Design and accesss statement

Amanda Tisdall S1208746

NORTH PLACE / PORTLAND ST A NEW PUBLIC REALM FOR CHELTENHAM

“Cheltenham needs a new hub, a place people call their own, a space to bring people together and give Cheltenham a new identity�

CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION

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6.0 PRINCIPLE + STRATEGY

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12.0 AREA IN DETAIL

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1.1 Development Background 1.2 Purpose of the Civic Pride 1.3 The Site 1.4 Development Task force and Council requirements 1.5 Augur Buchler Proposal 1.6 Proposed design critique

4 4 4 4 5 5

6.1 Development Strategy 6.2 Key Principles

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7.0 CASE STUDIES

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2.0 The Region

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2.1 Location 2.2 History 2.3 Demographics 2.4 Cultural Facilities

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7.1 The Circle 7.2 Moore London 7.3 Waterplien 7.4 Shared Space Street 7.5 Refuse Collection 7.6 Living Walls

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8.0 INITIAL IDEAS

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12.1 Detail Elements 12.1.1 Pebble Seating 12.1.2 Digital Waterfall 12.1.3 Grand Lawns 12.1.4 Terraces 12.1.5 The Square 12.1.6 Pathway_1 12.1.7 pathway_2 12.2 Digital Waterfall Detail 12.3 Visualisations 12.4 Materials Strategy 12.5 Vegetation Strategy

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3.0 AREA IN CONTEXT

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50

7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

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13.0 REFERENCES

3.1 Location 3.2 Traffic and Transport 3.3 Climate Change 3.4 Ecological Footprint 3.5 Economic Conditions 3.6 Access to Service and Employment 3.7 Access to Affordable Housing 3.8 Crime and Anti-social Activity 3.9 Vegetation

9.0 CONCEPTS 10.0 DEVELOPMENT

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11.0 MASTER PLAN ELEMENTS

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11.1 The Grove 11.2 Amphitheatre 11.3 Mix Use Development 11.4 Residential 11.5 The Circle 11.6 Trinity Square 11.7 Circulation Strategy - Pedestrian 11.7.1 The Overlook 11.7.2 North Place 11.7.3 Materials 11.8 Circulation Strategy - Vehicular 11.8.1 Northfield Lane 11.8.2 Buses 11.8.3 Service 11.8.4 Rubbish 11.9 Circulation Strategy - Shared Space 11.10 Circulation Strategy - Promenade Green Corridor 11.11 SUDS Strategy - Linear Rain Gardens 11.11.1 SUDS Treatment Train 11.11.2 Linear Rain Garden 11.12 SUDS Strategy - Wetland 11.13 SUDS Strategy - Living Roofs 11.14 SUDS Strategy - Living Walls

27 28 29 30 31 32 33

4.0 SITE ANALYSIS

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4.1 Area Characterisation 4.2 History of the site 4.3 Site Overview 4.4 Surrounding Buildings 4.5 Views 4.6 Neighbouring Development 4.7 The site and its surroundings 4.8 Townscape and Cultural Heritage 4.9 Circulation and Access 4.10 Buses 4.11 Environmental Conditions 4.12 Flood Risk

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5.0 SITE ANALYSIS - OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

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5.1 Opportunities 5.2 Constraints 5.3 Constraints/Opportunities Table

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36 37 38 39 40 41

1.O INTRODUCTION 1.1 DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUND

The Cheltenham Development Task Force – which brings together private, public and voluntary sectors – has been driving forward ambitious plans for the regeneration of the borough. As part of this, Cheltenham Borough Council has identified North Place/Portland Street as one of a number of key sites within Cheltenham Town Centre which it intends to redevelop in line with it’s Civic Pride objectives as outlined in the Civic Pride Urban Design Framework. The council wants to see the development of North Place and Portland Street car parks in a way that adds value to Cheltenham and connects the Promenade with Pittville. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008) The decision was made that the council would sell the car parks for development, and at the beginning of May Cheltenham Borough Council exchanged contracts with the chosen developers, Auger Buchler. This means that the developers can now move ahead with their plans for the site by submitting planning applications.

1.2. PURPOSE OF CIVIC PRIDE

The aim of the project is to preserve the regency heritage of the town whilst at the same time revitalising the street scene, including the buildings, roads and open spaces. This will help Cheltenham work towards its objective of becoming the most beautiful town in England. The scheme will also seek to attract investment from the private sector to add more leading retailers and other commercial users as well as smaller independent traders to the vibrant mix of shops and services already present in the town. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008)

1.3 THE SITE

This site offers a wonderful opportunity for maximum impact in terms of urban design / public realm priorities and assist in the delivery of a local plan allocation. It is high profile, both in terms of its visibility / position on approaches into the town centre, and in terms of public aspirations for Cheltenham. In regard to its size, it offers a significant opportunity for large scale redevelopment.

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Cheltenham Civic Pride Urban design framework states “ A green corridor connecting Montpellier Park with Pitville Park should be created, encouraging a promenading theme to reflect Cheltenhams spa town past (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008). This concept is a key driver of the proposals within this document.

The document goes on to establish a set of general principles regarding land useage and design standards as part of Cheltenham Town Centres future development objectives.

Some of the key aims outlined within the document are the need to retain and enhance views of the Cotswold Escarpment and a need to create stronger connections between the different “Quarters” of the town centre and a desire to strenghten the relationship between medevial High Street and the Regency Study Area (North Place) Promenade.

Civic Pride Study Area Boots Corner - Heart of Cheltenham High Street Commercial Area Promenade Key Commercial Links Main route from Montpellier to Pitville Main approaches Key Gateways to centre of Cheltenham

1.4 DEVELOPMENT TASKFORCE AND COUNCIL REQUIREMENTS

The task force invited those development companies which were interested in regenerating the sites to come up with ideas that would enhance the area and meet a set of minimum requirements. The scheme should be delivered in a way which reflects the quality of the town’s history and creates an attractive place where people can feel safe.

FIG_1 “Cheltenham should have a more integrated and permeable town structure” (Cheltenham UDF, 2010)

The table below shows the minimum requirements set out by the taskforce and the council.

Item Minimum requirement Uses unspecified Car Parking 300 spaces Housing 100 units of which 40 percent must be affordable Public Square To create a new public space Bus Terminal To create a new facility supported by the new development Sustainability Code 4 homes, BREEAM assessment rating ‘very good’

The image depicts the intention of the Civic Pride Framework to strenghten Boots Corner as akey axis between the medieval High Street running East-West and the Regency Promenade running North-South.

The redevelopment of the site must be sympathetic to the surrounding historical context, retaining and enhancing key buildings, views and throughfares. The primary objective of the development must be to create a “Responsive Environment” (Bentley, 1985)

The scheme which made it through the selection process was by developer Augur Buchler and included a hotel, food store, a public square, homes and affordable housing.

FIG_1

1.5 AUGUR BUCHLER PROPOSAL

Augur Buchler was successfully selected through a three-stage open OJEU design competition to masterplan a large, urban regeneration site in Cheltenham as part of a developer-led consortium with Cheltenham Borough Council.

The design philosophy of the proposal is to provide a vibrant mixed-use regeneration of a key brownfield site and use it as a catalyst for further development including the extension of the town centre to the north of the high street. The proposal recognises the Regency heritage assets surrounding the site and is based around the safe and attractive design of streets.

The project is to be a sustainability exemplar achieving BREEAM excellent rating and include 60,000sqft of supermarket, a multi-storey car park, 100 code 4 level townhouses and apartments, including 40% of affordable homes and public realm of the highest quality, integrating the development into the existing fabric of the town centre.

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1.6 PROPOSED DESIGN CRITIQUE

The Augular proposal meets all the requirements set out by the Cheltenham development Task Force and Council. Augular Buchler plans a mixed use development, which promises to breathe new life into Cheltenham town centre by transforming a long neglected area. But there are a few problems with this proposal.

North Place and St Margaret’s side. I believe It is an extremely disorganised way to develop a town centre. It is an ill-conceived scheme that will ruin a historic part of such a beautiful town. The proposal represent a gross over development of the site and will have an adverse visual, economic and traffic impact.

St Margaret’s Terrace: The terrace is grade two listed, and the multi-storey car park will be of similar height and will not enhance the architectural heritage. Impact on Northfield Passage, which has not been incorporated into this design. Formosa House, an architectural gem at the end of the terrace by North Place, will be particularly affected by turning vehicles into the development. Impact on Dowty House: This home for the elderly will have a supermarket looming over it with a subsequent loss of daylight and sunlight.Impact on shops:Local corner shops might close, as well as independent traders on High Street as they wont be able to compete with big chain stores.

The only successful part of the design is the Portland Street side. The new apartments and town houses lining the streets will be based on the Regency pattern and proportions, creating a very pleasant street scape. These apartments overlook a new square opposite Trinity Church, which works beautifully and I believe adds value not only to the residents but to the3. entire scheme.

CHELTENHAM ORTH PLAE STREET AND SAE QUETION 5: EIGN PRINILE 

north place a unique opportunity Section: atrium to store looking west

Section: set back to ortheld Passage

Street Sections: from ast to West looking south

Street view of St argaret’s oad looking east

Concept of new urban space on St argaret’s oad

View of new landscape space on St argaret’s oad

ownhouses fronting onto new Square

View of proposed new community square

ownhouse elevations to garden squares

View of redesigned orth Place/ St argaret’s oad crossing

ownhouses facing Portland Street

View of the new public square

a new public space ‘Trinity Square’ Street view of orth Place looking north “I see this development as the opportunity to realise Cheltenham’s Civic Pride goal to be the most beautiful town in England and an exemplar of sustainability.

