The New Look Town Centre Launch
The Pedestrian Heart project was completed in June 2007 and was celebrated in style by the playing host to the 25th Anniversary Community Carnival. The launch day saw musicians, street entertainers, market traders, independent shops and thousands of people joining in the fun.
Why was Change Needed?
The Town Centre Development Strategy, adopted by the Council and One NorthEast in February 2001, aimed at achieving a distinct improvement in the quality of the environment and economy of the Town Centre by:
- Achieving new development - bringing new retailers and businesses to the Centre enable Darlington to better compete with the rest of the region;
- Making the Town Centre more attractive - increasing the ease, comfort and safety of which the Town Centre can be used will encourage more people to visit and to stay longer when they are here.
It was vital to respond to improvements in competing shopping centres and out-of-town locations if Darlington town centre is to thrive and better serve people in its catchment area.
Study
The Town Centre Access Study (2001), which included a series of public consultation workshops undertaken by EDAW and Colin Buchanan & Partners, concluded with a recommendation to create a 'pedestrian heart' in Darlington town centre. The vision was that the Town Centre would be redesigned to mark out the Heart of Darlington by the creation of a series of high quality areas:
- Acting as a hub for the economic health of the Town Centre;
- Improving access and quality of life for all;
- Reinforcing the distinctiveness of Darlington;
- Acting as an icon for the renaissance of Darlington as a shopping, living and working destination in the region.
In November 2002, the scheme to create the Pedestrian Heart was approved by the Council's Cabinet. A team of consultants and DBC officers then carried out concept design & consultation, achieved necessary planning requirements, secured funding, completed early continued involvement and started construction on site.
Design & Construction Team
A team of consultants was appointed in October 2003 to work with Darlington Borough Council to develop the scheme and progress through detailed design and implementation. The design team was led by Gillespies, a UK based international practice of urban designers, landscape architects, planners and architects, who have worked on similar projects including Middlesbrough town centre and the award winning Buchanan Street, Royal Exchange Square, Candleriggs in Glasgow and Grainger Street in Newcastle.
The artist, Michael Pinsky, was also commissioned to add a different perspective to the design process and promote further creativity and innovation. His ideas include the water cascade and Life Pulse.
The contractor appointed to carry out the construction of the scheme were Birse CL, whom with the help of a small number of subcontractors carried out the construction works.
Traffic & Transport
The flow of town centre traffic, including buses, taxis, cars and delivery vehicles, has been re-organised to achieve greater pedestrian priority, increasing the pedestrian area to include Prospect Place, West Row and Blackwellgate and open up views of the old Town Hall and covered market, which are two of the town's prime features. This increases the pedestrian flow to shops and businesses in this part of the town.
Some of the extra space is used for activities and events, including specialist markets and street entertainment. Disabled access, safety and security is integrated into the design to provide a relaxed and inviting environment, which can be used by the whole community.
The introduction of a one-way Town Centre loop allows frequent bus services to cater for shoppers in the Town Centre. A one-way southbound bus route along Northgate and Crown Street, from the St Cuthberts roundabout to the junction with East Street, is designed to reduce the volume of buses and ease traffic problems. The majority of buses enter the Town Centre via Northgate Roundabout and travel along Northgate, Crown Street and then on a one-way loop westbound along Priestgate, southbound along Prebend Row and eastbound along Tubwell Row, before exiting the Town Centre at Stonebridge Roundabout.
Consultation
Numerous consultations and discussions were held with key stakeholders such as retailers, bus operators and organisations such as Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) to help develop the scheme and progress the design.
The preferred Pedestrian Heart concept scheme was unveiled to the public at a consultation exhibition held in July 2004, which was very well attended. All of the questionnaires and letters received from the consultation and exhibition were analysed collectively and where practical and feasible the scheme has been amended to reflect these comments and suggestions.
Scheme design information has been issued to key stakeholders and special interest groups, such as English Heritage and Darlington Association of Disability (DAD).
Meetings were also held with other stakeholder groups, such as taxi operators, indoor/outdoor market traders and emergency services.
Scheme design and consultation exhibition information has been published within the Northern Echo, D&S Times, Darlington Town Crier and numerous professional magazines.
Funding
Darlington Borough Council and One NorthEast, the Development Agency for the North East, through the Tees Valley Partnership, invested around £6.5 million into the Pedestrian Heart scheme.