Selby District Renaissance Charter
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1 Selby District Renaissance 2 3 The renaissance team Yorkshire Forward: Barra Mac Ruairí, Dr Jemma Basham, John Shepherd Selby District Council: Eileen Scothern, Terry Heselton, The town teams Neil Skinner, Peter Brown Those named below are the Town Team ambassadors for URBED: David Rudlin, Dr. Nicholas Falk, Stephanie Fischer, We, the undersigned, subscribe to the aims and principles set out in this Charter... Renaissance and represent the wider membership of the Teams Nick Dodd, Sarah Jarvis, Helene Rudlin, Debbie Fuller, Sherburn Town Team John Haynes Zoe Holden, Matthew Ludlam, Lorenza Casini, Vassiliki C. Edkins Steve Heldson Kravva and David Suls. Ron Gibson Margaret Middlemiss URBED’s local representative in Selby - Blue Wilson David Gill Mark Moorhouse June Graham John Notley Alan Baxter & Associates: Robert Green, David Taylor, Myrtle Hall Gordon Spencer Sophie Noble Alma Hodgson Alvis Thomas Camlin Lonsdale: Jess Bryne-Daniel, Victoria Berryman Peter Lambert Tomlinson Feeley: Michelle Tomlinson Edwin Levick Selby Town Team Gary Limbert Simon Banks Town Teams chairs: Jenny Prescott Ian Bithell Sherburn: Peter Lambert P. S. Sanders Brian Cass Tadcaster: Sir Bryan Askew Bryan Sissons Rowland Chilvers Selby: Alan Townend Ian Sissons Doreen Davies Diane Stanhope John Davis B. N. Starr Mike Dugher J. M. Skinner Joyce Dyson Jack Tomkinson John Hamlyn J. Waugh Colin Hunter A. M. Wetherhill Colin Newbury Graham Ramsden Tadcaster Town Team Philip Milsom Sir Bryan Askew Peter Murphy John Barton Alan Townend John Butters R.Ward Max Butler Richard Whitehouse Richard Burton Blue Wilson Eon Carlyle Terence Clarke Members of the three town teams 4 5 The Vision 1 Part 1: Background to the Charter 6 Selby District Renaissance 7 Contents The Renaissance Programme 8 What is urban renaissance? 10 Part 2: Selby District past and present 12 The past 13 The people 15 Pressures for growth 17 Connectivity 19 The legacy of coal 21 A changing economy 23 Land and water 25 Part 3: The towns 28 Sherburn 29 Tadcaster 31 Selby 33 Part 4: A vision for renaissance 36 Growing smart 39 Revitalising town centres 41 Uncovering hidden heritage 43 Diversifying the economy 45 Embracing energy futures 47 Managing water 49 Part 5: Making things happen 52 Next Steps 53 1 2 Foreword Renaissance focuses on releasing and capturing the power of place. Places exist because of people, they prosper because of The Charter looks at sustainable peoples’ activities and their passions. development across the whole of the Selby district, drawing on the Renaissance uses a creative recipe of architecture, urban design, area’s past and looking to a bright strategic property development, community engagement and civic leadership to make places. Renaissance as the urban entrepreneur, future. Selby District Council has acts to stitch together the activities, ingredients and energies of the been a key partner in the scheme planning and development of places. The ingredients include alongside Yorkshire Forward, URBED housing, leisure, retail, health, schools, transport and workplaces. and the people involved in the Town Teams. Renaissance is fundamentally about the maximisation of opportunity and the assembly and arrangement of the relationships to make a successful place. Renaissance is not a technical science but a creative I would like to thank everyone for their art; it relies on creating and enabling the desire to invest in a place. input in developing such exciting proposals. We will continue to Renaissance is about acting locally to secure, strengthen and shape work closely with our partners to the economy. A growth in our local economies will in turn help to drive ensure that we can turn these ideas the Region. Renaissance sets out to create great assets, great places into reality. and a realm for the public which will help to bolster a strong future, both of distinctiveness of place and alliance of place. Mark Crane Renaissance is deliberately visionary, Renaissance acts as a catalyst Leader, Selby District Council to gather together the many stakeholders to set a common vision for the future of the towns and cities of the region. We must raise our aspirations but remain steadfast and patient as it will take time and persistence to achieve and turn the vision to reality. Renaissance aims to work for the common good of the people, their places and their prosperity. Barra Mac Ruairí Head of Renaissance Towns & Cities Yorkshire Forward 1 2 We, the communities and stakeholders of Sherburn-in-Elmet, Tadcaster and Selby, commit ourselves to the physical, social and economic renaissance of the towns so that... ...they become good places to live with a range of high-quality It is always a cliché - however Selby District really is a place of contrasts. A rich affordable housing. We will encourage population growth by ac- area of farm land where the valleys of five rivers meet between the cities of Leeds