Hyndburn Masterplan

[claytonender]

Thanks for the link Atarah. I did call into the Town Hall today to view the plans. I will look at this link as well, then give my views.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I had a look at the plans in the Town Hall today and as I worked my way through options 1 to 4 I decided to myself that I would personally prefer something in between 3 and 4 - then lo and behold the preferred option IS something between versions 3 and 4 and not very far out from what I would have suggested. I must say I am pleasantly surprised and hope this will go ahead.

[park381]

Originally Posted by Atarah

SORRY, COME IN ON THIS ONE A BIT LATE IN THE DAY.
HAS ANYONE POSTED THIS:-
Paul Butler Associates Draft

ATARAH

Thanks for that atarah, looks like another set of fees paid for by us residents

Wonder if that was tendered as well

[Acrylic-bob]

Thanks Atarah for the Paul Butler Assocs. link, it helps to make sense of the rest of the plan.

For once, I find myself in the rather unfamiliar position of having to congratulate the council for having the sense to commission the two reports, particularly the Paul Butler report. Which appears to follow what most of us have been saying for quite some time now; especially regarding the eysore at the back of the Town Hall. One slight quibble; the report's authors are quite keen on the image of St. James's Churchyard with railings. I can recall the churchyard before the gravestones were taken up and I do not recall it possessing railings or the vacant fixings for them. It had high-ish stone walls, as I am sure photographs from the late 50's early 60's will comfirm.

Like Willow I found myself somewhere between options 3 and 4 on the masterplan. My only real concern is that, having raised our expectations, the council will cherry pick from the plan and what we will end up with is the usual mish-mash of half implemented plans and schemes that contradict each other. Either that or they will take so long to implement it all enthusiasm and interest will have gone the same way as the Market revenues.

Marks out of ten? A cautious Seven

[Gayle]

It's a 15 year plan, so it may take a while to get there.

[Acrylic-bob]

So what did you make of it Gayle?

[Gayle]

I sort of answered that in post #17 A-B. But to reiterate - I like it and filled in my forms accordingly.

What I most like about it is that it isn't just a tweak here and a tweak there, it is a wholesale redevelopment of the whole town. I think it's been proven before (Broadway springs to mind) that when they tinker with things they go pearshaped.

By being bold and putting out a 15 year plan, I think it could work.

Also, it's good that they won't be able to deviate from it if it's accepted now. It is a vision and hopefully will be carried out.

There are a few things I'm still curious about but I'm sure we'll find out in the goodness of time. Where the money is coming from will be interesting and who the actual developers are - one thing I hope doesn't happen is that they take on the people who give them the lowest quote for everything - if this bold idea is to be effective it also has to have quality as ell.

[Gayle]

Wonder when we're going to get a masterplan for Ossy?

[Acrylic-bob]

Good grief I am agreeing with you too. There must be something wrong with my medication - NURSE!

[Acrylic-bob]

On the issue of funding I noticed that North West Development Agency had their Logo appended to the bottom of the online version, or does that just mean that they helped with funding the report?

[garinda]

Well, I managed to get to the Town Hall, to view the plans myself.

I think they are very exciting, and I applaud the fact that they are open to public consultation, before the go ahead is hopefully given.

My only criticism is that the prefered option, and some of the others, will mean the demise of the hated blue and white building on Broadway. Hurrah, I say to that, but it does mean the recent refurbishment of Broadway, and it's cost of £400,000, will have been a complete waste of money.

I filled in the questionaire, and look forward to e-mailed updates as to the progress of the regeneration.

[claytonender]

I thought the prefferred option of 3 -4 was the best and agree that providing it is undertaken by quality developerd it will be good.
I agree with Garinda, about the demoliton of the 'tasteless' Town Hall extension, but also feel that the money spent on Broadway has been wasted. I did feel at the timwe that they started refurbishing Broadway, that all it really needed was to returned to what it was before the old outdoor Market was demolished and the new shops built. Despite the money spent on it, it is now 'souless', it used to be an attractive area, with the raised gardens and the wooden benches.

I also filled in a questionaire yesterday.

I particularly liked the idea of opening up Blackburn Road, and having more access from Eastgate. As it now stands the main access routes to Accrington actually encourage you to bypass the Town Centre completely.

I liked the ideas for the Grange Lane area.

[garinda]

On a pedantic level, I thought the actual display was very poor. It was dimly lit, and was so low I had to get on my hands and knees to read it, which was quite a feat for me.

[katex]

Originally Posted by park381

Thanks for that atarah, looks like another set of fees paid for by us residents

Wonder if that was tendered as well

No Park .. Paul Butler are all part of the team of Urbed, as with the others mentioned, and would not incur a further fee. Lots of different companies are more specialised in various areas, like transport, architecture,design, economical values, etc., suppose a little like a builder when he sub-contracts joiners, electricians, etc., so included in the overall 'fee'.

As for the fee, most councils only put this as a certain percentage of their consideration when choosing the 'winner'. Possibly say around 20%? of the brief which all tenderees would have, the rest in other areas.

[cashman]

well its wetted me appetite, goin to have a gander tomorrow.