Urban Initiatives 01 the Uniqueness of Berwick
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Northumberland Strategic Partnership Berwick Upon Tweed Berwick Regeneration Strategy UI No:2669 Date: 03/2008 Client: Northumberland Strategic Partnership 2669 CONTENTS BERWICK REGENERATION STRATEGY 00 INTROducTION ..................................................................................................................................................................5 THE TEAM: URBAN INITIATIVES 01 THE UniQUENEss OF BERWicK .......................................................................................................................................7 NATHANIEL LITCHFIELD KING STURGE 02 REGENERATION ObJECTIVES .........................................................................................................................................13 GENECON ENTEC ARUP 03 DEVELOPMENT scENARIOS And EVALUATION ............................................................................................................ 17 GARDINER & THEOBOLD 04 TOWN CENTRE VisiON And FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................................23 PROJECT DIRECTOR: 05 REGENERATION STRATEGY ............................................................................................................................................29 DIARMAID LAWLOR FINAL REPORT: 06 DELIVERY FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................................................63 03/2008 APPENDIX 1: FEEdbACK And RANKinG OF PRIORITY SITES ..............................................................................................69 APPENDIX 2: DEVELOPMENT REVIEW OF PRIORITY SITES .................................................................................................71 1 Fitzroy Square London W1T 5HE t +44 (0)20 7380 4545 f +44 (0)20 7380 4546 www.urbaninitiatives.co.uk 00 Introduction 0.1 AIM OF REPORT 0.2 SCOPE anD LIMITATIOns 0.3 STRUCTURE • Chapter 4: Vision and Framework The preferred scenario is developed in terms of the This report has been prepared as the stage 2 output of the This report provides a high level regeneration strategy for • Chapter 1: The uniqueness of Berwick- kind of place that it can enable Berwick to develop into, Berwick Regeneration Strategy. The overriding purpose of the town centre as a whole. This is informed by a review of ‘placemaking ingredients’ what this means at the scale of the town as a whole, and the report is to set out a ‘whole town centre’ regeneration the stage 1 baseline report conclusions, and consideration This chapter identifies the qualities that make Berwick what it means in terms of the identity and function of the strategy which: of a range of growth scenarios to meet the challenges a unique and memorable place. It explores the various quarters within the town centre area. identified in the stage 1 analysis. Broad spatial strategies relationships that connect the physical structure of A is based on an understanding of what makes Berwick • Chapter 5: Regeneration Strategy and ‘soft’ regeneration interventions are identified on the Berwick and reviews how these relationships might unique as a place, and how these ‘ingredients This chapter develops the vision into a detailed basis of the preferred growth scenario. These strategies inform the physical regeneration of the town. of placemaking’ can be used to direct the future regeneration strategy for Berwick at the scale of the town identify the priorities for more detailed analysis in the regeneration of the town • Chapter 2: Regeneration Objectives as a whole, the town quarters and key sequence public stage 3 report. The report builds on the work undertaken B sets out a spatial vision for the town which identifies This chapter sets out a brief overview of the key issues spaces. The strategy is supported by a review of the by Gillespies et al; The Future of Berwick A Vision & priorities for action in terms of ‘hard’, mostly spatial and challenges facing Berwick, derived from the stage capacity for development, non spatial projects designed Development Framework 2006. interventions, and ‘soft’ regeneration initiatives aimed 1 report. On the basis of this analysis, and the issues to animate public life and support social sustainability, at addressing structural socio economic issues, town The report does not provide detailed development, cost or addressed in Chapter 1, a set of objectives to guide the linkages with wider strategic, regional and Scottish branding and economic development; and, financial appraisals of the strategies or priority sites. Broad holistic regeneration of the town are defined. regeneration opportunities. A series of priority sites and C identifies priority sites, design objectives and ‘turn cost and funding assessments are set out, with more detailed turnkey projects are derived from the overall strategy, for • Chapter 3: Development Scenarios and evaluation key’ projects which will lead the implementation of the analysis developed in the stage 3 reports. The Stage 3 reports which key design principles are identified. On the basis of the issues and challenges identified, regeneration strategy. The detail of these sites, and their consist of design briefs and development appraisals. In a series of transformational scenarios are set out • Chapter 6: Towards Delivery development is set out in terms of Design Briefs which addition the report does not set out a detailed implementation to explore how a whole town regeneration could be This chapter sets out a review of the key regeneration form the Stage 3 report. strategy. Rather, key priorities and risks for delivery achieved. The scenarios are evaluated against the core initiatives and projects in terms of deliverables, are identified, and broad principles for implementation regeneration themes and objectives defined in Chapter promoters, partners, roles and responsibilities, established. A parallel study on the most appropriate The regeneration strategy has been derived through 2 to identify a preferred scenario for the development priorities, timescales, and funding. implementation mechanism to secure the long term consultation with the Berwick Technical Advice Group [TAG], of the town. The implications of pursuing the preferred regeneration of Berwick is being undertaken by Genecon. This stakeholder consultation and detailed consultation with scenario on a range of issues such as growth, planning includes the preparation of a detailed risk register. Northumberland County Council, Berwick-Upon-Tweed and delivery are reviewed. Borough Council, One North East, Northumberland Strategic Partnership and English Heritage. The regeneration proposals are also tested against market conditions and planning contexts. In this context, the regeneration strategy presents a visionary, robust and deliverable initiative for the future regeneration of Berwick. BerwICK REGenerATION StrAteGY 5 01 The Uniqueness of Berwick 1.1 OVERVIEW The key to understanding the uniqueness of Berwick is its distinctive relationships. The character of Berwick is an expression of how the built form has developed in relation to its surroundings, and to its internal structure, and how this urban form has developed as a place of meaning for the local communities and rural hinterland. Berwick is a place to do the shopping, to get business done, to visit and consume. It is also a place to be experienced in a number of beautifully contrasting ways, from the contrasting relationship of the scale and might of the historic walls, to the delicate nature of the vennels; from the formal lines of the riverside, and plinth level of the historic walls to the dancing roofscape and playful use of materials; from the layering of the landscape rising from the riverside of Tweedmouth towards the Goody Patchy to the industrial relic of the chimney in Spittal Point marking the dramatic meander where the river meets the sea and establishes a new set of landscape relationships; to the bridges, visual panoramas and vistas that connect both sides of the town in a kind of harmonious whole. Berwick is not the same throughout. It is always changing, in scale, in character, and critically, in its relationships. This makes Berwick an interesting place to explore, a playful place, a strangely formal and yet appropriately irreverent place, rich in potential and with a design language that is capable of adapting to the 21st century, guiding the regeneration of the town, enabling a new layer of design legacy to be added to the fabric of the place. 1.2 RElaTIOnsHIps: UnDErsTanDIng THE DESIgn LangUagE OF BERWICK The uniqueness of Berwick lies in its spatial and social At the scale of the town itself, there are a number of particular relationships. The town sits between the city regions of relationships that make this place distinctive, including: Edinburgh and Newcastle, and has a key role as a rural • The relationship of the urban form of the Old Town and service centre for the surrounding areas. It is a gateway the town walls, and the visually prominent relationship of between the Scottish Borders and Northumberland, and is the walled town to the other parts of the town well positioned to form a key asset of both areas. • The relationship of the town centre as a focus for retail, leisure and commercial activity serving the whole town and its hinterland • The relationship of the Old Town, the Tweedmouth-Spittal arc and the river. In addition to these relationships, it is important to note the three dimensional