This is a key site on the northern edge of the town centre in need of repair and enhancement to fulfill its potential.

We propose to complete the Green Promenade linking Montpellier and Pittville as a tree-lined boulevard, emphasising walking and cycling over driving, and completing the masterplan of Cheltenham started nearly 200 years ago.

We will create a new public town square opposite Trinity Church, set within a new residential quarter. The new apartments and town houses lining the streets will be based on the Regency pattern and proportions, thereby recreating and repairing the street scene.

The design includes a new hotel and food store facing onto St Margaret’s Road, defining a new, informal meeting space adjacent to the new town centre car park. Shoppers will enjoy easier pedestrian access and links to the High Street, with new crossing points on St Margaret’s Road.

A new bus node with taxi and drop off will enhance the public transport connections, with easier pedestrian access to the northern part of the town centre.

Sustainability is a key element to the success of the proposals and all the buildings will be designed to a high standard to reduce energy consumption and enhance the local neighbourhood.”

Concept of new community square

John Henley, Developer Augur Buchler Partners August 2011

Street view of the new Bus ode

aterials A new Bus Node will provide a safe pleasant environment to catch a bus, with information, ticketing and shelters North Place will be transformed into a pleasant tree lined residential street containing townhouses and apartments by Skanska, one of the world’s greenest construction companies and built to the highest standards of energy efficiency.

Street views and andscape details

new sustainable living

Section through new arden Square and surrounding streets

scale 1:200

2.0 THE REGION 2.1 LOCATION

Cheltenham, also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England.

Located on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England.

2.2 HISTORY

Cheltenham takes its name from the small river Chelt, which rises nearby at Dowdeswell and runs through the town on its way to the Severn. The town was awarded a market charter in 1226. Though little remains of its pre-spa history, Cheltenham has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716. The visit of George III with the queen and royal princesses in 1788 set a stamp of fashion on the spa. The spa waters continue to be taken recreationally at Pittville Pump Room, built for this purpose and completed in 1830, it is a centrepiece of Pittville, a planned extension of Cheltenham to the north, undertaken by Joseph Pitt, who laid the first stone 4 May 1825. Cheltenham’s success as a spa town is reflected in the railway station, which is still called Cheltenham Spa, and spa facilities in other towns that were inspired by or named after it. (Lambert, 2012) Horse racing began in Cheltenham in 1815, and became a major national attraction after the establishment of the Festival in 1902. Whilst the volume of tourists visiting the spa has declined, the racecourse attracts tens of thousands of visitors to each day of the festival each year, with such large numbers of visitors having a significant impact on the town. (Racecourse, 2012)

2.3 DEMOGRAPHICS

Population Cheltenham is a medium sized market town with an estimated population of 116,370 (Gloucestershire’s demographic trends, 2011), with a population density of 6,410 people per square mile (2,473/km2). The population age profile of Cheltenham is such that 16.2% of the population is 65 or older. This compares with 17.6% for the county; probably reflecting the urban nature of the authority (Demographics Online, 2010),.

However, the latest population projections from the County Council 2011 indicate that this percentage figure is going to grow to 23.4% of the population of Cheltenham by 2033. Cheltenham are known as ‘Cheltonians’.

Ethnicity According to 2011 estimates, the ethnic breakdown of the population of Cheltenham is as follows: White, British: 87.533% White Irish: 0.966% White, other: 3.775% Mixed: 1.493% Asian or Asian British: 3.161% Black or Black British: 1.054% Chinese: 1.054% Other: 0.966%. (Gloucestershire’s demographic trends, 2011)

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2.4 CULTURAL FACILITIES

Cheltenham has a regional role as a centre for the arts and culture and a vibrant and stimulating cultural life.

Every year, Cheltenham Festivals organises music, jazz, literature and science festivals in the town, attracting names with national and international reputations in each field. Events take place at venues including the Town Hall, the Everyman Theatre, The Playhouse Theatre and the Pittville Pump Room. (Lambert, 2012) Several other cultural festivals, including the Cheltenham Folk Festival, Cheltenham Film Festival, Cheltenham Poetry Festival and Cheltenham Comedy Festival are separately organised but also attract international performers. A more local event, the Cheltenham Festival of the Performing Arts (formerly Cheltenham Competitive Festival) is a collection of more than 300 performance competitions that is the oldest of Cheltenham’s arts festivals, having been started in 1926. Greenbelt, a Christian arts and music festival, and Wychwood Festival, a family-friendly folk and world music festival, are held at Cheltenham Racecourse. The town also hosts the multi-venue Walk the line festival.

Two sporting events are also routinely described as the ‘Cheltenham Festival’ or ‘the Festival’: the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, which features Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, and National Hunt racing’s Cheltenham Festival. (About, 2012) Provisions should be made in the North Place development for Cultural Facilities so Cheltenham can host more activities and festivals, which will enhance the prospect of Cheltenham becoming Englands best town.

3.0 AREA IN CONTEXT

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3.2 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT (FIG_4)

The Cheltenham Spa Urban Design Strategy, 2001, contains an analysis of the scale and quality of the Regency streets in the town and calls for new development to respect this quality. The transport and traffic situation in the six prominent approach roads i.e., Gloucester Road, Shurdington Road, Tewkesbury Road, London Road, Evesham Road, Cirencester Road and Station Approach are examined. Prominent issues identified include; gateway features and landmarks improvements, provision of traffic control, aesthetics, functionality of the routes, inclusion and provisions for pedestrians and cyclists and cluttered signage. The Civic Pride Report identifies poor approaches to Regency Cheltenham, on street parking clutter and poor lighting in some areas (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008).

The UDF Draft Baseline Report (2006) identifies opportunities for better connectivity to the town centre for cyclists and pedestrians. North Place is well served by public transport and has good pedestrian access routes; however public transport stops have a skewed location on the southern side of the ring road and therefore the site appears segregated. Facilities for pedestrians and cyclists are mixed. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008) The North Place car park and Portland Street car park jointly have a capacity of 813 spaces, which currently are conveniently located for traffic to arrive; however it is considered that an increasing concentration of these car parks to the north of the Town Centre will eventually add to the existing traffic problem on this section of the ring road. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008) The Cheltenham Urban Design Framework Baseline Report (July, 2006), reveals that during the preparation of the Cheltenham Transport Plan 2000/1 to 2005/6, the Borough recorded the highest level of cycling accidents of all districts in England, which was partly due to the high levels of usage (7% cycling to work). (Cheltenham UDF, 2006) Cheltenham is served by the National Cycle Network which runs through the town centre, and this is supplemented by the Cheltenham Cycle Network, however cycle lane provision within the town centre is not particularly extensive.

Despite this, walking and cycling became more popular for people who both lived and worked in the district, rising from 33% to 36% (1991/2001 Census). (Cheltenham UDF, 2006) A higher percentage of work journeys within Cheltenham were made by driving a car in 2001 compared to 1991.

Accompanying this trend is a decline in the use of public transport over the same period (from 7% to 6% of trips to work for those living and working in Cheltenham). The exceptions to this rule are the Cheltenham residents travelling out of the county to work (4% to 9%) (1991/2001 Census). (Cheltenham UDF, 2006) This decline in public transport use within Cheltenham comes despite 67% of the population benefiting from a level of proximity to a service of at least a 15 minute frequency, to 93% of the population to a service of at least a 30 minute frequency. (Cheltenham UDF, 2006)

3.1 LOCATION

Cheltenham is a thriving town set at the foot of the Cotswold scarp. It grew significantly in the late 18th /early 19th centuries when it was a popular spa resort. It was developed as a number of set-piece estates to a masterplan. This left an extensive legacy of Regency buildings and formal gardens. However, the streets in its core are frequently dominated by vehicular traffic and the traffic management paraphernalia which accompanies it. Pedestrian access to, and in some cases within, the town centre is often difficult, with many routes being cut by the town’s two ring roads. In addition a number of prominent sites are underused and have a negative impact on the quality of the street scene.

Traffic in and around the site is congested which cause traffic to divert to other routes which affect the wider town centre area. The large number of parking spaces in the north of the town is likely to contribute to added traffic and congestion in the area in the future.

3.3 CLIMATE CHANGE

CO2 emissions per capita in Cheltenham are impressively lower than the national average, however, with no time series data, trends cannot be established. Vehicular sources are believed to be the main sources of CO2 emissions, and in Cheltenham only 5% of the population utilise public transport to travel to work, indicating high dependency on private transport. This trend should be reversed to reduce vehicular emissions. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008)

3.4 ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

An Ecological Footprint is a way of quantifying how a community’s lifestyle impacts upon the environment and other people. In the case of Cheltenham, the footprint takes into account the following characteristics: • • • •

emissions generated from oil, coal and gas; amount of land required to absorb waste produced; amount of productive land and sea needed to feed a community; amount of productive land and sea needed to feed and provide all the energy, water and materials that the people of Cheltenham use in their everyday lives.

• The Stockholm Environmental Institute calculates the Ecological Footprint of Cheltenham to be at 5.39 global ha per capita, which is more than twice the world’s average of 2.2 global ha per capita; whereas the budget for sustainable living, which is derived by dividing the available biologically productive area by current population, is only 1.8 ha per capita.

Processed food consumption, procurement of food outside local resources and increased use of domestic fuel including gas, electricity and other fuels, are identified to be the major cause for the large footprint. Although data for the study area is unavailable it is presumed that the area average would be comparable to that for the whole urban area and that there is a need to encourage consumption of locally available resources, promote recycling and reuse and bring about a change in the attitudes of people towards maximising the utility of resources.

