Wista.
Along it, four housing areas are proposed.
Mr Malcolmson said the draft Masterplan provided guidance, but is not a final blueprint for the development.
The drop-in event will be held between 4.30pm and 8.30pm at Staney Hill Hall.
More in this week’s Shetland Times.
john ridland
Jobs and houses, its a no brainer, ,,Crack on…!