Re: Invigorate
Bristol Tuesday 20 March 2007
Re:Invigorate is a series of neighbourhood seminars run by The British Urban Regeneration Association (Bura) in locations across the UK in which delegates are invited to take part in a hands-on day of multi-disciplinary holistic masterplanning.
The latest Re:Invigorate session took place in Bristol, focussing on two contrasting neighbourhoods in the city, each facing differing regeneration issues.
- Filwood/Knowle West, a large, sprawling housing estate on the edge of the city, with an Urban Splash development taking place on its fringe.
- St Paul’s, a densely populated, vibrant, ethnically mixed inner city area, flanked by the M32 to the east.
Hosted by Bristol City Council and Knightstone Housing Association, the seminar attracted a wide range of delegates involved in regeneration, including groups such as English Partnerships, housing and community associations, and the South West Regional Development Agency, as well as local people living in the area.
Architect George Ferguson, of Acanthus Ferguson Mann, launched the day with a presentation aimed to inspire. “We are getting a lot of fake regeneration,” he warned. Instead, we need ‘real’ regeneration, where we create better places with a real mix of uses. He said he was a real fan of Birmingham, where regeneration has taken place with ‘the sort of imagination we need to apply to placemaking … where we have got to be prepared to break the rules in order to create good places.’
He warned of the ‘monoculture’ that results from developments of office parks, retail centres, and business parks that leads to the creation of bland places that all look the same. What we should be aiming for instead are the mixed layers of use that can be seen in Bristol, which he said formed ‘part of the complexity of real cities’, adding that ‘we need human sized buildings, high streets, and views to existing icons.’
Historic buildings can form key focal points for regeneration. At the same time contemporary architecture can be used creatively to create interest. New interventions can dramatically change the way we view and use places. ‘Throwing a bridge across the Thames has given us a completely different way of understanding London’s view of St Paul’s,’ he said. In Bristol, the introduction of a ferry service across the harbour has opened up Bristol’s waterways to local people. Mr Ferguson showed slides of new housing in Amsterdam and Malmo. Regeneration doesn’t necessary have to be expensive. We need to reclaim our streets from the car, he added.
He went on to describe his own project at the Tobacco Factory (pictured below)in Ashton Gate, Bristol, to show how low-cost, community based regeneration can work.
He saved the factory, which had provided employment for the local community, from demolition by buying it for £200,000 in 1995. The challenge was to find new economic activity for the building so it could continue to form the hub of community life.
Today, it is a mixed-use building, which includes a theatre, dance studios, café and restaurant. It has its own brewery, while a monthly market is about to become weekly. ‘You don’t have to bring in regeneration with a frigging great Tesco,’ he told his audience. A similar community based regeneration project has taken place at the Paintworks, on Bristol’s Bath Road, with a mix of uses including small studios. He also praised the way community involvement has helped save the Chocolate Factoryin the Easton area of the city from demolition to make way for a Persimmon homes development.
On the southernmost edge of the city Urban Splash have been brought in to bring another redundant industrial building, the former Imperial Tobacco HQ, back to life as a mix of apartments and small business units.
We also need to look at the transport hubs of our cities, he said. At Temple Meads in Bristol, the former post office sorting building is being turned into a mixed use hub, with cycle hire, café and affordable workshops. Mr Ferguson said that Dean Clough, Halifax, a mixed use site designed by Ernest Hall, has been his inspiration.
Suitably inspired, the 60 or so delegates then divided into two groups to board coaches to visit our destinations. Bura deliberately brings together ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ to its Re:Invigorate sessions, with outsiders bringing in ideas and expertise from other places around the country.
Lucy Tennyson reports on the visit to the Filwood/Knowle West housing estate
Certainly the Filwood/Knowle West housing estate presented us with a challenge. It largely comprises of 1920s-1940s local authority built housing, of which now 45 per cent is owner occupied. There is also an enclave of 1960s housing known as Inn’s Court.
Overall, the housing density is low. The closure of the area’s major employer, a tobacco factory, has led to a loss of income, and the area now has relatively high levels of crime, and low levels of education. Paul Drew, of Bristol City Council, led our tour:
The Junction Retail Park and the nearby former HQ of Imperial Tobacco are located just outside the area beyond the ring road in Imperial Park. Pictured here is the Urban Splash development of the former Imperial Tobacco HQ. Also just outside the estate, to the south, is Hengrove Park, which is being redeveloped with new sports and health facilities.