With more than twice the consumption of natural resources than the world average, Cheltenham and the study area pose pressure to natural resources elsewhere in the world and there is a need to reverse this trend by prioritising use of local resources and encouraging reuse and recycling. (Cheltenham Civic Pride, 2008)

3.5 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Cheltenham is a key settlement within the county and region and acts as a centre for tourism and retailing in these areas. Cheltenham has consistently been ranked higher in the national retail hierarchy than its population would suggest despite falling in the latest rankings. Cheltenham’s festivals make a significant contribution to annual business turnover and have wider positive impacts, enhancing the image of Cheltenham and helping to attract and retain new investment and employment The UDF Draft Baseline Report (2006) identifies the need to strengthen Cheltenham’s unique retail centre, creating a total quality approach which includes culture, heritage and leisure. Key issues include: The need for improved access. (Cheltenham UDF, 2006) A need to identify initiatives which correspond to and strengthen the environmental and social characteristics and aspirations of the town, such as the farmer’s market, which is held twice a month and has proven very popular.

Cheltenham is a well established leisure and entertainment centre offering a wide selection of cultural and sporting facilities as well as eating and drinking venues which are popular with local residents and visitors. The town is also known for its night time economy, the negative impacts of which are associated with the occurrence of a few crime incidents.

Cheltenham’s role as a destination for retail should be encouraged but could lead to unsustainable traffic patterns if public transport is not improved in parallel.

Issues relating to inward investment are similar for both the North Place site and the town. Cheltenham’s status as a tourist attraction does not generate the level of tourism related employment that might be expected. There

is a lack of hotel accommodation, both quantity and quality which has been confirmed and addressed, in part, by the JCS Hotel Capacity Study (2009). The town’s tourism offer should be maximised to benefit the local economy and translate into more jobs for Cheltenham’s residents.

3.6 ACCESS TO SERVICES AND EMPLOYMENT

North Place is well connected to public transport services, however, the existing pedestrian and cyclist routes in the locality are not clearly defined, whilst the large amount of car parking space and car traffic along the inner ring road conflict with the cyclist and pedestrian traffic and create an unattractive environment for sustainable transport users.

3.7 ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The number of affordable homes is decreasing, largely due to the right to buy. There has been a drop of nearly 800 units between 2001 and 2005, with a smaller loss of a further 8 dwellings by 2008/09. House prices have risen dramatically coupled with a low rise of annual income, creating issues of affordability for first time buyers. Property prices doubled in the space of five years (2000-6) with the average house price to average income ratio rising from 4.88 in 2000 to a peak of 7.5 in 2005. This has since fallen to 6.04 in 2009 due to the impact of the recession but has started to increase from the lows in between. This also causes increased levels of in-commuting from areas with lower house prices which brings with it the associated problems of traffic congestion and its impact on climate change. It may also have consequences for the local economy as businesses may find it increasingly difficult to recruit staff. (Cheltenham UDF, 2006)

3.8 CRIME AND ANTI-SOCIAL ACTIVITY

NI indicators and records of crime from Gloucestershire Police indicate a reduction in all types of crime (e.g., domestic, burglaries, violent offences, vehicle crime) between 2002-03 and 2005-06. There are also small pockets within the town centre with reported incidents of vandalism (e.g. St. Mary’s Churchyard), although these incidences are low. (Cheltenham UDF, 2006) The ‘Your Vision -Cheltenham 2020’ consultation indicates people attribute high priority to crime reduction. This fear can be attributed to the negative impacts of the night time economy of Cheltenham.

3.9 VEGETATION

Cheltenham has a relatively high percentage of green spaces (includes non-accessible spaces), which is a typical feature of the Regency era. Cheltenhams green spaces are an integral part of the streetscape and architecture, and are recognised as a key element of the public realm in the town.

A regular sequence of green spaces exists in a North-South direction starting from Pitville Park in the north, and continuing via, piville Lawns and the squares, St Mary’s churchyard, the promenade, Imperial and Montpellier Gardens, and Suffolk Square. The East-West sequence of provision follows the line of the River Chelt, with Sandford Park forming a key part. Adjacent to the site to the North is Clarence Square (adjacent to site).

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Clarence Square

Pittville Lake

Pittville Lawn

Sandford Park

Suffolk Square St Mary’s Churchyard

Jenner Gardens

Promenade

Imperial Gardens

Montpellier Gardens

4.0 SITE ANALYSIS 4.1 AREA CHARACTERISATION

Cheltenham’s built environment is highly regarded. The town centre contains many fine examples of Regency architecture and is justly famous for its public squares and gardens. The town contains 7 distinct conservation areas and has over 2600 listed buildings. Cheltenham’s objective is to become the most beautiful town in England.

The North Place site is located at the northern edge of the town centre, and is approximately 2.1ha in size. This site is primarily bound by Northfield Passage/Northfield Terrace to the north, by Portland Street to the east, by St. Margaret’s Road to the south and Monson Avenue to the west.

The site is currently in use as a surface public car park, split into two areas by North Place. North Place is a two-way street which forms part of the wider network as well as an access to the two car parks, whilst through traffic runs along Portland Street and St. Margaret’s Road. The site is virtually flat, with limited distinguishing features. There is little in terms of vegetation on the site, with a few semi-mature trees located on the periphery of the car park, along St. Margaret’s Road and Portland Street.

4.2 HISTORY OF THE SITE

Historically the sites were principally dominated by two uses. The majority of the area of North Place car park to the West was the site was the former site of St Margret’s Villa, a large 19th century house with large landscaped gardens, until the construction of St Margret’s Coach Station with it’s famous Black and White fleet. The house was subsequently demolished and the garden used as coach parking and then a car park. The site of Portland Street car park to the East was the former site of regency terraces, Victorian housing of mixed quality around an internal lane until demolished in the latter half of the 20th century. In terms of street layout - North Place and Portland Street existed on their current lines; St Margaret’s Road extended only as far as North Street in the east, with the east-west route involving a dog-leg along Warwick Place until its extension as part of the construction of the northern relief road in the 1980’s.

The maps of 1884 and 1902 provide some helpful visual clues as to the historic layout.

4.3 SITE OVERVIEW

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West corner of the site, with a step of approximately 600mm where the site borders Northfield passage; this step decreases towards the East becoming level after approximately 40m. The general condition of the site is poor, with a variety of surface treatments and patchy repairs visible offering little richness or sense of place. Boundary fencing is missing in sections corresponding with pedestrian desire lines from Northfield passage North-South through the site, indicating issues with permeability and legibility. There are a small number of notable semi-mature tress at the Portland Street and St Margrets Road boundaries which must be considered.

The site is overlooked from all sides, and in this sense has good visual permeability, however, the open nature of the site will inevitably diminish with development. It’s Northern boundary meets with the rear of the Regency Northfield terrace and the Southern tip of the Pitville development, Grade II listed Clarence Square. Boundary fencing is missing in places here, denoting a desire line through the site from Northfield Passage. The locally indexed Victorian Gothic Dowty House borders the site to the West and is currently used as a residential care home, it commands far reaching Easterly views into and across the site towards Grade II* Holy Trinity Church and the Cots wold Escarpment beyond. Grade II* listed St Margrets Terrace lies to the South of the site, with it’s imposing and somewhat austere North facing rear-facade rising some 12m creating a strong visual and physical barrier between the site and the Town Centre to the South. The Brewery development features on the other side of St Margrerts road to the South West of the site, offering a range of facilities including a cinema, gym and a variety of dining establishments.

4.4 SURROUNDING BUILDINGS

+ The site is 2.1 Hectares + It will be an expansion of the current town centre + Located North of the centre of Cheltenham + and South West of Pitville and Racecourse + Currently car parking + No vegetation within the site + Adjacent to Trinity Church Cheltenham + Currently intersected by North Place + Boarded by residential housing in some areas

The site is predominantly a flat brownfield site, currently laid out as two car parks, and as such exhibits excellent permeability. There is a slight level change from east to West with the lowest point being the North

The vernacular architectual style is Regency, with numerous listed and locally indexed buildings nearby, and FIG_1 several landmark buildings in close proximity to the site.

Incorporating these buildings sympathetically, considering views, light, scale and visual appropriateness is a key challenge in creating a successful proposal for the site. The NCP car park and the Brewery development to the West of the site are out of character with their surrondings in terms of scale and architectural styling, which, given their proximity to the site and the obvious relationship that exists between them means that the area addressing St Margrets Road is also key This area should not be ‘over built’ to ensure the site remains permeable, and visual cues such as Dowty House and Holy Trinity Church remain clearly visible from around the site to preserve legibility. Building uses around the site are mixed, with the area to the north of the site predominately residential. St Margrets terrace is occupied by a mixture of flats and offices. Adjacent to St Margrets terrace to the East are two more listed structures, one housing the Chapel Spa with gothic style arches mimicking those on Holy Trinity Church facing North into the site, and next door The Stroyteller restaurant and wine room. The three story terraces flanking Holy Trinity Church facing into the East are also a mix of residential and businesses, further South there is a future retail outlet on the corner of Warwick Place. A modern four story block of flats occupies the opposite corner adjacent to St Margrets Road.

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4.5 VIEWS

Pleasent views of the Cotswold escarpment are visible to the North East of the site providing a dramatic backdrop to the regency facade along Portland Street. These views should be preserved where possible in the line with Civic Pride aims.

