Hollingdean Visual Survey Luke Bennett, Mark Thomas, Piotr Kulik, Tom Mannings, Tom Schmidt, David Griggs 2012 Introduction The Study Hollingdean is a residential suburb located in the northern area of The purpose of this study is to create a wider vision for Hollingdean the city with its boundaries defined by the railway line to the east going into the future having briefly assessed how it has grown and and the south, Ditchling Road to the west, and Hollingbury Park Golf developed over time and conducted visual surveys in the field as well Club to the north which forms the boundary to the South Downs as gathering secondary data to build a picture of how Hollingdean is National Park. today. Key Stages in the Growth of Hollingdean Mid C19 Harrington Farm was located between the sites now occupied – 1920s by Hollingdean Terrace and the southern end of Hertford Road Late C19 Southern areas were the industrial fringe of Brighton with a dust yard, abattoir, and waterworks. The rest of the area was open farmland. 1890s First signs of housing development with the Hollingbury Road/Roedale Road area being built. 1910s Grid layout of neighbouring Preston extended into what is now Hollingdean (north-south street orientation of terraced houses) 1920s Hertford Road area was developed 1930s Majority of farmland replaced by extensive allotments 1931 Hertford Road School built on the site of the farmhouse 1950s Estate to the east was developed (separated from earlier development by a north-south line of low-rise terraced flats) 1960/70s Further development in the northern areas 1966 Twin tower blocks in the south opened (Dudeney Lodge and Nettleton Court) 1980s - New blocks of flats to the north. The utility uses on the site of present the old dust yard continue to this day. A materials recovery facility and waste transfer station has replaced the abattoir. Source – Brighton & Hove Urban Characterisation Study January 2009 Source – Brighton & Hove Urban Characterisation Study January 2009 & www.bhlis.org Hollingdean in 1865 Hollingdean in 1928 Source – Brighton & Hove Urban Characterisation Study January 2009 Source – Brighton & Hove Urban Characterisation Study January 2009 Hollingdean Today Demographics Demographic statistics are difficult to obtain solely for Hollingdean as statistics are recorded on a ward by ward basis and Hollingdean falls into the Hollingdean and Stanmer ward which includes the smaller settlements of Coldean and Stanmer to the north. Also obtaining the most up to date information is also a challenge as the vast majority of statistical information is based on the 2001 Census which is now over 10 years old. However, the graph below gives a general idea of the population structure with the 16-24 age range showing a significantly large student population when compared to Brighton and Hove as a whole. Source – Brighton & Hove Urban Characterisation Study January 2009 The map above shows the general layout of Hollingdean as it is today with the 4 character areas that this study focuses on highlighted in their own unique colour. These four areas are Lower Hollingdean, Crestway, Upper Hollingdean, and Brentwood & Source – http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk – ONS Mid Year Estimates June 2010 Lynchet. With regards to the age structure the ward has a population of Community Views nearly 16,000 with in total women outnumbering men by 600. This can be seen only in the 16-24 age range and the retirement age In 2011 Hollingdean Community Centre conducted a questionnaire range where women hold the clear numerical advantage whereas in with nearly 200 residents responding with their views on various the other 3 age ranges it is in fact that men who dominate, but only issues that affect the area. Of the people surveyed 55% had lived in slightly in most instances. the area for over 10 years and 84% of respondents said they were either ‘fairly’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the Hollingdean area. These 2 statistics in particular give an impression that the residents of Hollingdean do enjoy living in the area. When residents were asked what their 3 favourite things about the area were there were some key answers that stood out. Most notably these were: Good bus service (38 votes) Open Space and access to the Downs (31 votes) Close to town (26 votes) Neighbours (23 votes) Quiet (22 votes) Schools (21 votes) Handy shops (20 votes) Source – http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk – ONS Mid Year Estimates June 2010 However, some of the resident’s least favourite things included: With the publication of the 2011 Census data over the next 18 Litter (25 votes) months it will be interesting to see how the other demographic Traffic Speed (18 votes) statistics that were recorded in 2001 have changed over the 10 year Dog mess (16 votes) period to gain an understanding of the direction in which Hollingdean Student houses (13 votes) is heading regarding its identity and population characteristics. Anti