What Forus will be
CONTENTS WHY A JOINT PLAN FOR FORUS?... 3 WHAT IS A PLAN PROGRAMME?... 3 THE OBJECTIVES AND FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORUS... 3 THE PLAN AREA... 4 THE LONG-TERM GOALS FOR FORUS... 6 THE NEEDS OF THE STUDY... 7 PARTICIPATION... 10
WHY A JOINT PLAN FOR FORUS? Over several decades, Forus has developed to become one of Norway's most important business and industrial areas. This role has been closely related to the development of oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf and has led to the establishment of a petroleum cluster of national importance. In a regional context, Forus is the commercial area which has by far the largest number of jobs. The local councils have a common ambition to develop Forus further as a business area of national and regional importance. Planning will therefore have a special focus on developing Forus with qualities that increase the attractiveness for knowledge-based activities. The transformation and further development of Forus offer opportunities which must be anchored in holistic assessment of the urban area s long-term needs. Through the planning process, the local councils want to provide clarity of the future role and functions for Forus in a regional context. Forus area's success as an attractive business and industrial area has caused very high levels of car-dependency and traffic congestion in rush hour periods. The coordination of the development of Forus with that of the overall transport infrastructure in the urban area is therefore an important theme in the planning process. The three local councils: Sola, Sandnes and Stavanger have therefore resolved to work cooperatively together to create a forward-looking, formal, joint plan. WHAT IS A PLAN PROGRAMME? The Norwegian Planning and Building Law requires local councils to prepare formal plans. The Plan Programme is a tool for the early planning phase which among other things sets out implications for planning land use, the scope and the themes that should be studied in the planning process. The Plan Programme must document: the purpose of planning, relevant studies, the planning process itself and arrangements for public participation. THE OBJECTIVES AND FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORUS The Regional Plan for Jæren provides the framework for land development in the area up to 2040. The Regional Plan provides guidelines that land development should be guided into development corridors with convenient walking and cycling distance to high quality bus and rail services. Concentrated development of workplace intensive business and industry, and housing is important in relation to public transport interchanges and stops. The sequencing of the delivery of residential and commercial development will increasingly be coordinated with the development of the transport system. Commercial developments will have effective use of land so that the need for new commercial development land does not increase significantly. Skadberg (and the golf course area) is within the Regional Plan for Jæren as a new development area. The Regional Plan provisions and policies on the location of shopping, scale and centre functions are important guidelines for the future planning. 3
Other important documents for planning and which have added new national and regional expectations after the adoption of the Regional Plan include: Government planning guidance for coordinated housing, land use and transport planning. The National Transport Plan (NTP) 2014-2023. The North Jæren Transport Funding Package (Bypakke). Councils Local Plans have not defined specific targets for the development of Forus. The Plan for Forus Business Park is the most comprehensive of the current zoning plans. In the period up to the adoption of the Joint Plan for Forus, the local councils will treat private plan proposals that are in line with existing Local Plans in the normal manner. THE PLAN AREA The area covered by the Plan is 11 km2. The area is the same size as several of the districts within the individual local council areas and this size illustrates the complexity and scope of the plan task. Later in the planning process it may be necessary to reduce the area of the Plan. 100 years ago the Forus area was covered by the Stokka lake which was then drained to enable farming to take place. During the occupation period 1940-1945, the Germans annexed the flat farmland and built Forus airbase - as a supplement to Sola Airport which had been built in 1937. In 1968, the local councils: Sandnes, Sola and Stavanger had the need for space to accommodate the needs of the new oil industry. There are three regional logistics centres associated with the area; Ganddal rail freight terminal, Stavanger Airport Sola and Risavika port international terminal area. The eastern part of Forus consists of industrial and commercial activity, smaller residential areas, a horse racing (trotting) track and offices. Forus West is totally dominated by businesses. The Plan area is located between the Gands Fjord to the east and Skadberg hill to the west, and is part of the flat or gently rolling, moraine, coastal landscape. The landscape is largely cultivated and well-managed farm land, punctuated by urban development, towns and transport infrastructure. Within the overall plan area 3,032 acres are designated as commercial space. There are 11,000 residents and 4,000 dwellings within the plan area. A special characteristic of the Forus is the open channels which convey surface water to tunnels that prevents the Stokka lake reappearing. Some green infrastructure is in place along the channels. The ground conditions in almost all of the commercial park are very poor; consisting mainly of silty clay. Almost all buildings are piled. The urban structure of Forus is characterised by single functional areas. Sola centre, Forus East and Lura have more mixed functions. Established residential areas are located in the east, in Godeset, Gausel and northern Lura, and in the west at Sande and Skadberg. Qualities in the eastern part of Forus are its proximity to the sea, views and the potential for recreational areas. Forus West is a business area developed with a clear grid structure. Sola 4