4.6 NEIGHBOURING DEVELOPMENT (FIG_2)

The site is addressed by the rear of predominantly residential buildings at Northfield Terrace and Clarence Square to the north, St Margaret’s Terrace to the south and Dowty House to the west; Across Portland Street to the east is a mix of building styles, heights and uses (residential, religious, commercial) The Brewery, a recent retail development, is across St Margaret’s Road to the south west; A number of key neighbouring buildings are listed and the site is within the Central Conservation Area.

View of St Margaret’s road looking down toward Douty House to the left

The Site. Land in public ownership Vehicular Access Pedestrian Access Views through site Busy Congested Roads Landmark

4.7 THE SITE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS (FIG_2)

The amenity of adjacent residential uses needs to be protected.

There is a requirement to consider the adjacent Listed Buildings and their settings, in particular Holy Trinity Church and St Margaret’s Terraces.

• There are a number of views across the site to Holy Trinity Church, St Mary’s Church and to the Cotswolds • St Margaret’s Road and Portland Street experience heavy traffic flows and have few opportunities for pedestrian crossing.

• The site may contain archaeological remains.

• There is a need to retain about 300 public car parking spaces on the site in some form.

• The site has limited localised contamination resulting form former use as a coach station.

Existing Buildings

FIG_2 View of the front facade of St Margaret’s Terraces.

Taken from St Margaret’s Road looking North.

Rear view of St Margaret’s Terraces.

Taken from witin the North Place car parks looking South.

North place entrance from St Margaret’s Road

Clarence Court apartments on the corner of Clarence Road and North Place

North place looking North towards Formosa House

Back of Clarence Court apartments service area. This could become part of the developments service system Portland Street looking North towards Holy Trinity Church View of Portland Street Lokking East towards the Portland Street car parks from Holy Trinity Church

Back of Clarence Court apartments. Possibility any new buildings to built right up to this facade.

North Place entrance from Clarence Road

Clarence Court apartments walkway, currently used for dumping rubbish.

View of Holy Trinity Church looking west from the Portland Steet car parks

View of Portland Street Apartments next to Holy Trinity Church looking west from the Portland Steet car parks.

Existing signage throughout North Place and Portland Street.

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North Place car park looking South West towards the Brewery development

Front facade of Chapel Spa that looks West onto North Place

North Place car park looking East toward Portland Street and Holy Trinity Church Northfield passage and North Place car parks interface showing the changes in level between them.

Rear of Chapel spa that faces North onto an unused lane. Possibility for new bus node to move here.

The private lane looking East towards Portland Street. Currently restricted by The private lane looking West towards North Place. traffic bollards

Northfield passage terraced houses. Most back onto Northfield passage, but a few front onto it looking towards the North Place car-park wall that separates the two. This definitely needs improvement.

Northfield passage looking East towards North Place.

The passage levels out to North Place in this direction

Northfield passage looking West towards Monson Ave.

4.8 TOWNSCAPE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (FIG_3)

The North Place site lies within the Central Conservation Area and there are a number of important historic and Listed Buildings nearby. The majority of the buildings in Clarence Square and Northfield Terrace are grade II listed and St. Margaret’s Terrace is a 4 storey grade II* listed regency terrace on the southern edge of the site. On the corner of Portland Street and St. Margaret’s Road lies the grade II listed Portland Chapel, now in use as a health spa and restaurant.

Other notable buildings in the immediate vicinity of the site are the Brewery retail and leisure complex in the south east and Holy Trinity Church across Portland Street to the west, which has a landmark tower. There are also Listed Buildings on Portland Street, opposite the site. Clarence House, a grade II listed 3 storey regency building with a modern apartment complex attached at the rear, backs onto the site on the northern boundary.

There is a need for any development to respect and enhance the context and historic setting of the town. All new building will need to be of a high quality and contextually sympathetic, without being a pastiche.

Listed buildings have management issues, particularly in terms of ensuring they are resilient to climate change and remain habitable environments.

Portland Street but with a contraflow in place restricting the southerly flow of traffic to Buses and Coaches only. This restriction is lifted after crossing St Margrets Road heading towards Boots Corner, with any vechicle permitted in the Northerly direction towards Pitville.

The yellow arrow in FIG_4 represents public footpaths that cross the site East-West. These are in poor condition with a variety of fences and walling delineating thier boundaries often in poor repair or missing completely.

FIG_5 illustrates the most popular pedestrian routes into and through the site based on observations made during site visits. These routes must be considered and preserved where possible to ensure existing links through the site are maintained.

• St. Margaret’s Road is part of the orbital northern relief road and heavily trafficked at peak times. The considerable amount of traffic paraphernalia associated with managing traffic on St Margaret’s Road has a negative impact on the quality of the street.

• Portland Street is historically the main northern approach to the town centre, though at this point it is currently one-way out of town with a contra-flow in-bound bus lane. It is heavily trafficked.

• North Place splits the site.

• Warwick Place is decommissioned highway used for parking as part of the neighbouring health club and is an unsightly edge to the site which should be incorporated into the redevelopment.

• A number of important pedestrian routes come into and pass through the site - linking the town centre, the Brewery, Pittville Park and northern residential suburbs.

• The site is well located for most bus routes in the town.

FIG_3 Grade II* Listed (Grade ll* buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest) Grade II Listed (Grade II buildings are nationally important and of special interest) Locally Indexed (make a special local contribution to the history, appearance, character and cultural value of an area)

4.9 CIRCULATION AND ACCESS (FIG_4 AND FIG_5)

The site is currently accessable by vechicle from car park entrances on North Place and Portland Street. FIG_4 details the current road and footpath connections in and around the site. The purple arrows represent 2 way streets with footpaths at either side. The green arrow represents a one way street travelling North towards the site and represents a key route from the lower high street area. The blue arrow shows two way traffic along

FIG_4 Vechicle access points into the site Existing Buildings

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FIG_5

4.10 BUSES (FIG_6)

Following recent detailed transport modelling work there has been an examination of opportunities to relocate Royal Well bus bays, currently serving the national coaches and rural services to the town. These bays, when relocated, will cater for services with a stopping time of no longer than 20 minutes. It is proposed that these bays are located at the southern end of the North Place/Portland St site, and will be in addition to the stops located along the proposed “bus spine” which will cater for the urban services.

4.11 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (FIG_6) Vegetation Vegetation in and around the site is limited, with only a handful of notable trees on Portland Street and St Margrets Road. Clarence Square to the North of the site has tree lined streets and the area infront of St Margrets terrace has shrub boarders and some small trees. There is also some limited planting in front of the Brewery car park.

Civic pride objectives aim to increase the amount of street trees in this area to create a green corridor between imperial Square to the South and Pittville to the North.

A number of green and open spaces are situated beyond the site but are not well linked. There is an opportunity to link some of these green spaces together through the provision of green spaces as part of the redevelopment of this site.

Biodiversity Gloucestershire County Council has adopted a Biodiversity Action Plan (2000) which includes a Habitat Action Plan that covers ‘Urban Habitats’. The Habitat Action Plan lists a number of priority species requiring protection within the County. These species include - Stag beetle, Song thrush, buttoned snout moth, pipistrelle bat and great crested newt. The plan anticipates that increasing development demands will impose pressure on native protected species.

FIG_6 Significant Trees

4.12 FLOOD RISK

Proposed bus node

Cheltenham has over 4000 properties at risk from flooding and many existing urban drainage systems cause further problems of flooding, pollution or damage to the environment (Cheltenham UDF, 2006). As the climate changes serious flooding is likely to become a more frequent event and the current 1 in 100 yr flood risk will occur more often. Recent experience shows that existing drainage systems and flood attenuation schemes will not be able to cope.

5.0 SITE ANALYSIS OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

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5.1 OPPORTUNITIES

5.2 CONSTRAINTS

• Council public consultation has identified notable support for mixed use development on North Place/Portland Street, addressing pedestrian severance from the town centre and delivering high quality streets and public spaces. The redevelopment of this site offers an opportunity to build on that support.

• The site orientation & shape will make it a difficult space to create a design.

• The site is in a strategically important location on the edge of Cheltenham’s town centre on two major routes. It provides a key opportunity to form a new northern gateway to the town centre. Redevelopment of this site also provides an excellent opportunity to expand the core of the town centre, by creating a new focus for the town north of the High Street.

• Links could be made with the promenade extending the green band onto the outskirts of the town, bringing greater foot fall from the town centre into the Development & Brewery • As a cleared brownfield site, with few redeeming features, the site is a blank canvas for a major new development, with its own sense of place and the opportunity to create new spaces and streets.

• The site also offers an opportunity to create internal linkages and viewing corridors and a series of high quality public spaces which: enhances the setting of Holy Trinity Church, provides high quality public spaces, link the towns two historic promenades (The Promenade and Pittville Park), addresses the pedestrian severance between St Margaret’s Road and the Brewery by delivering clear pedestrian connections.

• Opportunity to provide strong active building frontages and space along St Margaret’s Road and Portland Street.

• A range of different architectural styles are prominent on/and within close proximity to site, giving a broad choice of structural attributes which could be incorporated into a design.

• There are wider views of the Cotswold Scarp and town centre churches which, if retained, could enhance the structure and layout of the development.

• Potential to re-consider traffic management arrangements and to enhance of the road corridor in St Margaret’s Road. This would help to address the problem of pedestrian severance, improving linkages to the town centre and creating a pleasant street.

• Opportunity for a shared space steet (North Place which currently bisects the site) • Provide a crucial link to the Brewery development • Increase the biodiversity of the site and surrounding area • Potential options should reduce the need to travel and promote a modal shift from the car to public transport, walking and cycling.