There are no secondary schools on the estate. The last pub recently closed, and many of the shops at Filton Broadway have closed and are boarded up. Attempts to bring in a budget supermarket have so far failed.
There are more problems of litter and vandalism in the Inn’s Court area of the estate, pictured left
The whole estate has low density housing and a lot of under-utilised open space
Bus tour over, we filed into the Mede community centre, and formed groups of four or five for round table discussion groups. Nick Wates, Community Planning Consultant, led the session, armed with an alarming number of Post-It notes of various colours. Our first task was to identify key challenges and opportunities, our responses divided by colour of Post-It note into outsiders and insiders.
Challenges ranged over topics such as transport, education and retail, while opportunities included sense of community, open space, and partnerships. It was discovered that both insiders and outsiders had converging views. After a working lunch we were asked to work collaboratively around the table to generate our Re:Invigorating ideas, selecting a theme from those identified on the Post-It notes.
Our group chose ‘open space and the public realm’. We agreed there was a lot of open space in the area, much of it consisting of uniform, and perhaps underused, grass playing fields. We decided this could be rationalised, by finding out how it was used, and focussing on keeping key sites, while releasing other areas for new development.
We suggested developing a network of green lungs, perhaps based on a green corridor running north-south through the estate. One area, perhaps Novers Hill that has fine views of the city and the Clifton Suspension Bridge, could be developed into a focal point. Other green spaces could be given over to specific user groups. These could be determined by finding out what people living in the community actually want – for example, areas for horse riding, motor cycling etc. We felt it was important to think how our green routes through the estate would link to neighbouring areas, and link to routes through to the city centre, and that they should not to compete with developments taking place at Hengrove Park.
Other groups took the following themes:
- People and Structure: There was a need for a person to act as a ‘champion’ for the area, a possible chief executive style of figurehead who would bring a team together to find out what people in the area want and identify issues.
- Community Infrastructure: A new process should be established driven by the community. Local people could come together to work on environmental schemes, which would then in turn lead on to broader community partnership projects.
- Read Partnership Working: Partnership working should be established in which clear roles and responsibilities should be drawn up. It was important to get the right people involved, and make sure the process is transparent.
- Community Safety: Improving educational opportunities in the area was seen as the bedrock. Young people had a severe lack of choices due to their lack of education. Street representatives are being brought in, but many on the estate would like to see the reinstatement of street wardens. Projects should be long term and not short term, and should be free of politics.
Tom Evans reports on the tour of St Paul’s
It is fair to say that St. Paul’s, just to the north east of Bristol city centre, has not enjoyed the finest of reputations for a number of years. Having long been linked with drugs and crime, as well as the infamous riots of the 1980s, the residents of the area are now attempting to transform the neighbourhood through proactive involvement in a neighbourhood renewal programme.
Comprising mainly of Georgian terrace housing, a 1960s housing estate and pockets of commercial property, the neighbourhood of St Paul’s is beginning to experience the effects of the pressure on land use in the centre of Bristol, particularly with the new Broadmead expansion on its doorstep. While much needed new-investment is arriving, problems are being experienced with a squeeze on employment land and the price of housing rising out of the reach of local people.
Beginning the tour with a bus journey, we passed industrial units that have been earmarked for demolition and are to be replaced with a mixed use development. The industrial units have caused a number of problems for local residents, including noise and heavy traffic, and local people in our party seemed very happy with the proposed changes.
We then ventured through Dove Lane, a main entry point to St Paul’s. The surrounding streets have already started to see some improvement, with a resident of Dove Street, Musnilya Babatunji, commenting that a number of ‘crack houses’ had been closed and that cleaning and refuse collection have got better.
Leaving Dove Lane we were shown two large derelict properties, owned by the same developer. Eyesores and major obstacles to the positive renewal of St Paul’s, compulsory purchase orders are being sought on both properties.
Having navigated through a few narrow streets by bus, we continued our tour on foot from Portland Square, at the centre of St Paul’s, to see the neighbourhood at ground level. Although Portland Square contains a number of Georgian buildings mainly used as offices, the lack of residential properties or a nighttime economy renders the square quiet in the evening, when it becomes a red light area.
A wonderfully restored 18th century church is the focal point of the square and plays a central role in the life of the neighbourhood. Having fallen into disrepair, St Paul’s Church has found new life as the home of Circomedia, a centre for contemporary circus and physical performance. Circomedia offers training and educational course for anyone interested in learning circus skills and is actively involved in schools and community outreach work.