centre is located just outside the plan area to the west. This is the administrative centre of that local authority and has mixed functions and some qualities associated with an urban structure with streets and squares. Forus is without doubt the region's biggest commercial/industrial area and it is the business area which has had the greatest employment growth over several years. Forus is the location for several oil companies and large international companies within the supply industry. In 2012, the head offices in Forus had a turnover of over NOK 1,000 billion and oversaw value creation to the extent of 19 per cent of Norway s total. An analysis from 2012 shows that half of all employees at Forus were directly employed in the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry had a total of four times as many employees at Forus as the second largest industry, retail trade (4500). Forus has a central role in the region's total supply of commercial space. It will therefore be important that Forus, its future role and function is considered in a regional context. Figure 1 Proposed plan boundary for IKDP Forus are shown with red, dashed line over the councils local plan information. 5
Figure 2. Proposed plan boundary for IKDP Forus shown over an extract from the Regional Plan for Jæren. THE LONG-TERM GOALS FOR FORUS The long-term term goals for Forus are not clarified. Further work on the plan programme up to the point when it is finalised will clarify the vision, together with the format and content of the specific objectives. The work on establishing goals will happen in accordance with the model shown in Figure 3. Joint vision for Forus in 2040 To express the regional ambitions for the further development and strengthening of Forus as a nationally important business and industrial area interacting with the city region. Goal 1 Thematic defined goals which specifies the vision, give direction for the plan work and makes it possible to measure whether the development is in accordance with the Plan. Goal Goal Figure 3. Further work on establishing long-term goals for the development of Forus will use this model. 6
2040 has been chosen as the time horizon for the plan. A long-term development goal will clarify the aspirations the region has for Forus up to 2040. It is important to clarify the direction of the planning process, to create a common understanding of the planning process and to refine the scope of the planning. The local councils agreed the start-up of planning work with the following guidelines for design: Clarify the future role of Forus in relation to the long-term development goals Enable Forus to develop further and strengthen its role as a nationally important business and industrial area which functions in a regional context Assess the development of good quality, mixed-use areas, residential and commercial uses, along the public transport corridors within Forus Clarify the possibilities and scope of housing development within the edge zones of Forus Integrate the development of Forus with the development of high-level transport infrastructure In summary, the long-term development goal articulated a clear ambition for the further development of Forus as a nationally important business and industrial area; this in combination with a clarification of the goals for Forus to cater for the region's needs for office buildings, other roles and functions, reduced transport, and strengthening the main urban centres. THE NEEDS OF THE STUDY The work of the project will be implemented through a staged model as visualised in the figure below. Three alternative plan principles (options) for the development of Forus will be examined in the regional context. On the basis of this work, the project will conclude with a detailed plan principle that will be subject to impact assessment in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessement (EIA) Regulations, then moving forward to a plan proposal. Assessment in a regional context: The consequences of the three plan principles Selection of a plan principle Assess plan themes and detail the plan proposal that will be subject to impact assessment 7
Business and industrial uses will continue to be central to the development of Forus and the overall share of commercial space is therefore the main variable in the options to be considered. The plan principles (options) which are to be explored in regional context: REFERENCE OPTION FORUS DEVELOPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING PLANS Forus is developed in accordance with existing Local Plans and the Regional Plan for Jæren. OPTION 1 FORUS SPLIT BETWEEN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND MIXED- USE AREAS This option allocates about half of the business and industrial area within the existing Local Plans to ongoing business and industrial use. A large area continues to be used for establishing business and industry within all categories. OPTION 2 URBAN TECHNOLOGY AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT This option retains a lesser area to ongoing business and industrial uses. A large proportion of business and industrial areas are re-allocated to residential, centre, public and private service