• The development could help enhance Cheltenham’s reputation as a tourist destination.

• The development should take account of the multicultural nature of Cheltenham Town Centre and should provide space for cultural activities.

• Opportunity to provide a new bus node for buses and coaches and help encourage the use of public transport through the reduction of car park spaces in the north of Cheltenham

• The Plan should not propose development in areas at unacceptable risk from flooding and must consider potential mitigation and management of flood risk.

• Two busy road networks split the site in two. This will pose an issue of successfully merging the segments together • The water quality in the River Chelt, downstream of Cheltenham is poor due to sewerage inputs. Future development should not further decrease water quality and, where possible, should improve it.

• Priority should be given to previously developed land and buildings when considering new development.

• The adjacent 2 storey residential dwellings that reside along the Northern boundary have frontages onto the site and backyards onto the site, new development cannot be in too close proximity as prevention of sunlight will cause discomfort to occupants.

• There are a multitude of varying architectural styles surrounding the site, a new development could result in loss of character of the area.

• Loss of parking could cause increased parking congestion on neighbouring streets • Levels of social deprivation in certain areas (particularly St Paul’s), should not be exacerbated by the development, and should be improved where possible.

• The development propoasl should recognise the importance of reducing actual crime and fear of crime.

5.3 Topic

Weaknesses/Constraints Opportunities

Biodiversity

The North Place site is a large area Enhancement of biodiversity of hard-standing with negligible through development design e.g., biodiversity value at present. green roofs, creation of green grid providing a link to the wider green network beyond the boundaries of the site.

Hard-standing on the site could Decrease quantity and increase potentially contribute to surface quality of urban runoff from the water flooding increasing the site, e.g. SUDS and Vegetative possibility of the sewage and Treatment Systems. drainage systems over-filling.

North Place is a brownfield site Increased use of brownfield sites avoids the need to develop greenfield sites Hard-standing on the site could Incorporation of SUDS into new potentially contribute to surface developments water flooding Require Flood Risk Assessments as part of detailed development proposals

Water Quality

Soil

Climate Change

Noise and Vibration

Cultural Heritage

Material Assets and Resource Usage

Air Quality

Townscape

Traffic congestion around the site and particularly St Margaret’s Road.

Cheltenham has the finest collection of Regency buildings in the UK. Cheltenham has the largest Conservation Area in the UK. Increasing consumption of finite and depleting resources

Population

Social and economic disparities and pockets of relative deprivation

Human Health

Perceived high levels of crime

Adoption of maximum parking standards for new developments and consideration of car free developments.

Tree planting to offset air quality impacts and Carbon Dioxide emissions.

Retention of existing trees.

Congestion on St Margaret’s Road Creation of gateway into town centre and public square.

Current under-utilisation of Use of Brownfield sites.

Brownfield sites within Cheltenham Borough.

Protection and enhancement of historic environment Cheltenham is a Regency Town of Promote high quality urban design high value townscape. Impact on and architecture listed buildings on site periphery.

Incorporate public art within the site where possible.

Residential amenity to areas north of the site i.e. whatever Development designed taking into development occurs should not account neighbouring uses. visually intrude upon the residential areas adjacent

Traffic management and traffic 17 calming Improving pedestrian and cycle links to the Town Centre.

THROUGH SHARED STREETS Enhancement and encouragement of contemporary design on the site. But based on Regency design principles. The development must be sympathetic to the surrounding environment.

Opportunities for encouraging recycling and increasing access to recycling facilities should be built into the design of the site.

Encourage sustainable design and construction

Tree planting assists the minimisation of the urban heat island effect Promote sustainable design and construction and use of renewable energy

High traffic in and around the site

Waste minimisation and recycling New development on the site should contribute towards opportunities for regeneration including creating new areas of employment and skills together with delivering affordable housing Create mixed use environment and promote a managed evening economy.

Re-invention of ‘promenading’ for the 20th Century.

Increase accessibility through the site to open up areas

Economic Issues

Housing affordability Lack of modern office accommodation in town centre (results in out of town development)

And increase permeability of Cheltenham Town Centre.

Opportunity to provide affordable housing on site.

Provision of modern office accommodation on the site.

Redevelopment of the site offers Lack of hotel accommodation (both an opportunity for introducing quantity and quality). quality hotel accommodation.

6.0 PRINCIPLE + STRATERGY 6.1 Development Strategy According to the Development task force and council requirements the proposal must “come up with ideas that would enhance the area and meet a set of minimum requirements. The scheme should be delivered in a way which reflects the quality of the town’s history and creates an attractive place where people can feel safe”.

The table below shows the minimum requirements set out by the task-force and the council.

Item Uses Car Parking Housing Public Square Bus Terminal Sustainability

Minimum requirement unspecified 300 spaces 100 units of which 40 percent must be affordable To create a new public space To create a new facility supported by the new development Code 4 homes, BREEAM assessment rating ‘very good’

6.2 The Key ideas and principles of the development of the North Place and Portland Street car parks are: I propose that North Place and Portland Street car parks should be developed as an extension to Cheltenham town centre providing commercial, residential and public open space to the local residents. This extension should be designed in an appropriate and sympathetic manner with the provision for recreational activities such as festivals to be held within the site. I want to create a site that is an exciting and iconic space which will become a destination used by visitors and locals. “ A place that Cheltonians can call their own, and a space to bring people together and give Cheltenham a new identity. Two of the key drivers in the design will be about changing the accessibility to the site both physical and conceptual, and also the introduction of water throughout the site in keeping with Cheltenham’s history of being a spa town.

• The North Place and Portland Street car parks are to add value to Cheltenham and connect Montpellier Park with Pitville park along the Promenade and also connect the Medieval High Street with the Promenade bringing together the four quarters of Cheltenham through a ‘Green Corridor’.

• Provide a high quality and imaginative public realm with regards to urban design, planning, transportation, street scene and maintenance.

• To establish a reputation in the town and county as a place of environmental excellence, and to also provide a context for the implementation of public art, cultural and heritage projects, and festivals.

• To conserve energy and reduce carbon dioxide production to the minimum.

• To stimulate economic development within the town centre • Enhance the town’s reputation as a national centre of culture and encourage investment in the leisure, tourism, and retail areas.

• Reduce the impact of traffic, improve the accessibility for walkers, cyclists, disabled people, public transport users, businesses and their service requirements.

• Provide an areas for safe off street public car parking and an area for local, regional and national bus and coaches.

• To deliver safe, innovative, leading edge sustainable solutions to provide benefits for people living, visiting and working in the development and town.

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7.0 CASE STUDIES

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7.1 The Circle in Uptown Normal, Illinois, US

7.2 Moore london, south bank, London, UK

The Circle is a multi-functional public space located in a roundabout that provides community green space, re-circulates storm water into a public fountain and improves traffic circulation. Designed by Hoerr Schaudt landscape architects, the circle creates an energy that draws people together. Located next to the Children’s Discovery Museum, bustling Amtrak station and planned multi-modal transportation center and within walking distance of Illinois State University, the circle creates a micro-community of travelers, patrons, students, professors, families and children as they gather and congregate on their daily journeys.

Morelondon is situated on the south bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

Townshend Landscape Architects were appointed as landscape architects for the project with a brief to create a place of individual character while retaining the flexibility to change as part of an evolving city. The detail of the design and use of materials seeks to ensure the public spaces create a sense of place, while being sustainable and welcoming to all visitors and users. The details and use of materials seek to ensure the public spaces create a sense of place, while also being sustainable and welcoming to all visitors and users. More than half the site is accessible to the public and includes two large squares one of which is a similar size to Parliament square, and a sunken amphitheatre (The Scoop) that has already hosted several large public events.

During the day, the circle is vibrant and alive with children playing in the grassy areas, visitors coming for a place to sit and enjoy an ice cream or friendly picnic back dropped by the charming tree lined streets home to local businesses and shops. It is also the location of many community events, including the annual Sugar Creek Arts and Sweet Corn Blues Festivals, and a farmers market.

The Scoop is an outdoor amphitheatre situated on the south side of the River Thames near Tower Bridge in London, located underneath City Hall, providing seating for approximately 800 people. Designed by Townshend Landscape Architects, it is a venue used during the summer to show films, musical performances and theatre productions.

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7.3 Waterpleinen, Rotterdam, Ned

In most cities, the storm water overflow infrastructure is costly and complicated. It usually involves a series of pipes and basins that hold water after sudden or prolonged rainfall until the standard rainwater runoff avenues are again freed up. But what if the flood-prevention measures of a city actually worked to beautify it while keeping it safe? That’s what the creators of Waterpleinen – or Water Squares – hope to do for Rotterdam.

The proposal is a radical change from the standard. Rather than hiding the storm runoff system beneath the streets and homes of the city, creators Florian Boer and Marco Vermeulen want to create basins to hold filtered storm water when Rotterdam experiences heavy rainfall. The basins won’t simply give the water a place to go so that it doesn’t flood the city, though; they’ll become part of the urban landscape.

For the majority of the year, when the basins are empty, they will be dynamic public spaces rich in opportunities for recreation. And even when the rains fill up the basins and they become impromptu canals and reservoirs, the Water Squares would be ideal places to gather and enjoy the seasonal delights of a fluid wonderland. And although a storm water runoff basin may not seem like the ideal place to take the family for a relaxing afternoon, the water is all filtered before reaching the Waterpleinen.