Leaving Portland Square, we ventured to an area of green space to the back of the church leading to a 1960’s housing estate. Not at all fitting with the rest of the neighbourhood, the estate contains a number of dead spaces and was in total contrast to the well laid out Georgian streets that make up the rest of St Paul’s.
We were briefed on the impressive St Paul’s Neighbourhood Plan by Penny Germon, Neighbourhood Manager, at a community centre in the centre of the estate. The ‘outsiders’ were first asked what their initial impressions were. Responses varied greatly, but were overwhelmingly positive, with everyone commenting on the potential of the area. Following a wonderful lunch, prepared by local residents, discussions focused on how aspects of the Neighbourhood Plan could be achieved and what difficulties might be encountered.
In relation to land-use and difficulties to getting the desired use, we were asked to split into groups and consider:
- Land-use relating employment
- Opening up opportunities for local development
- Local businesses
- Outward facing offices and the integration of offices into the community.
Following lengthy discussions, with numerous questions being asked of local resident representatives, all groups fed back with a variety of suggestions and concerns. It was acknowledged by the group that St Paul’s Unlimited was doing a fantastic job, but if the area, and the neighbourhood plan, were to achieve its full potential, there would be a need for extra resources.
Looking at land-use and linkages, it was suggested by the group that gateway entrances to the neighbourhood should be clearly marked, either by signage or public art, to let visitors know they are entering St Paul’s. A number of ‘outsiders’ commented on how difficult it was to get any bearings and that identity landmarks could be created to make navigating the area a little easier.
The groups queried why a large amount of commercial space, mainly offices, were left empty, and suggested that a greater study of what local people and businesses needed should be undertaken. If current commercial stock was unsuitable then it was advised that these could be tailored to meet certain demands.
It was noted that there was a conflict in the housing mix, with a large demand for family housing and for one bedroom flats. Low home ownership was also recognised as a potential problem and, though it was evident that local people had a desire to own their own homes, rising house prices made this unrealistic. It was thought that affordable housing should continue as a high priority if neighbourhood development was to be sustainable.
It was evident that local people were not benefiting from new local jobs and that the negative image of the local area, and of local people, could account for this. The group felt strongly that a great deal of marketing activity needed to undertaken, but that a focus should be kept on the core and what was good about the neighbourhood, rather then get rid of the ‘hard edges’. It was stressed that the gentrification of the area would be a great shame.
The group noted that there was no delivery vehicle for some of the plans and that this was an area of major concern. Lack of influence with the private sector was also highlighted as an element that was lacking. A strong champion for the area could be useful to deal with the large retailers and developers. It was stressed that St Paul’s Unlimited should continue to keep the plan alive by maintaining engagement with the community. Consideration, it was thought, should be given to extra streams of funding with the end of Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and Objective 2 funding.
Conclusions from the day
The day concluded with everyone returning to our base in central Bristol to report back to a panel that included Cllr Barbara Janke, leader of Bristol City Council. After listening to the presentations from the groups, Cllr Janke said it was inevitable that a major challenge would be attracting income into the areas concerned. She said that the problems faced in south Bristol included isolation and low density, and a resulting lack of critical mass to attract development. ‘The important thing is harnessing the ambition of those communities and helping them to be outward looking,’ she said.
Referring to St Paul’s she said one of the challenges would be for the community to think ‘outwards’ and perhaps bringing a greater mix. Nick Horne, of Knightstone Housing Association, said he was struck by local pride in an area such as Filwood, although there was less evidence of this on the ground. New leaders need to be identified who can take things forward, including housing associations and the private sector. George Ferguson concluded that it was essential that those people who have a stake in an area get involved.
Summing up the day, Jess Steele from BURA, said:
‘Re:Invigorate takes the big policy questions like ‘mixed income communities’ and explores the challenges they present in real neighbourhoods on the ground. It brings together people from many different perspectives who would not normally meet, to work collaboratively and to challenge each other’s thinking.
‘Filwood and St Paul’s are two very different neighbourhoods, each unique but each demonstrating aspects of the wider challenges that face communities up and down the United Kingdom. This kind of event helps participants to share their experiences and ideas, and to build their understanding of holistic regeneration, in an active way that’s grounded in local reality, rather than listening to speeches in a conference venue that could be anywhere.’