commodating new housing in the most sustainable locations so and York. Within this agricultural district three strong, independent and very dif- ferent market towns have grown up. Selby a historic market town with one of the that it supports town centres and creates attractive sustainable finest Abbeys in England, Tadcaster a historic and beautiful brewing town and Sherburn, once the capital of a Saxon kingdom but now wanting to be a village communities. rather than a town. Alongside these historic towns lie the remains of the Selby mines complex hailed ...they are focused on thriving town centres, with bustling shops, high only 20 years ago as the most modern in the world. In the south of the district stand the huge power stations of Drax and Eggborough and the district is also quality services and attractive environments serving the people of home to modern manufacturing and distribution industry. Selby was never really a mining town, nevertheless the closure of the mines could be seen as the start of a the towns and visitors. new era for the towns and the district. The Selby District Renaissance process has been an opportunity to map out this new era. ...they make the most of their rich heritage and history as a source of This Charter is the result of an intensive and enjoyable year of work that has involved hundreds of people in three town teams. We believe that it sets out an identity and pride, as a way of projecting a positive image and as imaginative and challenging vision but nevertheless one that we can achieve if we work together. By signing up to this Yorkshire Forward Urban Renaissance Charter a magnet for visitors. the people of Selby District, the Council and stakeholders commit ourselves to doing just this. ...they are able to look to the future by building on their current indus- David Rudlin tries while diversifying their economies through a range of high- Director, URBED. tech, knowledge and eco-industries. ...they embrace the change in the energy industry following the clo- sure of the mines and promote energy efficiency and renewable forms of heat and power generation. ...they work creatively to manage the water that dominates the district to control flooding, to improve the appearance and navigability of the river and increase the attractions of the area to visitors and vision wildlife. 3 4 A large village with a strong community, focused on a lively high street. This will be at the centre of a network of villages including a new eco-village on Gascoigne Wood. An historic brewing town with an unspoiled character that is a good place to live and visit. A 21st century market town with a lively town centre surrounded by high-quality urban housing and diverse thriving businesses. The towns 5 6 Part 1 Background to the Charter Selby District Renaissance The Renaissance Programme What is urban renaissance? 7 8 ‘We know that an urban renaissance will not be achieved and sustained without the direct The Renaissance Towns Pro- engagement of local gramme works by supporting local people – including councils, local In which we describe the background and purpose of this report and the work that has been done to date. people.’ agencies, residents and businesses. The Deputy Prime Minister This is done through ‘Town Teams’ in the introduction to the Urban White Paper. that have been set up throughout Yorkshire to allow local people to be involved in imagining the future, identi- fying priorities for action and helping to realise projects. These Town Teams In 2004 the Yorkshire Forward Renais- At the heart of these discussions Diversifying the economy work with professionals drawn from sance towns and cities team conduct- were the Town Teams made up of Yorkshire Forward’s Urban Renais- ed extensive research into the Selby local people and stakeholders in each Embracing new futures for the sance Panel. In Selby District, the District. In October 2004 Yorkshire of the three towns. These teams met energy industry and urban design practice URBED was Forward appointed URBED to help the monthly for much of 2005 to guide Yorkshire Forward launched its appointed to this role. Renaissance team prepare a Selby the work on the Charter and are signa- Managing water so that it Urban Renaissance programme in In Selby an embryonic Town Team District Charter, the first visionary step tories to this document. The Town becomes an asset rather than a 2001 to support the physical, social first met in Summer 2004. Further in planning the development of the Teams will oversee the implementa- threat and economic regeneration of towns meetings took place in the Autumn district over the next 25 years. tion of the Charter. and cities across the region. The and a Visioning Day was held in The URBED team, which includes The Charter sets out a 25 year The final section outlines how this first of the strategies to be published November (A write-up of this event is transport engineers Alan Baxter & As- vision for the Selby District and in vision can be taken forward.