Kilwinning Main Street

Austin-Smith:Lord were initially appointed by Irvine Bay Regeneration Company to provide a Town Regeneration Plan to guide the sustainable regeneration of the central area of Kilwinning. Following this, they were appointed as Landscape Architects to provide public realm proposals for Kilwinning Main Street. The project was developed in close consultation with the Kilwinning community and key stakeholders over a period of two and a half years.

Simplicity has been re-introduced to the street in order to highlight and enhance the unique and historic qualities such as its medieval curved alignment and the adjoining vennels. The gateways to the town have been enhanced through the use of materials, lighting and gateway features which help to highlight the presence of the Main Street on approach from Almswall Road/ Howgate to the west, and Bridgend Lane/ Church Street to the east.

The project addressed traffic circulation including parking, loading and taxi ranks, and introduced a clearly defined central zone for vehicles to create a safer, more appealing environment for pedestrians, cyclists and local businesses. The western end of the Main Street was redesigned to create an outdoor space usable for outdoor seating, cafes, markets and town festivals. The inaugural farmers’ market was held there in October and was well attended and praised by the local community.

The new layout has improved movement along the street, which has been re-surfaced with granite setts and paving slabs, introducing high quality, durable materials. Tree planting was carefully sited to reinforce axial views and create a focus at either end of the street with seasonal interest and colour. Robust street furniture was designed to complement the surface finishes and introduce details and features bespoke to Kilwinning. We developed ideas to express the context of the site in eye catching, attractive form by incorporating the various Mason’s Marks, which were used historically in Kilwinning and Kilwinning Abbey, into the proposed designs for the street furniture. The marks lend their graphic form to a contemporary setting to link the modern townscape with the past. The street furniture helps to re-establish this important element from the past into everyday usage and make the street furniture unique to Kilwinning.

The existing street lighting on Main Street was removed and replaced with new fittings and additional units where necessary, to achieve the correct illumination levels and an even distribution of light. This was considered crucial to ensuring that the CCTV coverage operates to its full potential. The new lighting scheme provides a white light source which creates an improved feeling of safety. In addition to the street lighting, feature lighting was incorporated in the form of tree uplighters, enhanced lighting to the relocated Robert Service Memorial, illumination of the entrance walls to the Abbey and in-ground LED units were used to highlight the seating and provide a consistent light source at each of the vennel accesses.

The provision of stone surfaces, ramps and polished granite seating make for a well-considered make-over that unifies the Main Street of Kilwinning from one end to the other. It is entirely appropriate that oversize masons’ marks have been chiselled into the black granite seats as the Mother Lodge No.0 is located at 99 Main Street. The stone seems to have been carefully laid and there do not appear to be gaps for seeds to germinate. Signing has been addressed and whilst vehicles may access the pedestrian area for deliveries to be made to the shops there, cars and vans are discouraged through the day.

The stone seats must be cold in winter, but may prove popular in the summer. Some maintenance is required to keep polished stone looking smart. Pavement lighting may need regular inspection, as we noticed one small lighting unit in a vennel to be not lit.

This project has seen the successful delivery of an extensive £3million physical regeneration programme in the key retail, commercial and public areas of Kilwinning Town Centre.

The vision was simple, this work must act as a catalyst to making Kilwinning a more attractive and successful town.

As well as wholesale public realm improvements to the town’s main street, this programme has also featured significant investment in wider community benefits through training and work-experience, and community engagement within its development, delivery and other associated activity.

All of this has contributed to making Kilwinning a town centre to be proud of; that will attract new business, create jobs and increase visitor numbers.

Kilwinning has a population of 18,000 which at its heart has a traditional main street retail centre. Like many such towns Kilwinning has suffered over the years from the birth of out-of-town centres, the increase in single-source supermarkets and more recently the emergence of the on-line retail offer. Empty, poorly maintained properties, together with a tired streetscape were the order of the day.

Irvine Bay launched a major community engagement programme that sought to identify what was needed for Kilwinning to get its ‘respect’ back. People had to be convinced that this works could and would lead to both economic and social benefits. Public meetings, library displays, on-street surveys and business interviews were all undertaken. However a critical component of this consultation was our programme with Kilwinning Academy. 27 pupils undertook a project which saw them take on the role of consulting with local people, business and stakeholders.

On completion the final project has provided

• improved paving, seating and lighting plus a comprehensive programme of hard and soft landscaping
• a public art installation within the seating which links the towns 13th century abbey and the works
• the relocation of the area’s main memorial to create a focal point for the town.
• a new ‘town-square’ which will be focus for future community events and festivals
• an upgrade of the towns CCTV system
• improved access for wheel-chair users and visually impaired residents.

 The impact of the work is already evident with:

• increased pedestrian activity and footfall
• the attraction of the town’s first ever farmers market (23 October 2010): and
• eight new retailers being established

More importantly though we believe that this project has given Kilwinning its respect back. Not only can local people and retailers shop and operate in a safe, quality environment but the work has been pivotal in establishing a mood of positive change within the town.

For further information contact:
James Ledgerwood (Irvine Bay Regeneration Company)
t. 01294 608634 e. jledgerwood@irvinebay.co.uk