uses, and to green areas. The project will study the consequences for each of the three, different plan principles in accordance with the topics set out below. All work will be undertaken in a regional context. Business development within Forus and the relationship to the region and to the town and municipal centres: Implications for business and industrial development in the regional context and related to the region's new commercial development strategy will be considered. The options will be evaluated in relation to the objectives of strengthening the development of the centres in Stavanger, Sandnes and Sola. Population growth in Forus and the relationship to population growth in the region generally: Goals for population growth within Forus will be balanced against the rest of the region. Health and well-being: Themes such as green infrastructure, proximity to jobs and to public and private services will be considered here, together with the principles of a 10 minute town. Transport in the regional context: Accessibility and modal split will be assessed in relation to the goal of zero growth in the number of journeys being made by car. The emphasis when looking at a plan principle will be on consequences for regional and national targets for the area. The plan principle eventually selected could be a combination and development of all or any of the three defined principles. The plan principle should provide a high-level solution to the challenges within Forus and provide clear answers to the long-term development goals for Forus. 8
The international architectural competition Europan has launched a competition for Forus. This contest ends in autumn 2015, and can provide input to the overall planning measures within Forus. Regulations on environmental impact assessments will be used actively in the preparation of the draft plan. A range of impacts and plan themes will be explored when developing the detail of the draft plan: - Residential housing structure for Forus, describing the housing numbers, types and density, - Business development, structure and transformation/reorganisation - Principles of mixed-use, a Forus model for urbanism - Centre structure, public and private services and sports/recreational uses - Technical infrastructure - Health and well-being, green infrastructure, the landscape context and heritage -The natural environment and biodiversity - Agriculture - Transport strategy to meet the target that growth should be met through walking, cycling and public transport so that car use does not increase - Sequencing of development, creating a plan for the desired order of development between different areas and between urban development and infrastructure - Risk and vulnerability THE ORGANISATION OF THE WORK The local councils have set up a board to secure the process for the development plan. The relationship between the board and municipal political leadership is as follows: - The Board will prepare and submit a plan programme for public review - The Board will assess comments and recommend the final plan programme which will be sent to the councils for resolutions - The Board will present the plan proposal to the local councils who will adopt the draft plan to be put out for public consultation - The Board will assess responses and the need for additional consultation before a final plan proposal is submitted to the local councils which will adopt the plan. 9
Sandnes Council Sola Council Stavanger Council Board of IKDP Forus Chief Executives Group Project Group: Project leader and 3 representatives for each council Professional group 1 Professional group 2 Professional group 3 Figure 4 Project organisation for IKDP Forus. PARTICIPATION The goal for participation work: The provision of good information to all and an open dialogue for defined target groups. Participation will secure mutual knowledge, insight, understanding and the ability to influence at all stages of the planning process. This means good dialogue at all stages of the planning process. The principles of participation in the various major phases follow: Through consultation on the Plan Programme. Public information meetings and private events for defined target groups will be held. In this phase, the information about the present proposed plan programme is important. It is emphasised that all contributions must be submitted formally to the project. The following structure of events is proposed: Meetings with the business community through the Resource group for Forus, with possibly others from business Public sector stakeholders through the Regional Planning Forum 10
Professional meetings for council administrations Presentation / information to the appropriate area committees / other involved parties and residents Meetings with the reference group / councils within Jæren During the preparation of the Draft Plan. It will be appropriate to hold thematic seminars to include stakeholder groups. Through consultation on the Plan Proposal. Public information meetings will be held together with specific arrangements for defined target groups. In this phase, information on the plan proposal will be important. It is emphasised that contributions must be addressed formally through public scrutiny. TIMESCALES A period of approximately three years has been set aside for the preparation and completion of IKDP-Forus. The main phases are: - Consultation on the Plan Programme: early autumn 2015 - The Plan Programme adopted by the local councils in early 2016 - Developmental phase and participation: spring-autumn 2016 - Proposals for IKDP Forus worked through: spring 2017 - Consultation on planning proposals: autumn 2017 - Adaptation, any additional consultation and formal adoption: spring 2018 11