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Home Zones are traffic calming schemes which were developed in Denmark and the Netherlands in the late 1960s. They are now common across much of northern Europe. As a result of the UK government's road safety strategy 'Tomorrow's Roads, Safer for Everyone' and the UK Transport White Paper, Home Zones became established in the UK, there being nine pilot projects in England and four in Scotland.

The official blurb tells us that "Home Zones differ from other forms of traffic calming, implying an emphasis not primarily on road safety, but on quality of life for residents. Reducing speed and volume of traffic remain vital components of a Home Zone scheme. However, whilst initiatives like 20 mph zones aim to force drivers to reduce their speeds, Home Zones focus on changing driver behaviour and care, and also on resident perceptions. The Home Zone concept can therefore be considered an extension of traditional traffic calming, but at the same time it can also be considered a radical departure."

The Robert Street Home Zone was established in the early 2000s and included 430 flats in six streets in the Clune Park area; Robert Street, Bruce Street, Wallace Street, Clune Park Street, Maxwell Street and Montgomerie Street.

Under the scheme, the road surfaces were recoloured off-white and cobbled rumble strips were added at each entrance from Glasgow Road. Planters and flower beds were added at strategic points to act as traffic calming devices and on-street parking was arranged in such a way as to effectively narrow the width of the roads (Robert Street was previously the main A8 road and is fairly wide).

In addition, sculptures were added at the entrances to the scheme from Glasgow Road and large, heavy stone globes were added to the street furniture to prevent inconsiderate parking.

Unfortunately the Robert Street Home Zone is widely regarded as a failure, partly due to apathy amongst residents and visitors, but mostly due to a poor choice of area in which to implement it. By the time the project was started, the area was already run down and had become undesirable to live in due to various factors including the small size of the flats, the poor condition of the (mostly rented) buildings and a reputation for crime and anti-social behaviour.

The tenements suffer from severe structural damage which makes them uneconomic to repair or upgrade. Less than 10% of the flats are occupied. Most of the flats are considered BTS (Below Tolerable Standards), which compelled Inverclyde Council to take action.

A regeneration plan for the Clune Park area was approved by Inverclyde Council in May 2011. The ultimate aim of the plan was demolition of all 45 buildings to allow progress to be made in regenerating the area.

By early 2017, the stone globes had been removed and reloacted to Albert Road in Gourock as part of a scheme there to prevent parking on the footpath.

Created: Fri, 21 Apr 2017, Updated: Fri, 21 Apr 2017