Social Behaviour (10 votes) When asked what they felt could improve Hollingdean, residents suggested: More trees (11 votes) A 20mph speed limit (8 votes) Planting at the Dip (6 votes) More activities in the park (5 votes) However, the Community Centre that conducted the questionnaire is Less student housing (4 votes) managed by the Hollingdean Development Trust which is a charity dedicated to addressing issues of poverty, deprivation and education It is clear that the residents of Hollingdean have some strong views within the Hollingdean area and that works to attract funding for on the area that they live in with a range of positive and negative resident-led initiatives. So the Hollingdean community clearly has opinions expressed. As the results of the questionnaire show made some key steps in enhancing the area, with this leadership regarding residents favourite and least favourite things about the group, with key goals and targets to achieve. area it is clear that the number of good things that were said appear to outweigh the number of bad things, at least numerically. Despite this even fewer residents offer suggestions of possible improvements and when asked only 23% of respondents said that they would like to have more say about what happens in Hollingdean. This figure can be interpreted in one of two ways. Firstly, the other 77% of residents may feel that they already have enough say in what happens in the area, or, secondly, they are simply not interested or do not have the time to have a stronger influence on the area in which they live. If the latter point is indeed true then Hollingdean has a major hurdle to overcome when improving and enhancing the area in the future, if this statistic is reflective of the whole population, as any change from within will need as much support as possible to show that the residents want to develop and change Hollingdean for the better. Streetscape Introduction Streetscapes are the area's around and in between buildings and routes. They are also the spaces that join these and the other components of the built environment together (or not as the case may be). The characteristics of these spaces provide the setting for the life and activities of the city, and the quality of their design can dictate the quality of this life and activity (Gibbons & Oberholzer, 1991:1-4) Bracknell Town Centre, Berkshire Hollingdean is an example of how suburbs and neighbourhoods on the urban fringe of conurbations often have a lack of thoughtful design into their streetscape. While the City of Brighton & Hove possesses squares and streets possessing distinct identities steeped in history and embodying aspects of the City itself, Hollingdean's streetscape is typical of suburbs in that it feels like it could be anywhere. The analysis of the streetscape is divided into the four established character areas (Upper Hollingdean, Lower Hollingdean, Brentwood Rd & Lynchet Cl and Hundertwasser Haus, Vienna Concert Square, Liverpool Crestway). In each of these a specific case study is considered, these were selected most of all for their potential for improvements that could spread to other parts of their character areas. Within these the components of the streetscape are considered - below grade, ground level, furniture, vegetation, and architecture (which has it's dedicated section in the report), and composite - how all the components fit to together. Emphasis has been placed on firstly how this streetscape forms space, the dimension of the built environment that people use, navigate, traverse, and secondly how it communicates place, the dimension that they feel, love or hate, and identify with or feel alienated from. For each an Urban Design Analysis Tool (borrowed from CABE/DETR's The Value of Urban Design (2001)) is used to quantify and compare the successfulness of their urban design. North Laine, Brighton Streetscape Upper Hollingdean The residential streetscape of Upper Hollingdean is relatively pleasant and containing a sense of place, compared to the alienating and decaying fabric of Crestway and Lower Hollingdean, although this is less so in transitional areas (such as The Dip. This is due more to architecture and layout rather than streetscape. Manmade and green frontages onto the pavement do integrate the housing nicely into the composite built environment and provide a sense of continuity without cold uniformity. Hollingbury Park Avenue Hollingbury Park Avenue—Personalisation can create a sense of ownership Hollingbury Park Avenue - Vegetation brightens up neighbourhoods Hollingbury Road—A distinctive ground plane can bestow an area with identity in an unobtrusive way Hollingbury Terrace— Alterations to a theme can create consistency and individuality at the same time—but maintenance is an issue The material on Hollingbury Place itself is largely Streetscape tarmac, but there are various materials used for different shop frontages which demarcate from routes The Dip for pedestrian through-movement.