Marischal Street Masterplan

“Quality People need Quality Places. The physical realm, the quality of our housing, recreational, retail, health facilities and natural assets are key to attracting and retaining the businesses and individuals that drive a successful and thriving location.”

Peterhead Regeneration Action Plan

THIS MASTERPLAN proposes a revitalised pedestrian commercial centre in the heart of Peterhead’s cultural and historic quarter.

Developed in close consultation with Aberdeenshire Council, rankinfraser has proposed a series of streetscape improvements for Marischal Street in Peterhead.

DESIGN INTERVENTIONS will promote accessible walking surfaces and strategically green the street, critically aligning with ongoing town and council-wide public realm investments for a cohesive urban regeneration of Peterhead.

THIS DOCUMENT is intended to identify the current state of Marischal St and detail strategies behind the proposed design. It should be considered in conjunction with drawing no. 2223.L.G(92)001 Landscape Layout, which includes detailed specifications for hard and soft landscaping, planting, and associated scaled dimensions.

goals & objectives

All proposed design interventions seek to facilitate the rich street life aspired to within various strategic planning documents and resident feedback received and developed during councilled engagement sessions. Specifically, this scheme responds to the following objectives:

• Increasing active travel.

• Supporting projects and initiatives for regeneration of the Peterhead community. In particular, creating open and green space of which there is none within the town centre.

• Support mobility impaired users.

• Enable greater ownership of green and open space.

• Shape the built environment to enable more sustainable outcomes.

These priorities are supported through design interventions that reprioritise modes of active green travel and the installation of green infrastructure, supporting pedestrianisation of Marischal Street conducive to improved commercial activity within the shopping district.

The scheme detailed within this proposal utilises a series of strategic interventions that realign the geometries of the street, restructuring the transport hierarchy to favour the pedestrian while still allowing restricted emergency and delivery-vehicle access where necessary. Notably, the scheme retains the current regulations of the street, reinforcing the pedestrianonly scheme through design interventions that deter illegal vehicle traffic.

Although the scheme proposes changes that will have a major impact on the urban fabric of Peterhead—

generating a pedestrianised commercial streetscape that forms a critical section of town-wide regeneration plans—all design interventions were made for cost-effective improvements, retaining existing materials wherever possible.

Ultimately, this scheme proposes an enhanced pedestrian streetscape that will compliment the existing beauty of the historic urban fabric, facilitate active travel and encourage extended visits, and remove areas of conflict between modes of transport to create an inclusive and welcoming urban environment. The combined impact of these improvements will subvert the transport hierarchy and generate a cohesive urban matrix, promoting pedestrianism and a revitalised streetscape in the city centre.

marischal st: context

Although Peterhead is home to a thriving fishing industry and a variety of listed buildings, the town centre suffers from a notable lack of green space and areas carfree public realm.

Marischal Street is intended to be the exception to this, but inaccessible paving, a lack of green space, and no discernible traffic regulations

has eroded the quality of the space, failing to provide an inviting street that encourages commercial and recreational use.

The following section details the material and spatial characteristics of Marischal Street, the analysis of which has provided the basis of our design.

INACCESSIBLE PAVING

As noted by residents in the Peterhead Town Centre Health Check, rough-hewn paving units are inaccessible, creating an uneven walking surface for some members of the general public.

This walking surface has been made worse over the years by successive repairs, during which excavation work to access grounded services has resulted in bumps where stones have been relaid.

“Marischal Street is wide and safe but the cobbles down the middle are quite bumpy for me as a mobility scooter user.”

Peterhead Town Centre Health Report 2021

Photo 1. Marischal Street, looking west at Proclamation Pend.

Photo 2. Rough paving at pend crossings.

Photo 3. Rough, inaccessible units.

TRAFFIC CONTROL

Without any physical vehicle deterrents, this pedestrianonly street is over-run with illegal traffic. Temporary barricades have been erected but ignored, creating clutter and detracting from the historic street and public art works.

