He's behind Doc Marten, now Wayne puts the boot in

Now designer Wayne Hemingway wants to revolutionise Scottish housing with a huge new development planned for West Lothian.

The controversial 46-year-old has begun by attacking modern Scottish homes - including the Edinburgh Waterfront, which he branded "not fit to live in".

He has also been camping out on the farmland near East Calder which Edinburgh-based Stirling Developments want to turn into a 2800-home village called Calderwood.

Mr Hemingway is acting as advisor on the project, and said he hopes to help create a vibrant new community built around green, public spaces.

However, he and the developers have yet to convince many local residents - in a poll last year over 90 per cent were opposed to the estate.

Calderwood would include two new primary schools, a secondary school, shops and a village hall and work could start by the end of next year. Mr Hemingway said: "We know what it's not to be. Other developers go wrong because it's their attitude. They want to get as much housing in there as possible.

"There isn't one single housing development in the whole of Scotland that I would want to live in. I went for a run around Leith and saw the new waterfront development. It's not fit for people to live in. It should be part of the crown jewels of Edinburgh. It deserves so much more care.

"This has got to be a place that feels great when you arrive home. There'll be places for kids to kick a football about and take a dog for a walk. It's got to be a place that lifts the spirit and makes your friends want to visit."

He said he has visited West Lothian regularly over the last three years.

"We've even camped on site," he said. "We've held meetings in farmhouses, and walked it lots of times. You need to spend time there, to get a feel for the site."

Mr Hemingway and his wife Gerardine founded Hemingway Design after selling Red or Dead in a multi-million-pound deal in 1999. They design everything from footwear to houses.

Stirling Developments hope to submit plans for Calderwood this summer. The site is next to the 230-acre Almondvale and Calderwood country park, described by locals as a "hidden secret", and close to the River Almond.

Director Peter Stirling said: "We'd like it to be the best new village in Scotland. We've got an outstanding project team.

"Wayne and Gerardine are key members. We share the same ambitions and this is an opportunity to demonstrate some of their ideas.

"We want to create a happy community, and ensure the houses are in keeping with their setting. Most housing developments have no public spaces. This development will protect the resident and pedestrian, and the car will be a guest."

If it gets the green light from the council, the project will take 12 to 15 years to complete. At least 15 per cent of the homes will be affordable housing.

However, a survey by East Calder Community Council just over a year ago found 92 per cent of 300 respondents opposed the development.

The facts

Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway began selling second-hand clothes at a market stall in Camden in 1981.

The pair formed the Red or Dead label, despite having no fashion training.

Hemingway had studied for a degree in geography at University College, London, after growing up in Blackburn. He was born in Morecambe in 1961.

His father is a Mohawk Indian chief, Billy Two Rivers, who is now a champion of Native American rights in Quebec, and a former British heavyweight wrestling champion. But Two Rivers left home when his son was three and ran off with pools winner Viv Nicholson.

Red or Dead became famous for its footwear, especially its revival of Doc Marten boots.

Its founders sold the firm in 1999 and set up a design business.