Castle Square, Stranraer

Located around the Category A listed 15th Century Castle of St John, this urban design project created a vibrant civic space that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors, and which takes inspiration from the medieval and geological history of the area.
The site forms part of the wider work undertaken by Smith Scott Mullan in Stranraer as part of the Waterfront Masterplan. Throughout the project we undertook a series of community consultations and presentations to ensure local involvement in this important regeneration scheme for the town.
A local artist, Matt Baker worked with us to coordinate a series of art works related to the design of the ground plain, a curving feature wall incorporating a dramatic bench and other sculpture and within the space. A simple palette of quality materials, consisting of granite and local whinstone, has been used. The wall includes a place based poem by a local poet.
A series of grassed terraces frame the castle, and this is complemented by the use of pleached hornbeam trees with their distinctive square tops. The surrounding roads were redesigned to create integrated pedestrian and vehicular zones that result in a low traffic speed area which combines the street into a coherent public space.
The resulting design creates a central urban area which reflects the history of the settlement, encourages social congregation, and in which Stranraer residents can take pride in their town.