h+m were commissioned by 7N Architects in November 2010 to undertake a landscape and visual appraisal of the proposed development at Balblair, south Nairn. This was in order to support the capacity of the landscape for development in response to the Highland Wide Local Development Plan proposals. Consequently we were commissioned by 7N Architects to provide our input for the development of a proposed masterplan.
By concentrating on the actual landscape capacity for new housing development - as opposed to land ownership - the masterplan was largely landscape led. A series of broad strategies were identified such as: establishing a landscape framework using woodland planting; avoiding development on the higher, more visually prominent areas of the site and creating a hierarchy of pedestrian friendly streets and areas with character and interest. These combine to provide an integrated landscape strategy for the overall development. A hierarchy of access routes defines the public realm, creating a well-connected and easily accessible network which improves the relationship between people, places and traffic and breaks down the physical and psychological divisions between different street users. A limited palette of hard and soft landscape materials reinforces the simplicity of the access hierarchy.