In theory, above-ground storm water runoff would save cities a great deal of money in infrastructure maintenance costs. And, of course, the aesthetic and recreational value of the Water Squares would be priceless. The Waterpleinen concept has been in the works since 2005, and it will still require a fair bit of research before it can be implemented. But Rotterdam officials are excited about the idea, and if any city is going to lead the way in the change of storm water runoff handling,

7.4 SHARED SPACE STREET, ASHFORD, KENT, UK

Appropriate distances between street trees and change in material aids in delineating the vehicular and pedestrian highways. The linear formation of materiality and vegetation is attractive providing a strong sense of direction.

An example of street furniture and road detailing used within the shared space scheme

Integral to the expansion of the Ashford town centre has been breaking the barrier created by the former Ring Road. Since its completion in the mid 1970’s, most of the development has turned its back creating an unpleasant, car dominated environment that does not encourage walking or active street frontages.

A mutli-million pound investment was able to transform it back into a two-way system, incorporating the UK’s first fully functioning ‘shared space’ scheme, which has dramatically improved both traffic flow and the entire character of Ashford.

The shared space area at the bottom of the lower High Street allows motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to occupy the same space and create safer environments, with reduced speeds. Visitors will notice the improved paving and street furniture, and a 20mph zone to increase safety, and the stunning road design makes the area an attractive place for residents, businesses and visitors, stimulating growth and opening up the town centre. Since its launch, the area has been accident free and several UK cities and towns, including Edinburgh, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Oxford, Blackpool and Staines, are considering redesigning their urban streets using the principles of shared space - using Ashford as a model for success Ashford is a key example of how shared space should be implemented within a design, but how can attributes be taken from this success and incorporated within my proposal for North place?

Careful consideration and planning of materiality aids to making Ashford’s shared space scheme aesthetically attractive, whilst significantly improving permeability, legibility and richness in particular. These will primarily be my main focuses when deciding on a suitable design proposal. The shared space scheme could also be the integral link to calming a majority of the traffic circulating Cheltenham, whilst allowing for successful growth and expansion of the towns main centre. Shared space would link current restrictive boundaries which segregate spaces, such as the separation of the Brewery from North place due to the busy A4109) St Margret’s Rd. Speed of traffic entering the town will immediately be reduced along with volume due to large numbers of vehicles entering the North place development taking advantage of the 300 car park spaces to be included in the design.

CASE STUDIES 7.5 Refuse Collection, Amsterdam, NED

It is normal practice to separate household rubbish such as paper, glass and textiles in the Netherlands and recycling is high on the agenda. When reuse simply isn’t an option, the municipality is on hand to help deal with your trash and offers various solutions to the problems of chemical waste and bulky refuse. The municipality collects the majority of Amsterdam’s household garbage and transports it to ultra-modern incinerators to generate power.

Some urban districts require you to deposit household waste in the dark green or grey containers on the street (pictured, above and below). These have underground capacity and are collected by the municipality on a regular basis. These containers allow easy access to your refuse when putting it on the street an make it easier for the collection services to remove your rubbish.

These refuse containers would be ideal to have throughout the North Place development. Instead of having rubbish piled onto the steets or the backs of buildings, these are a more clean and tidy alternative to have, wont detract from the charcter of the development.

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7.6 Living Walls, Saltersgate Primary School, Doncaster, UK

New living walls form part of the extension and refurbishment of an existing Primary School in Doncaster.

The living walls cover two elevations of service area, including the kitchen and boiler room, fronting the main access and act as a focal point announcing the school. The design intention in using a living facade system was to raise the profile of the school and develop pupil interest in growing plants as part of the schools strong environment ethos. The panels, complete with pre rooted plants, are simply attached to a steel frame and, being modular, can be replaced easily if necessary. Planting consists of biodiverse wild flowers and slow-growing grass matts arranged in five horizontal bands across the façades, with grass forming a background to sign-age lettering. The wild-flowers change with the seasons and the low-maintenance planting is easily managed by the school itself. The irrigation system utilises rainwater from the roof above in a harvesting tank.

Benefits: Sustainability - Rainwater harvested directly from the roof plane above is collected to feed the living wall. Once absorbed by the living wall planting, the rainwater is dissipated into the atmosphere resulting in a reduction of building surface water discharge Environmental - Constructing a living wall, ,measuring 98m2 in area, provides a direct environmental offset saving of 4.5 tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Biodiversity - Dramatically increasing the ecological value of the site, the wall will provide ‘green’ areas for insect habitation whilst the introduction of meadow grasses within the wall will attract new insect species types to the surrounding environment.

Educational - The living wall will provide the school with a learning resource area where school children will be able to identify an study different plant types along with the insects that these attract.

Aesthetic - The living wall will provide the building with a striking architectural feature clearly visible from the surrounding area.

8.0 INITIAL IDEAS

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Cheltenham has previously being known as a spa town for its medicinal water. How can I create design that reflectes Cheltenham’s historical past? That is able to adapt grow and expand to the current and future demands of development.

9.0 CONCEPTS

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10.0 DEVELOPMENT

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11.O MASTERPLAN ELEMENTS NORTH PLACE A NEW PUBLIC REALM FOR CHELTENHAM

Aim - To create a site that is an exciting and iconic space, which will become a detination used by visitors and locals. “A place that Cheltonians can call thier own, and a space to bring people together and give cheltenham a new identity. I have proposed that the North Place and Portland Street car parks are to be developed as an extension to Cheltenham town centre providing commercial, residential, and public open space to the local residents.

1 The Grove 2

Amphitheatre

3

Mix Use Development

4

Residential

5

The Circle

6

Trinity Square

7

The Overlook

8

Northfield Lane

9

Bus Node

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8 1

3

3

7

3

2

12

6

5

13

3

3

11

10 Traffic Bollards 11 North Place 12 Shared Space Streets 13 Linear Rain Garden 14 Wetland The key driver for the design of North Place came from the idea of Cheltenham previously being known as a spa town, and its water. I wanted a design that reflected the movement of water, play on the idea of changes in levels, and encourage water to be bought into the site.

4

14

10

9

12

4

1

11.1THE GROVE

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The Grove is an elevated park. It provides a green open space for the proposed top level residential apartments. The grove also provides visual relief from the car-park underneath to the adjacent terraced homes that front onto Northfield Lane (currently Northfield passage).

Examples of car parks with living roofs

View of the Grove looking north towards Northfield Lane

Refer to page 40 for vegetation strategy

11.2 AMPHITHEATRE

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This is a public open space, which can be used to host events and festivals. The Amphitheatre sweeps down to bottom level retail. It also has an animated water fountain, which helps to break up the surrounding dense urban form.

Examples of urban Amphitheatre’s A A

Ground water fountains suitable for the Amphitheatre

View from within the Amphitheatre looking south

building - amphitheatre interface

A

scale 1:500

A

amphitheatre proposed building pathway

proposed building

rain garden

proposed building elevated pathway

pathway

pathway

11.3 MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT The mixed use development is a combination of residential and commercial buildings, and a mixture of two to three stories.

Residential is situated on the top (third) level and have access to either a living roof open space or ‘The Grove’. The living roofs are on the top of the second level. By having living roofs I am able to increase the biodiversity within the site, provide residents with their own green open space, part of the SUDS system, and reduce the amount of shade within the site from the buildings. Sustainability is a key element to the success of the proposal and buildings will be designed to a high standard to reduce energy consumption and enhance the local neighbourhood.

Several sun studies were produced of the site, which helped inform the building heights and orientations to best mitigate the amount of shade produced by them throughout the day.

Commercial will be on the bottom and first levels. These will predominately be a mixture of shops, restaurants and office spaces.

In total there are: 45 residential units 124 commercial units Mix Use Development building styles that would be suitable for the development Some of the benefits of this Mix Use Development include: • Reduced distances between housing, workplaces, retail businesses, and other amenities and destinations.

• More compact development, land-use synergy (e.g. residents provide customers for retail which provide amenities for residents) • Strong neighbourhood character, sense of place • Walk-able, bike-able neighbourhood, increased accessibility via transit, both resulting in reduced transportation costs.

Living roofs for residential apartments Refer to pages 38 - 41 for vegetation strategies.

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11.4 RESIDENTIAL

30

Residential apartment blocks adjacent to Portland Street. These are three story apartment blocks of which most be for affordable housing as per the Development Task force and Council Requirements to provide at least 100 housing units with 40% being for affordable housing. The new apartments will be based on the regency pattern and proportions, thereby recreating and repairing the street scene. Each block has their own underground car parking facility for residents (accessible from Portland Street). This helps to maintain active frontages onto Portland Street. Each block have a green open space for residents and space for vehicles to enter from North Place (predominately for service).The first levels on both blocks that overlook Trinity Square will be used for commercial.

In total their are: North Block - 38 units South Block - 32 units

B B

Combined with the units from the mixed use development their are: 115 residential units, thus the development meets the requirements set out by the Cheltenham Development Task force and Council.

Examples of 3 story apartment blocks that would be suitable for the development

portland street apartments

B

scale 1:500

B

portland street

north place proposed apartments

11.5 THE CIRCLE

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The Circle is a public open space, which can be used to host events and festivals.

According to several sun studies produced of the site. Opportunities for vegetation are limited particularity the winter months. Therefore this space should be used to encourage art/sculpture in the landscape. The Circle will become a very dynamic and interesting space at night.

