Application

92 Hepburn Gardens has been a part of the town for many years. It was first built in 1900 for Norman Boase (1870-1936), who thereafter became Provost of St Andrews (1927-1936).

The current owners believe that the house and site are ideally, perhaps uniquely suited to provide a socially desirable and urgently needed care facility, contributing to the amenity both of the town and of the immediate neighbourhood.

92 Hepburn Gardens

The original proposal was recommended for approval by Fife Council planner in October 2018, however this was eventually refused. Since then 42 changes have been made to the original scheme including significant amendments that protect the amenity of the neighbouring properties that surround the site.

The new innovative design encompasses 38 bedrooms with en suite facilities sharing 4 lounge dining areas and has a layout which is based around a secluded south facing U shaped courtyard and centrally located lawn. The residents will enjoy a vehicle free view of the vast gardens and mature landscaping with uninterrupted views of the main house.

The main reason for choosing this particular site is its private south facing gardens free of any roads whether they be public or private and mature tree belts that exist on all boundaries helping to encapsulate the site and create much needed privacy essential for such a proposal. There is already significant screening as a result of the mature trees which will be supplemented with an extensive additional landscaping scheme which is part of our proposal.

We believe that relocation to 92 Hepburn Gardens is ideal as it is located within walking distance of local amenities and public transport links, meaning that family members and friends can visit on foot.

We hope that by introducing these significant architectural changes, the public of St Andrews and immediate neighbours will see that this proposal is not an overdevelopment and that we are trying to make every effort to create an award winning layout in care home design.

Some of the key changes include but are not limited to:

1. There are no new extensions / additions to the existing house.
2. The existing main entrance door area with external architectural stone detailing is fully retained.
3. All existing windows are retained with the multi panel fenestration being fully repaired.
4. The revised internal layout incorporates a main staircase and passenger lift at the entrance to both bedroom wings.
5. The north east corner of garden area is now fully protected with no requirement for either care home staff or residents to enter that area.
6. There are no access points into the main house, kitchen or storage areas from the north east corner.
7. To eliminate the possibility of any noise from a plant room the new location is in a basement where the intake ventilation will terminate by way of a linear grill located externally at ground floor level.
8. The bin store is now located in the heart of the existing house annexe with a single external access from the revised car park.
9. Private refuse collections will be once a week due to the area of the bin store allowing for a large number of Eurobins / Wheelie bins.
10. The refuse vehicle movement reversing distance has been reduced to 15m in comparison to 30m + in the original proposal.
11. The car park surface is to be a resin bonded surface which has a low wearing maintenance free permeable seamless finish ideal for disabled access / pushchairs and bicycles. Due to the surfaces seamless transition this will will help to eliminate noise from car parking movements whilst increasing drainage to reduce ponding.
12. The existing 8.8m wide entrance lane with its 1.7m high walling will have an independent sound reducing noise barrier to be fitted 50mm away from the walling then the fast growing Willow cuttings hedging trimmed back to a maximum height of 2m.
13. The same Willow cuttings hedging system will be installed at the boundaries to the north east corner continuing down the the eastern boundary. This planting would start on day one of the construction programme. An automatic watering system will be installed to all hedging.
14. To allow greater flexibility of vehicle movement there will be two passing places on the lane.
15. The west wing has been reorientated running north to south and is 2m from the structure of the existing house.
16. There will be a single storey fully glazed frameless link from the main house to the west wing where any services passing from the main house to the bedroom wing will be located underground to include all lighting.
17. The ridge heights to the new bedroom wings are now 2m lower than the original house.
18. The roofs to the bedroom wings are the same pitch as the original house where we can now locate all 80 + solar panels onto the rear slopes of the slated roofs thus increasing efficiency due to the reduced exposure to the elements whilst deleting their visibility to the public and adjacent neighbours.
19. The east wing has been substantially redesigned with the nearest point to the eastern boundary being 7.6m in comparison to 4.5m in the previous scheme.
20. The main lawn is now located at the centre of the existing house and bedroom wings where the lawn itself will have an artificially turfed surface essential for full unaided wheel chair access.
21. The existing Willow tree is to be transplanted by a specialist and relocated in an more eminent location at the centre of the south facing lawn. This will allow the residents to enjoy the tree and gardens with its surrounding planted borders.

Additional Benefits of Proposed Facility

1. Insulation values to all external walls will meet the latest Building Standards regulations.
2. New double glazed fenestration will meet the current U Values regarding heat loss.
3. The specification of the glazing will allow heat gain in the new rooms thus substantially reducing running costs.
4. The modern fully insulated ceilings to new bedrooms, corridors etc. will reduce heat loss and maintenance costs.
5. The new facility will have the most up to date specification in terms of services; heat, light, power, water, sprinkler systems etc.
6. The proposed location at Hepburn Gardens is a quiet south facing site surrounded by mature trees allowing the care home to take maximum advantage of the 80+ solar panel electrical power gain thus substantially reducing running costs.
7. The vast lawn area with the secondary garden areas will allow residents to have a variety of gardening areas.
8. The main lawn located at the heart of the bedroom blocks will create a vibrant social space where staff will encourage the residents to meet and enjoy each others company.
9. There are ample areas of storage throughout the original house with its high ceilings etc. which is sadly lacking at Gibson House.
10. The fully enclosed and mechanically ventilated bin store is capable of holding a minimum of 3 Eurobins plus 7 wheelie bins with a total capacity of 64 refuse bags.

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