Moreover, bollards and paving design reinforce traditional street alignments, deceptively creating a road surface in a pedestrian-only zone.

Photo 2. Marischal Street and Chapel Street, looking west.

Photo 1. Marischal Street and Love Lane, looking west.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND FURNITURE

A notable lack of green infrastructure exists across Marischal Street, although recent upgrades across the centre have shown that— despite the strong prevailing winds and heavy use—trees and shrubs can survive.

“There is seating in Drummers Corner but it’s not an area I feel I’d want to sit down at. Maybe some more flowers or trees could brighten the area.”

Peterhead Town Centre Health Report 2021

Photo 1. Bollards, planters, and bench seating at the junction of Marischal Street and Love Lane.

Photo 2. Sorbus aria adjacent The Drum.

Photo 3. Marischal and Thistle Sts.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND FURNITURE (cont.)

Critical to a pedestrianised streetscape, one in which residents and visitors are encouraged to enjoy extended stays, is provision of adequate, comfortable furniture.

The furniture installed around Drummer’s Corner has been vandalised, with wooden seating elements removed, leaving only the cold stone seating element to sit on. Furthermore, bollards with lighting elements that are no longer functional reinforce the traditional street alignment.

Photo 1. Sorbus aria, planters, and seating at Marischal Street and love Lane.

design strategy

Sequential design principles and interventions are detailed on the following pages and, together, successfully reclaim Marischal Street for enhanced walkability, promoting a cohesive cultural centre that links other urban revitalisation and green infrastructure projects throughout Peterhead. These principles are listed diagrammatically on the following pages, and demonstrate the building blocks that enhanced the finished design.

Extending the pedestrian-only footpaths and plazas (new areas in yellow) increases car-free zones in favour of pedestrians and realigns the street to

Break traditional street alignments (dashed blue line), which

slows traffic and promotes circulation in and around this key commercial district.

Interventions are particularly focused around recent public realm improvements, such as The Drum.

Pedestrianisation of Marischal Street is further promoted by physical vehicle deterrents, such as bollards, raised road kerbs, planters/seating and road realignments.

Dashed lines in the diagram to the right show the desire lines of vehicular movements, which are detoured (solid line) through these physical blockades (blue).

And strategic planting (green) and consistent paving treatments (orange) at entrances provide visual vehicle deterrents— signalling a shift from road to pedestrian surface at key junctions.

The areas indicated in orange show where the pedestrian paving is extended into the road surface, and are detailed on the landscape layout (drawing no. 2223.L.G(92)001 and pages 24-25.

Furthermore, these greening efforts are aligned with key actions for public realm projects identified within the Sustaining Choices Peterhead Action Plan.

Finally, acutely responding to community feedback received actively welcomes citizens to reclaim this key pedestrian corridor. Measures include:

• Safety lighting for the pends that link parking areas to Marischal Street. These areas are further accentuated through paving design that defines crossing points over shared, emergency/ delivery-only vehicular surface.

• Repaving inaccessible, rough hewn paving units with smooth sawn granite (to match existing) and resin-bound gravel. Marischal Street’s relationship to existing parking within the town centre is detailed on pages 28-29).

• Greening the street wherever possible, allowing for emergency/ delivery-vehicle access and avoiding grounded surfaces. Techniques for planting in and around grounded surfaces is detailed on pages 26-27.

SMOOT H SETTS

UTILITIES & MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

Grounded services traverse the majority of Marischal Street, creating limitations in the positioning of tree pits and planters as well as necessitating careful consideration for any paving treatment specified. Hard landscaping will be regularly lifted and relaid to access these services, and should therefore not pose any undue burden for Aberdeenshire Council Roads Crews.

Simultaneously, aspirations for creating a more welcoming environment for pedestrians, shoppers, neighbours, and residents requires greening efforts that are coordinated with electric, gas, and water services.

Care for the health of future tree canopies was considered in relation to root management and required tree pit dimensions. With the exception of five new trees planted in-ground at the primary entrance to Marischal Street from Love Lane— visually creating a green entrance to welcome visitors and deter general vehicular traffic—and a feature tree adjacent The Drum, planter systems that can be easily moved by forklift were chosen.

