PI 007 RIBA Chartered Architects Design & Access Statement Ocean Beach Pleasure Park South Shields
1.0 Appraising the Context 1.1 Assessment of the sites immediate and wider context 1.2 Involvement Consultation 1.3 Evaluation 1.4 Design/Brief 2.0 The Design Component 2.1 Use 2.2 Amount of development 2.3 Layout 2.4 Scale 2.5 Landscaping 2.6 Appearance 3.0 The Access Component 3.1 Policy Approach 3.2 Consultation 3.3 How Access will be achieved 4.0 Photographs 2
1.0 Appraising the Context 1.1 Assessment of the sites immediate and wider context The site is located on the promenade of Ocean Beach Pleasure Park in South Shields. South Shields is a vibrant seaside town which is a destination of choice for residential, commercial and leisure activities. The site is currently occupied by an existing amusements arcade with male and female toilet blocks that run adjacent to the existing promenade which is of no architectural significance. The promenade has recently been granted funding from the Coastal Communities Fund for its redevelopment. The existing amusement arcade will be developed to ensure it integrates more satisfactorily into the proposed landscape. 1.2 Involvement Consultation Images of existing Arcade and Toilet Blocks We have liaised with South Tyneside Council to ensure that this proposed scheme fits within the Coastal Communities Fund application for the redevelopment of the adjacent promenade. The proposals for the larger site have been presented and discussed extensively at a series of meetings with the key representatives of South Tyneside Foreshore Steering Group who have been consulting with key stakeholders such as Ocean Beach Amusement Park, the Chalet owners and the residents of the dwelling converted from the former South Tyneside College building with the resulting plan reflecting the comments and feedback from these meetings. We are confident that the local residents will welcome the redevelopment of this site and that it will have a positive effect on the local economy. 3
1.3 Evaluation The local area was assessed to establish the viability of the creation of a new amusement arcade facade. It is believed that the proposal is viable and will encourage visitors to visit the promenade. The developed arcade frontage will help create a link between the Ocean Beach Pleasure Park and the promenade with the creation of a new high quality public realm which will enhance the existing network of connections across the site encouraging permeability and connectivity across the site. The redevelopment of the toilet facilities will significantly improve the facilities for visitors. 1.4 Design/Brief Throughout the design process, existing connections with the wider site were carefully examined and considered. Located between the recently completed Sandhaven and Littlehaven promenade schemes, it was critical that the design concept for the site was taken from these schemes to ensure coherence and quality but yet still had a distinct character of its own. The Client aims to redevelop the existing promenade facing amusement arcade frontage whilst retaining the original art panels. Two of the existing entrances will be widened and a new entrance will be created in the center of the frontage with an existing entrance creating a new window opening. The existing artwork panels will be repositioned to accommodate the new widened entrances. New DDA and Building Regulations Part M compliant steps and ramps will be introduced to enable accessibility for all visitors. New signage will be implemented to ensure a clear route of access is available to visitors. The existing Female Toilet Block to the north of the arcade will be extended to the rear unused yard and developed to create both male and female facilities within the one space. These facilities will be accessible via both the arcade and the promenade. The existing Male Toilet Block will be refurbished to create a new Management Office for the site. A new fenced car park, for Ocean Beach operators, will be created to the north of the site located to the rear of the Management Office. A new double gate will be installed to secure the existing caravan park to the west of the car park. The access road will enable an enhanced pedestrian link between the existing public car park and the promenade. 4
2.0 The Design Component 2.1 Use The proposal compliments the land use in the surrounding area which is predominantly commercial and leisure. 2.2 Amount of development The site is approximately 0.0272 hectares. The development includes: Two existing arcade openings widened. One opening created in center of façade. One existing entrance altered to create in a large window. Repositioning of all existing art panels to accommodate the enlarged openings. Redevelopment of existing female toilet block to create both male and female toilet facilities. Refurbishment of existing male toilet block to create a site Management Office. Introduction of DDA and Building Regulations Part M compliant steps and ramps New car park to north of Management Office. 2.3 Layout Please refer to the proposed plans. The site layout has been designed to respect and reflect the existing urban grain. The proposed site plan clearly illustrates how appropriate the proposal is. By contrast the existing plan illustrates how underutilized the site currently is. 2.4 Scale The scale of the existing amusement arcade will not be altered, however an infill extension has been proposed to the Female Toilet block to the north of the site to enable a direct connection between the amusement arcade and the toilet facilities. 2.5 Landscaping The proposal sits well within the scheme produced by South Tyneside Council for the redevelopment of the existing promenade. The arcade entrances now face out on to the promenade encouraging visitors to circulate throughout the entire site as opposed to just using the promenade as a route along the beach front. The boundary treatment used to fence the new car park will match that being proposed within the South Tyneside Council promenade proposal. This will ensure that the development is consistent and appears as one complete scheme. 5
2.6 Appearance Please refer to the associated drawings. The appearance of the existing arcade has been designed to reflect the materials used within the promenade development. The elevations will consist of feature timber used throughout the promenade development, render and brickwork (please refer to image below). A contemporary appearance is thought to be appropriate for this site and the distinctive style will complement the rest of the site. Artistic Image of the Proposed Arcade 6
3.0 The Access Component 3.1 Policy Approach The Arcade, Management Office and Toilet Facilities will all be designed to ensure that they can be accessed by all, ramped approaches will be installed as required to ensure the areas are fully accessible with an accessible wc to meet building control requirements. 3.2 Consultation No access groups have been consulted due to the nature of this proposal. 3.3 How Access will be achieved Access to the existing arcade will be through the promenade facing entrances. The Toilet Facilities can be accessed either through the amusement arcade or via the promenade. The Management Office can also be accessed via the promenade. Vehicular access to the new car park will be via the existing road to the west of the site. 7
4.0 Photographs Existing Entrance Existing Male (right) and Female (left) Toilet Blocks 8
Entrance to rear unused yard Existing Art Panels 9