Blindwells is a former open cast coal site lying east of the Edinburgh Green Belt, strategically located adjacent to major road and rail corridors and offering an open character with panoramic views northwards to the Firth of Forth. The site had been identified as a location for a new settlement since the mid 1990’s.
As part of a masterplanning team, we prepared an indicative land use plan for 1600 residential units plus educational, business and commercial uses. The landscape strategy conceived of the settlement as ultimately being perceived as buildings located within a woodland and parkland setting, with parkland and woodland buffers defining the settlement, preventing coalescence and securing the long term boundaries. Major landscape structure planting belts responded to and reflected historical field patterns in the area. Permeability of access throughout the site for all modes of transport underpinned the layout, which was structured to create visual connections with surrounding skyline features.