C

Examples of how ‘The Circle’ could look at night C

View of The Circle public open space looking east

the circle

C

scale 1:500

C

proposed building

rain garden public open space

sculpture

proposed building

11.6 TRINITY SQUARE - REFER TO PG 42 FOR AREA IN DETAIL Trinity Square is a high quality public open space adjacent to Portland Street, North Place, and is directly opposite Holy Trinity Church. Trinity Square is a high quality, safe, attractive public open space that invites and encourages social interaction. A unique design for a unique sense of place, and enhances the setting of Holy Trinity Church.

Trinity Square is part of the green corridor connecting Montpellier to Pitville via the promenade. It also acts a visual connection into the North Place development from Portland Street.

The concept for the design of North Place came from the idea of Cheltenham previously being known as a spa town, and its water. I wanted a design that reflected the movement of water, play on the idea of changes in levels, and encourage water to be bought into the site. Therefore Trinity square has to have water within the design to contribute to this scheme. Below are some examples of high quality urban public open spaces some of which have water features that have helped influence the design of Trinity Square.

Visualisation of the proposed design

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11.7 CIRCULATION STRATEGY - PEDESTRIAN

D

Movement through the North Place development is guided by two main pathway systems. The Overlook (elevated pathway), which follows the ground level pathway below, with subsequent pathways leading through the rest of the development. The pedestrian routes follows existing desire lines (refer to analysis pages 14-15 circulation and access FIG_5) that have been expanded and enhanced.

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D

Red - Main route Purple - Secondary route Green - Minor route

E

11.7.1 The Overlook

E

The Overlook is an elevated pathway system that follows the main pedestrian route through the site. The Overlook starts at ground level on both St Margaret’s Road opposite the Brewery and Portland Street both sides of Trinity Square. The pathway sweeps over the site at first level providing an elevated shopping experience and the opportunity for dynamic views of the site.

11.7.2 North Place

I have proposed that North Place become a pedestrian only street. Traffic Bollards will be put in place to stop any vehicular traffic entering the site with exception to service View of main pathway with The Overlook to the top right vehicles at certain times.

Examples of how pathways and The Overlook could be lit at night

1.

Ground Floor

1:50

11.7 CIRCULATION STRATEGY - PEDESTRIAN

34 raised building - pathway interface

building - pathway interface scale 1:500

D

D

E

car park

E

proposed buildings

elevated park

pathway

proposed buildings

rain garden proposed building rain garden proposed building elevated pathway

11.7.3 Materials

The pathways should create a stunning visual impact and not add to the dense urban form of the development. The pathway materials should enrich the quality of the spaces within the development and the existing landscape. The development of the North Place pathways and public spaces through changes in size, texture and colour will provide the development with a unique sense of identity.

Marshalls Metrolinia Textured concrete Block and Sett Paving • Creates long contemporary Lines. 3:1 ration block • Two colour finishes • The washed finish creates a subtle texture which highlights aggregates and offers an excellent slip/skid performance • Suitable for use in pedestrian and occasional traffic application, making it the perfect choice for North Place pathways.

Marshalls Celestia Smooth Ground Concrete Paving • Linear paving designed to be a key visual component in achieving an attractive modern urban development creating a distinctive and inviting environment.

• Elongated proportions of the linear paving create a striking visual impact enabling the desired effect for the creation of space in the North Place development possible.

• 3 colours.

• Smooth clean lines for an uncluttered modern look • Suitable for use in pedestrian and occasional traffic applications, ideal choice for the creation of North Place public spaces such as The Circle and Amphitheatre.

Metrolinia Paving

scale 1:500

Celestia Paving

11.8 CIRCULATION STRATEGY - VEHICULAR

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11.8.1 Northfield Lane

Currently Northfield passage a key pedestrian route that cuts past the site. I propose the extension of Northfield Passage into Northfield Lane a muse Lane. This provides the opportunity for better access for the adjacent terraced houses that front onto the site. It will also provide access into the proposed ‘Grove’ car-park. The muse lane will become part of the key service routes throughout the development.

11.8.2 Buses

A new bus node for Cheltenham as per the Cheltenham Development Task Force and Council requirements. This provides the opportunity to relocate the Royal Well bus bays to the North Place development and provide a safe pleasent environement to catch a bus, with information ticketing and shelters. These bays, will cater for services with a stopping time of no longer than 20 minutes and will be in addition to the stops located along the proposed “bus spine” which will cater for the urban services.

This new bus node provides 5 bus stands and 2 bus stops. It will be located at the south east of the site and is accessible from North Place. Buses will then have the option to turn left or right onto Portland Street.

11.8.3 Service

Red - Main service route Purple - Main service route through the development with restricted times.

Green - Minor service route through the site. Only accessible by smaller vechicles due to pathway widths and building heights.

#Company Address

For a Mix Use Development like North place to work service access is key. The site is fully accessable as the pathways, public squares, and streets are designed to wide enough for large or small service vechicles enter. The main service routes are along St Margrets Road, Portland Street, and Northfield Lane. These are accessible at all times. Service within the site will be restricted to certain times in the day ie early morning and evening. Traffic bollards throughout the site will be lowered during these times.

11.8.4 Rubbish

ent

Rubbish will be deposited into refuse collection containers throughout the site. (Refer to Case Study pg 22 for more information). And recycling facilities will be provided throughout the development to support the Gloucestershire waste partnership target of reducing landfill waste by 60%.

11.9 CIRCULATION STRATEGY - SHARED SPACE The shared space streets aim to create shared ‘social’ areas for all road users, reduce the dominance of motor vechicles and make more people friendly streets.

I propose that the road directly infront of the Brewery starting from the traffic lights to St Margrets Terraces, and the road directly infront of the Holy Trinity Church and Trinity Square become shared space streets. This shared space scheme will become the integral link to calming a majority of the traffic circulating Cheltenham, whilst allowing for successful growth and expansion of the towns main centre and the North Place development.

The Shared space would link current restrictive boundaries which segregate the Brewery from North place due to the busy A4109 St Margret’s Rd. And also Portland Street from North Place, which is a busy route to and from town. Speed of traffic entering the town will now immediately be reduced along with volume of vechicles as car parking within the area has been substationally reduced. Thus encouraging more sustainable forms of transport such as cycling and walking.

Examples of different paving types that could be used to help delineate the shared space streets.

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11.10 CIRCULATION STRATEGY - PROMENADE GREEN CORRIDOR I propose an extension to the promenade green corridor connecting Montpelier Park to Pitville Park. The design of North Place was developed around Cheltenhams spa town past, encouraging promenading by extending the green corridor will reflect this theme. And act as visual cue that will draw people through the town centre to North Place. I also propose extending this green corridor through the lower high street to the upper high street, creating stronger connection between the different quarters of the town centre and strenghten the relationship between the medevial High Street and the Regency Promenade.

The Regency idea was to transplant the countryside into the town by combining architecture with forest tree planting which stemmed from the work of John Evelyn, who wrote the classic “Discourse of Forest Trees”, in the seventeenth century. In his book, he advocated the great potential benefits of Lime trees for street planting. Many avenues of Lime trees still exist within Cheltenham town.

I propse that the promenade green corridor is to be planted with English lime trees Tilia cordata. Enhancing Cheltenham’s historical past.

Tilia cordata tree lined streets in Nottingham

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11.11 SUDS STRATEGY - LINEAR RAIN-GARDENS

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SUDS Treatment Train

SUDS sustainable urban drainage systems are to be encouraged to ensure that the North Place development is sustainable. Particular emphasis must be placed on controlling the increased quantity of storm-water generated by intensified development.

Close attention must be paid to controlling storm-water quality/quantity. Here are a range of storm-water treatment devices that I will be using throughout the development to improve the quality and quantity of the water being discharged into the local water bodies.

The key principle is to use plants and substrates to detain, filter and reduce the amount of storm-water and suspend contaminates moving across the landscape. A treatment train, therefore, is a series of elements linked together from the top to bottom of the urban catchment (living roofs, rain-gardens, to wetlands) that lengthen and slow the passage of water.

Linear Rain-gardens

A rain-garden is a storm-water management device for treating storm-water runoff.

Rain-gardens are shallow depressions, typically planted with plants, strategically located to collect, infiltrate and filter rain that falls on hard surfaces to minimise negative impacts of excessive runoff from these surfaces on creeks, rivers and streams etc. Rain gardens reduce rain runoff by allowing storm-water to soak into the ground as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters which causes erosion, water pollution, and flooding. The purpose of a rain garden is to improve water quality in nearby water bodies. Rain gardens alone can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks, streams and rivers by up to 30%.

Vegetation

Of all the storm-water treatment devices, if constructed correctly, rain-gardens are an effective and attractive device for managing storm-water run-off. They are effective for small catchment areas and can provide extended detention benefits, as permeability rates are fairly low. In addition they are effective at treating a wide range of contaminants due to a high organic content of the planting media.

Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) , Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), Stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) flowers in the winter, Montbretia (Crocosmia spp.), Bugle (Ajuga reptans), Inula (Inula hookeri), Hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), Sneezeweed (Helenium spp.), Soft rush (Juncus effusus), Royal fern (Osmunda regalis).

Possible plant species - It is recommended that rain gardens are planted with a wide range of species in order to create a densely vegetated, stable and thriving bed, which will thrive without frequent maintenance. A typical rain garden is planted with about 10 species.

Trees - Box elder (Acer negundo), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Sweetbay magnolia For the North Place development Linear Rain-gardens have been put in place and are (Magnolia virginiana). able to deal with the excess runoff from the roofs as well as the storm-water from the hard surfaces as it moves down the site.

