GCV Green Network
Connecting Our Quality Spaces

South Lanarkshire Council (SLC)  has identified within its development plan five Community Growth Areas (CGAs) to accommodate the estimated housing need over the next twenty or so years. 

One of these CGAs is a greenfield site on the western edge of East Kilbride which will accommodate 2,500 new homes. 

Through the initial site masterplanning process it became clear that current Green Network thinking wasn’t being adequately addressed, and the consequent Green Network benefits weren’t likely to be realised.  

In response to this SLC and the Partnership have come together to develop a Development Design Code, which can be applied to all new developments, not just CGAs.  It sets out Green Network principles that should be considered and applied during the planning process for developments of this nature. 

New developments can contribute to delivery of the Green Network, but only if the planning process is used to bring about maximum benefit. 

The development of the Development Design Code will help local authorities, developers and agencies understand how to embed the Green Network from the outset in the planning process for new developments. 

In particular it will promote the early consideration of:

• More imaginative sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) which deliver a range of benefits;
• Integrated Habitat Network modelling to enhance biodiversity;
• The quality and management of open space; and
• How passable a development is for walking and cycling

The Development Design Code has now been applied to and informed the thinking on two of SLC’s CGAs and the Partnership will actively promote the Code to other authorities across the Glasgow & Clyde Valley area and nationally.

For more detailed information download the full Design Codes for New Developments Report from the right hand column.