CABE Urban Panel Advice - do not pour money into the roundabout

Remember way back in June 2009 when we posted the CABE Margate Urban Panel Review Document from their March 2009 visit?

http://margatearchitecture.blogspot.com/2009/06/margate-urban-panel-review-2009.html

Here is the whole Word document for download and to print off:

Link to download the PDF file on CABE's site here.

Having a further peruse of the detail of the review, now reveals advice that is extremely pertinent to the public realm consultation along the seafront, roundabout and Arlington House, and adds weight to the argument that limited resources could be better applied to other areas within the town.

In particular we note:

3.2 The Georgian town built on the hill fields beyond the High Street put Margate at the forefront ofEnglish seaside development for a while and, had Cecil Square and the Assembly Rooms survived intact, the image of the town might well be different today. What is left is poignant proof that good intentions can lead to disappointing outcomes. Staff were keen to point out that Cecil Square remains a viable municipal centre with many of the facilities the town needs still available there. This is true and important, but a high price has been paid to achieve it. Within the governance and local politics ofThanet, it is great for Margate that the civic offices are located in Cecil Square along with the library, Post Office and so on. However, the building that houses them is so out of scale and overbearing as to drive the image of the rest of the square from the mind. What is more, the square has suffered as badly as almost any from the non-negotiable demands of the highway engineer. The Panel’s comments on this can be found at (7.1) below, but it will be no surprise that the repair of thepublic realm here is strongly recommended. Hawley Square, with a good green space and the elegant Theatre Royal, along with Trinity Square with its sadly much expanded but still well managed green space, are examples of the value which Georgian planning brings to today’s town and Cecil Square should rejoin them.

7.1 One area where the Panel saw the opportunity for trimming the sails was in the public realm proposals. While the Panel is a strong proponent of the quality of the public realm generally, it was concerned that the enormous areas potentially involved could resulteither in loss of focus, or in huge costs which would not deliver sufficient returns. So for, example, the Panel much admired the benefit which has been derived from the relatively small and affordable areas of public realmwork in and around the Old Town – particularly the new piazza facing the harbour. It did not believe that the same effect could be achieved by pouring large sums of money into the roundabout by the station or into some hundred yards of the front. Rather members felt that there-creation of Cecil Square as a pedestrian dominated space of quality would offer a far better return for residents and visitors alike. Engineer led schemes of the sort defacing the square are often up for renewal for engineering reasons and now would be the time to ensure that the preparation work has all been done, the vision of another Georgian square of quality being returned to the public has been promulgated and political drive is behind a great transformation.

8.0 Another aspect of management of the public realm is connectivity. It was suggested to the Panel that the development history of Margate combined with its topography had somehow made a place which wasdifficult to comprehend and navigate and where there were critical disconnections which had to be overcome. The Panel did not accept the analysis and thought that the emphasis on connectivity in the masterplan was overdone. In many ways Margate is easier to understandthan other seaside towns. Few others, if any, can boast a view of the sands from the main entrance of an attractivestation Once the short walk which that view inspires has been undertaken (and the Panel accepted the case for some improvement of the pedestrian route past Buenos Ayres) then the Harbour, the Droit House and the emerging Turner Contemporary will be obvious. The Panel thought there was strong case for the Droit House to contain orientation displays and probably for some investment in modern, map carrying fingerposts. Both ofthese should then direct visitors to the attractive small inter-connecting routes which are one of the pleasures of the town, which should be more widely shared.

10.2 Servicing such an economy could have a number of very positive outcomes. Boarding houses could once more function for their original purpose, providing opportunities for self-employed operators and entrepreneurs to establish high quality businesses and provide local employment. Modern guests expect high quality local cooking and the Isle of Thanet is a great place for local sourcing. The very significant skills required to achieve such an aim could be the focus of new further education provision in the town (such as a catering college linked to a training hotel), and the new‘5 star’ boarding houses could both help build the market for and complement new high grade hotels (much better to wait for this moment than fall for a budget hotel in the short term).

Public Realm Seafront Consultation

During the last week, the architectural firm, Jacobs, have been in town canvassing opinions on what should become of the public realm environment along the seafront from the railway station through to the Turner Contemporary site.

Now, this is not the first time that Jacobs have worked on schemes throughout Margate and Cliftonville. Previous exercises, funded by KCC, covered Hawley Square, Cecil Square, Cliftonville. What seems to be happening now, is that in the final rush to the Turner opening on spring 2011, that the seafront needs to be tarted up quick.

But is this the right thing to do to limit discussion to the seafront?

And what are the implications for Margate and Cliftonville if the emphasis is only on connecting the two bookends between the station and the Turner Contemporary?

I attended a couple of days of consultations held at the Media Centre where we were asked to discuss the themes of the following words: beautiful, sustainable, affordable and connected. No explanation was given on where these four words had come from. We were asked to limit our discussions to the area outlined on the maps, that being from the station through to Turner.

But there was a sense of deja vu. Afterall, this and many schemes have been consulted and consulted again. Can't someone just do what was suggested before? And what about many of the examples put forward by the groups being outside of the public realm eg. lack of enforcement of planning laws in terms of signage and of lack of respect for the defined Conservation Area and listed buildings. One only has to look at the gaping hole left by another burned to the ground building along the seafront that no one in authority has made anyone rebuild.

And what about CABE's warnings and their reports of not putting all the emphasis on large flagship projects and their positive hopes for Margate and Cliftonville's potentially fine residential communities that deserve better routes and connectivity.

Many people voiced concerns that are perhaps out of the remit of the consultation, but nonetheless are important matters to consider. That of the possible impact on the town and the beach of Tesco setting up a supermarket.

What about the very real risk of daytrippers picking up a carrier bag of shopping and heading for the beach, consuming said bag of goodies and then having no need to further explore the town's shops and cafes?

Then potentially leaving all their rubbish behind them on the beach and heading back home, having not had the need to go any further.

What about the range that a large multi-national like Tesco sell?

How will this affect the last few remaining shops we have in town? The camera shop, the children's clothes shops?

Weren't Tesco supposed to be the only hope for the renovation of Arlington House? Tales were told by residents that Tesco will no longer be forking out as initially thought on the Arlington House and the shops on the street level.

Is a Tesco at the seafront really the best we can do in terms of regeneration for the town? One presumes it has been thought out the impact a major supermarket like Tesco will have on independent shops has been thought out. One would imagine we have learned the lessons from Westwood Cross.

And what impact will their deliveries have and where will all the extra traffic go?

The biggest obstacle to Margate achieving it's potential is probably the thundering A Road that runs along the seafront. For people to enjoy Margate's fine sands and views, take a stroll, enjoy a bite to eat, the main road must go. But will it? I doubt that this project is looking to achieve something so radical and will probably concentrate on the appearance of what is already there.

To find out more about the consultation and to give your opinion, contact those nice people at Jacobs

So, does anyone remember the previous consultations?