Planter specifications are detailed on pages 34-37, and on the Landscape Layout (drawing no. 2223.L.G(92)001).

PARKING STRATEGY

Parking along Marischal Street is currently restricted to DDA bays at the western edge of the site. Any future schemes will maintain this space as a car-free zone, limiting any traffic to delivery and emergency vehicles.

Access to DDA and standard parking bays lies within 100m of Marischal Street as indicated in the diagram to the right. These areas are accessed via Proclamation Pend, Drummer’s Close, and Thistle Street.

Routes to additional parking through pends and made to feel safer with wall-mounted lighting and accessible paving design.

PLACEMAKING AND PROGRAMMING

With the primary priority of creating a space conducive to community, retail, and celebration, rankinfraser ensured that the proposed design would align with both current and future programming aspirations of Marischal Street.

The diagram (right) indicates how the current design could fit 33 different market stalls of varying sizes for Peterhead’s monthly Producer’s Market. A standard size of 6 x 3 m for large stalls and 3 x 3 m for small was assumed for the development of the scheme.

Furthermore, a prominent position for the town Christmas tree (green circle adjacent the newly designed Drum pavilion) has been shown in the extended pedestrian paving area.

Photo 1. Residents and visitors visit Peterhead Producer’s Market (source: Producer’s Market Facebook page).

Photo 2. Residents and visitors buy local Market (source: Producer’s Market Facebook

produce at the Peterhead Producer’s Facebook page).

Photo 3. Local dance troops celebrate The Drum pavilion (source: Producer’s Market Facebook page).

PETERHEAD: A COHESIVE TOWN CENTRE

This design will align with ongoing regeneration projects currently being developed at Arbuthnot Museum and Walled Garden, for which rankinfraser has been appointed to develop the design in consultation with Aberdeenshire Council,

museum staff, and Collective Architecture.

It will also align with the Town Centre Regeneration Plan, which has conceptually proposed an arterial ring of green space around the periphery of Peterhead, of which Marischal Street forms a central green arterial route within.

Furthermore, the design will compliment existing work to promote cultural heritage. Marischal Street currently forms a central segment of the Peterhead Heritage Trail, and improvements to the walkability of the area will help encourage participation and discovery of this community programme.

ARBUTHNOT MUSEUM & WALLED GARDEN

furniture enhancements

Replacing and adding furniture and lighting will vastly improve the usable space, making Marischal Street safer and more comfortable for all members of the general public. Integrated planters and seating that can be moved by forklift for access to grounded services, bollards that restrict vehicular access in favour of foot traffic, and cycle stands all serve promote green active travel, pedestrianism, and a

revitalised town centre.

Creative placement of mobile green isles at the west edge of Marischal St are reminiscent of the ‘dune’ planting design that has been proposed in the adjacent Broad Street scheme, and will help unify the two ends of Peterhead’s high street. All raised planters (see Photos 1 and 2) are specifically designed to be movable with a forklift, to allow easy access

to grounded services.

The design also intends to be cost-effective, refurbishing and reutilising furniture wherever possible. The bollards that currently line Marischal St can be repaired and moved to the expanded extent of the footpath.

Additional furniture and lighting specifications are detailed in the following pages.

Photo 1. StreetLife Mobile Green Isles (source: StreetLIfe).

Photo 2. StreetLife ToneTubs (source: StreetLIfe).

CLIPBIKE PARKING TONE TUBS

WALL-MOUNTED PEND LIGHTING

the b ecom e ap p a ent

M ARISCHAL ST DESIGN KEY

Ra sed p an ers, extended pedestr an pav ng and t a f c ca m ng through v sua and phys ca veh c e dete ents

EX STING TO BE RETA NED

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PROPOSED - PEDESTR AN STREETS

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PROPOSED - SOFTWORKS

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PROPOSED - STREET FURN TURE

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