The new town, Northbridge, formerly known as Sighthill, is the UK’s biggest transformative regeneration scheme outside of London.
Glasgow’s Sighthill neighborhood has always had a strong community spirit, but it has been overshadowed by deteriorating housing conditions and safety concerns about the amenity spaces. The project, part of the larger Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Area, was officially launched in September 2019 and featured a wide range of housing options, including a new school campus and community spaces.
This £250m project covers over 50 hectares of previously brownfield land, with the landscape-led masterplan providing over 850 homes within the residential areas complete with new shops, access roads and paths and public realm parklands. The development has allowed new connectivity between communities with a central boulevard leading down to a village square.
Sighthill was delivered by the Transforming Communities Glasgow partnership, a collaboration between Glasgow Housing Association, The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council. Keepmoat Homes was chosen to build out the scheme and manage the affordable housing element through their sister company Lowther Homes.
LDA Design designed a neighbourhood just 15 minutes walk away from the City Centre via a new ‘garden bridge’ over the M8 motorway. This was ultimately a selling point for families and professionals keen to live in a safe green environment, able to adopt a peaceful, healthier way of life with all city-centre amenities on their doorstep. The younger generation has greatly benefited from the infrastructure, thanks to an innovative Community Campus that houses three local schools, allowing students to receive their education in one centralised facility.
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
The new town, Northbridge, formerly known as Sighthill, is the UK’s biggest transformative regeneration scheme outside of London.
Glasgow’s Sighthill neighborhood has always had a strong community spirit, but it has been overshadowed by deteriorating housing conditions and safety concerns about the amenity spaces. The project, part of the larger Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Area, was officially launched in September 2019 and featured a wide range of housing options, including a new school campus and community spaces.
This £250m project covers over 50 hectares of previously brownfield land, with the landscape-led masterplan providing over 850 homes within the residential areas complete with new shops, access roads and paths and public realm parklands. The development has allowed new connectivity between communities with a central boulevard leading down to a village square.
Sighthill was delivered by the Transforming Communities Glasgow partnership, a collaboration between Glasgow Housing Association, The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council. Keepmoat Homes was chosen to build out the scheme and manage the affordable housing element through their sister company Lowther Homes.
LDA Design designed a neighbourhood just 15 minutes walk away from the City Centre via a new ‘garden bridge’ over the M8 motorway. This was ultimately a selling point for families and professionals keen to live in a safe green environment, able to adopt a peaceful, healthier way of life with all city-centre amenities on their doorstep. The younger generation has greatly benefited from the infrastructure, thanks to an innovative Community Campus that houses three local schools, allowing students to receive their education in one centralised facility.
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
Project
Location
Contractor
Landscape Architect
Raising the entire site down to the ground was essential thanks to the legacy of heavily contaminated land. 140 new homes were built in the first phase prior to demolition to house those who lived in the old tower blocks on Sighthill. Site challenges such as ‘Stinky Ocean’, a well-known pond contaminated with hydrogen sulphide gas was dealt with – in this case by, encapsulating the contaminant and remediating the soils close to the surface.
The hard paved parkland avenues, with continuously connected tree pits below ground, wetlands and permeable play areas will provide flood protection and increase local biodiversity, creating a local sustainable urban drainage system. GreenBlue worked closely with Ashlea Landscapes – who have long been advocates of ‘best practice urban tree planting’ – opting for a mixture of both RootSpace 600 and 400 soil cell systems that can be secured together complete with unique Air Decks (lids), as the trees planting product of choice.
The full ArborSystem was installed using the ArborGuy underground guying system, Root Directors to manage the rooting of the trees into favourable rooting zones, the RootRain ArborVent, HydroGrille and Urban irrigation and aeration inlets to allow gaseous exchange and direct effective watering for the first couple of years. These tree pits will enable the trees in the hard landscape to thrive and live longer without causing pavement heave. As the trees mature, they will provide the numerous benefits that only mature trees can offer.
Raising the entire site down to the ground was essential thanks to the legacy of heavily contaminated land. 140 new homes were built in the first phase prior to demolition to house those who lived in the old tower blocks on Sighthill. Site challenges such as ‘Stinky Ocean’, a well-known pond contaminated with hydrogen sulphide gas was dealt with – in this case by, encapsulating the contaminant and remediating the soils close to the surface.
The hard paved parkland avenues, with continuously connected tree pits below ground, wetlands and permeable play areas will provide flood protection and increase local biodiversity, creating a local sustainable urban drainage system. GreenBlue worked closely with Ashlea Landscapes – who have long been advocates of ‘best practice urban tree planting’ – opting for a mixture of both RootSpace 600 and 400 soil cell systems that can be secured together complete with unique Air Decks (lids), as the trees planting product of choice.
The full ArborSystem was installed using the ArborGuy underground guying system, Root Directors to manage the rooting of the trees into favourable rooting zones, the RootRain ArborVent, HydroGrille and Urban irrigation and aeration inlets to allow gaseous exchange and direct effective watering for the first couple of years. These tree pits will enable the trees in the hard landscape to thrive and live longer without causing pavement heave. As the trees mature, they will provide the numerous benefits that only mature trees can offer.
Over 4,000 semi-mature trees of various species have been planted across the site, in both soft and hard-landscaping, with have provided varying opportunities for increases to biodiversity. Northbridge will continue to enjoy mature canopy cover and show how a masterpiece of landscape design can thrive when green infrastructure provision is made correctly early on, with exemplary installation and implementation always enhancing the sustainable design.
Over 4,000 semi-mature trees of various species have been planted across the site, in both soft and hard-landscaping, with have provided varying opportunities for increases to biodiversity. Northbridge will continue to enjoy mature canopy cover and show how a masterpiece of landscape design can thrive when green infrastructure provision is made correctly early on, with exemplary installation and implementation always enhancing the sustainable design.
