The innovative ‘Kincardine, Places for Everyone’ project – which aims to improve accessibility and transport links in and around the Fife town – is in the running for two sets of design awards.
‘Kincardine, Places for Everyone’ has been shortlisted in the ‘future building or project’ category in the prestigious Scottish Design Awards and it has also been entered for The Pineapples, launched in 2019 by The Developer in partnership with the Design Council to celebrate great places.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT), whose Scottish base is in Kincardine, is working with the design team at HarrisonStevens, a firm of landscape architects and urban designers, to progress the project with funding from Sustrans, a walking, wheeling and cycling charity supported by Transport Scotland.
This ‘Kincardine, Places for Everyone’ project is seen as a key priority that was identified in the GoForth Kincardine Charrette completed in June 2017. Issues being addressed by the project include:
• Connections and networks within the town of Kincardine to identify key missing links and the routes with the most opportunity for improvement
• Main junction upgrading in Kincardine town centre
• Improvements and development to the North Approach Road (A876)
• Improvements to Kincardine High Street, such as better signage and new public realm.
• Prioritising pedestrians and cyclists to move around the town.
The project’s Scottish Design Awards entry explains that Kincardine has a strong sense of community. The town’s residents have been involved since the start of the project and have helped shape its design through a series of consultations. The project aims to improve connections between existing focal points within and around Kincardine, linking the long-distance Fife Coast route into the High Street, with improved wayfinding, cycle provisions and traffic priority changes. The winners of the Scottish Design Awards will be announced on 15 July.
The Pineapples are all about ‘looking for the best places where people thrive’ and areas that make a positive contribution to urban life. Entrants present their work live at the ‘Festival of Place: The Pineapples’, an online event that takes place between 12 to 16 July.
CRT helps mining communities recover from the devastating effects of pit closures by supporting local initiatives to improve health and employment. The ‘Kincardine, Places for Everyone’ project is part of its commitment to rejuvenating the local area following the closure of Longannet Power Station in 2016.
Mike Harrison, co-founder of HarrisonStevens, said: “Kincardine’s change is not simply a physical one but is very much a mindset. We have been delighted to see confidence in the community grow. Kincardine is not a town on the edge of Fife, or a forgotten place. It is a busy town with strong links to heritage, industry and enterprise and a prime geographical position on the Forth, close to woodland resources. This project is the most significant to come out of the 2017 Charette and reinforces the town’s link between the woodland and the waterfront.
“The town and this project deserve to be recognised for the community commitment and the significant change for the better that will be the result of the hard work over the last four years – that’s why we entered Kincardine for these awards.
“Of course, once the improvement works are complete we hope to apply for more accolades, celebrating the evidence of change and optimism in Kincardine.”
Nicky Wilson, chair of the CRT trustees in Scotland, said: “We’re excited about the plans that have been developed for Kincardine, and it would be great to see this great work recognised by the Scottish Design Awards and the Pineapples. We have worked closely with the local community to progress ‘Kincardine, Places for Everyone’ and it is great to see how engaged people have been in the consultation.
“This is an opportunity to shape the future of Kincardine to benefit the town’s residents for many years to come.”