Saturday, April 15, 2006
Local area development plan
Public consultation in action
On a busy Easter Saturday afternoon I caught up with members of the Council's Planning Policy team engaged in a public consultation exercise at the Old Town Hall in the Market Place, South Shields. The event had been organised to seek the public's views about planning and development within the town centre and riverside areas on the assumption that various pieces of land will become available over the next ten to fifteen years. The draft plans have been drawn up to comply with regional planning policies and to seed various ideas about the locations of possible future developments such as a new swimming pool, cinema complex, office and retail development and new housing. It also gave members of the public the opportunity to have direct input to the planning policy team, and to discuss initiatives and ideas with them.
The Old Town Hall housed a four square exhibition board with the map of the area block coloured to define the plots of land that may become available and the types of development that may be suited for them. For example, the multi-story car park in Mile End Road is tentatively earmarked for office space, the current Asda site in Ocean Road may become another large retail outlet, the area along the riverside from Middle Docks through East Holborn may become a mixed housing development, and other ideas are being sought for the site of another hotel/conference centre and a swimming pool.
I met up with Andrea King and Scott Gibson (who were surprised that a local weblog was interested in their work) as they spoke to members of the public, who were only too happy to come forward with their own ideas, the most discussed area whilst I was there was Gypsies Green Stadium. The underused athletics facility is in real need of a fresh outlook, some suggested that it would be the best site for a swimming pool, and others agreed that a swimming pool there would be too far from the main activity centres around the Pier Head. Other ideas for it's use included hotel - leisure development, an entertainment centre, and an ice rink. My own view is that whatever development takes place here it should not be allowed to alter the current skyline, it ought to be dug deep and built from the base of a large excavation in the same fashion as Sunderland's Stadium of Light. A steel structure could hold a slightly domed roof which could then be grassed over to merge the development nicely with the Leas.
The multi-story car park would be ideal for office accomodation but it must include retail space on the ground floor reserved soley for independant retailers, we really do need to do something to halt the spread of "cloned" town centres which have become the preserve of national retail chains. Here is an opportunity to provide a little bit of individuality.
I would also like to see the current Asda site used to develop a larger cinema, which should not necessarily damage the Customs House in the Mill Dam. Any new swimming pool should be sited as close as possible to the site of the original open air pool which was opposite Littlehaven Beach, many people commented on the fact that we need somewhere for visitors to go in wet weather, and a development such as this with seating and eating areas would be most welcome.
Whatever mix of housing we decide to go with, it must include more shared ownership schemes and a good proportion of housing to rent, it is now becoming increasingly difficult for first time buyers to get onto the bottom rung of the property ladder.
All in all, the Council's team are doing a great job in taking this exhibition around the borough and gathering a huge amount of data to input from the public. At long last, areas which have lain empty for decades may get the kind of developments which the man in the street wants and needs, and not the kind of developments which planners have landed on us in the past.
Andrea King pictured discussing ideas with a visitor. Click thumbnail to enlarge.
Link
South Tyneside Council
Open air swimming pool
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
Sanddancer
Sunderland fan
Male
Retailer
Former Borough Councillor
View my Profile
Contact
Email Curly
south-shields AT
blueyonder DOT co DOT uk
Got a story?
Got a tip off?
Got some scandal?
Let me know!
07941386870
Search
Search this site
Comments
How do I make a comment on this blog?
Links
Curly's Corner Shop website
Curly's Photoshop
My Message Board
Shields photo gallery
RTG Message Board
Sunderland AFC Blog
Site Feed
Blogroll Me!
Past
December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007