11.12 SUDS STRATEGY - WETLAND

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A constructed wetland has been placed on the lowest point of the North Place Development opposite Trinity Square. The wetland not only breaks up the hard-scape of North Place by providing visual relief, the wetland will provide an additional green area and become an interesting water feature within the development. Wetlands are useful for urban recreation and pollution tolerant wildlife. This wetland will also increase biodiversity and provide corridors for wildlife to move between suitable habitats in urban areas within Cheltenham.

Constructed wetlands provide a much greater degree of filtering and removal of nutrients. And have proven to be effective in many developed countries, providing moderate to high levels of pollutant removal throughout the year.

The wetland will collect all the sites storm-water runoff that has not been already been treated by other SUD’s devices, and reduce flood risk within the site due to the sites dramatic change in levels.

Examples of inspirational constructed wetlands in the urban environment

Proposed wetland looking west from Trinity Square

Vegetation

Constructed wetlands should be planted with emergent vegetation. Selection of species appropriate to project goals is important since the plants in wetland systems provide the basis for animal life, as well as conduct important water purification functions.

Possible Species include: Reeds (Juncus effusus) these are the most important “worker plants” they are very pest resistant and winter hardy. Iris (Iris spp.) very attractive in the landscape and each spring produces a spectacular show of colour. Umbrella Palms (Cyperus alternifolius) add a graceful element to the foliage of the wetland. Winter hardy. Graceful cattails (typha latifolia). Bulrush (Scirpus californicus) Tree species: Black willow (Salix nigra), Box Elder (Acer Negundo), Grey Birch (Betula populifolia), Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), River Birch (Betula nigra).

11.13 SUDS STRATEGY - LIVING ROOFS

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Living roofs are vegetated roof covers, with growing media and plants taking the place of bare membrane, shingles, tiles or other roofing materials. The primary reason for greenroofs in cities is for stormwater retention delay in runoff and reduction of stormwater volume entering piped drainage infrastructure. Living roofs contribute to healthy cities and are the logical choice when considering green building design in urban areas They benefit the environment in a number of ways: • Stormwater reduction, retention, transpiration and filtration, • Cost savings in heating and air conditioning due to the insulating effect of the growing medium and plants, • Create or enhance biodiversity: habitat for plants, insects, and birds within the • urban environment.

• Moderation of the urban heat island effect, • Noise reduction (inside the building), • They look interesting and pleasant!

Studies have shown that by having a living roof it can reduce the amount of runoff by 70% through absorption and evapotranspiration.

Living roofs are situated on the first level of the Mixed Use Development and The Grove elevated park. The Mix Use Development will have semi-intensive living roofs, which have the ability to support a grater variety of subshrub plants. The Grove will be an intensive green roof. This type of roof consist of irrigated container of deep soils, allowing growth of shrubs and small trees. They require intensive maintainence interms of watering and weeding. They are ideal for ‘The Grove’ as it will provide an accessible amenity space.

The living roofs will be irrigated by harvesting water through rain water tanks that will be situated throughout the development.

Raingardens are used to treat any extra runoff that is not treated by the living roofs.

Vegetation

The Living roof’s for both ‘The Grove” and Mixed Use Development will be wildflower and grass mix to create a rich biodiverse roof to attract a variey of invertebrates.

In terms of pollen and nectar sources for invertebrates, a variety of species should be considered. Ox-eye daisy (Leucantheum vulgare), yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and hawkbits (Leontodon spp.) provide good nectar sources. It is also important to include

species which flower in early spring and autum as this will provide an extended pollen and nectar source for invertebrates throughout the year. Ornamental grasses such as Rudbeckia, Potentilla, Armeria, Dianthus, Helictotrichon sempervirens, Stipa tenuissima and even bulbs such as Muscari, or small Allium species such as Allium flavum and A. pulchellum. Will also be suitable for these roofs.

The Grove is an intensive living roof and will require more drought tollerant plants such as: Trees - Mimosa (Acacia dealbata), Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum), golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), and hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata ‘Aurea’) Medium-large shrubs - Glossy abelia (Abelia × grandiflora), Strawbwerry tree (Arbutus unedo), Elaeagnus angustifolia, Silver Jubilee (Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius), New Zealand holly (Olearia macrodonta). These species will give ‘The Gorve’ a more park effect.

11.14 SUDS STRATEGY - LIVING WALLS I have proposed living walls throughout the North Place development which provide multiple benefits when dealing with the vertical space of the urban environment and their positive visual impact.

The benefits of installing living walls are: • Reduction of thermal loading to buildings - lower heating and cooling costs = lower carbon emissions • Reduction of heat island effect • Air purification - plants are efficient filters of pollution • Increased urban biomass - more green increases all of the above • Ecological habitat • Positive impact on people - uplifting effect on those who see it • Positive upgrade (retrofits) to existing urban fabric.

Living walls will be placed throughout the development. Mainly on the ends of buildings within the mixed use development, and Trinity Square. The living walls will be irrigated by harvesting water through rain water tanks that will be situated throughout the development.

Vegetation

Living walls can have a variety of different species depending on the specific site and aspect of the living wall. Below are a variety of species commonly used on living walls throughout the UK. Perennials sun/part shade:

Shrubs:

Armeria Maritima Dusseldorf Pride Chamomile Nobile Treneague Helianthemum Wisley Primrose Sedum Stachys Lanata Silver Carpet Teucrium Chamaedrys

Convolvulus Cnoerum Cotoneaster Damerii Erica Carnea Myretoun Ruby Euonymus Fortunei Kewensis Hebe Autumn Glory Lavendula Augustifolia Hidcote Potentilla Primrose Beauty

Herbs: Marjoram Mentha Spicata Origanum Vulgare Parsley Curled Rosemarinus Prostratus Sage Salvia Officinalis Tarragon Artemisia Thymus

Shade / Trailing Plants: Vinca Minor Ajuga Reptans Bergenia Hosta Halcyon Iris Foetidissima Liriope Omphalodes Verna Saxifraga X Urbrum Tellima Grandiflora Tiarella Cordifolia

Viola

Grasses: Carex Deschampsia Flexuosa Festuca Glauca Uncinia Uncinata Rubra

Ferns: Asplenium Trichomanes Blechnum Spicant Cyrtomium Fortunei Dryopteris Affinis Phyllitis Scolopendrum Polypodium Vulgare

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Examples of living wall styles that could be used throughout the development

12.0 AREA IN DETAIL

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TRINITY SQUARE

A HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC SPACE FOR NORTH PLACE Aim - To create a high quality, safe, attractive public open space that invites and encourages social interaction. A unique design for a unique sense of place, and enhance the setting of Holy Trinity Church.

7

A 4

3 5 2 3

1 Pebble Seating 2

Digital Waterfall

3

Grand Lawns

4

Terraces

5

The Square

6

Pathway_1

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Pathway_2

6

4

1

A

12.1 DETAIL ELEMENTS

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1 12.1.1 Pebble Seating

To carry on the theme of Cheltenham’s spa town history and bringing water into the development. Pebble seating enhances the sense of nature and provides a sculptural alternative to standard benches. They will also help soften the geometric shape of Trinity Squares design.

2 12.1.2 Digital Waterfall

Cascading water feature, lit with noeon lighing at night. It is the main feature within the squares design.

3 12.1.3 Grand Lawns

Grassed open space that provides opportunities for informal activities and events space.

5 12.1.5 The Square

The square is a public open space where events can be held. The terraced seating provides an opportunity for the square to become an informal amphitheatre.

6 12.1.6 Pathway_1

This is a sloped pathway to provide access for the disabled, prams, service vechicles etc.

7 12.1.7 Pathway_2

Stepped pathway. The pathway steps down from the ‘Grand Lawn’ adjacent to Portland street to ‘The Square’ and then steps down to the North Place development.

4 12.1.4 Terraces

Terraced grassed walls held by schist stone. Provides informal seating, and is the key driver in The North Place Development level change.

A

A

50.00

8 the overlook

The Overlook elevated pathway system starts from ground level at Portland Street and sweeps over the site towards the Brewery.

Opportunity for an elevated shopping experience and dynamic views of Trinity Square and the North Place development.

46.23

north place

living wall

3 grand lawn

As Trinity Square drops down, there is an opportunity for a living wall,which enhances the sense of nature within the square.

proposed buildings

tree pit

Containing Trinity Square’s feature tree Quercus ilex, evergreen Oak.

2 digital waterfall

3 grand lawn

1 pebble seating

Three story residential apartment blocks. The second story, which overlooks the sqaure and follows the same level as ‘The Overlook’ pathway will be used for retail.

portland street

12.2 DIGITAL WATERFALL DETAIL

‘Jura Beige’ Limestone pavers are used to create Digital Waterfall, and surrounding square

th 48.50 bh 48.00

th 49.00 bh 48.50

‘Poolburn and Alex blend’ schist stone is used for terraced walls Cascading waterfall with neon lighting

th 49.50 bh 49.00

th 50.00 bh 49.50

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12.3 VISUALISATIONS

The digital waterfall, lawns, trees, and living walls provide a tranquil public space for North Place, Cheltenham, and really enhances the setting Holy Trinity Church.

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VISUALISATIONS

View looking south east, showing The Square, Digital Waterfall, Tree pit, and The Overlook - building interface with living walls.

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VISUALISATIONS

View of the Digital Waterfall looking south up to Holy Trinity Church. High quality natural stone is used throughout the square. Poolburn and Alex blend schist for low seating terraces, that contrast with the Jura Beige Limestone of the Digital Waterfall, and square.

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12.4 MATERIALS STRATERGY The materials in Trinity Square should reflect the character of the space and be sympathetic to surrounding materials used in the landscape. Continuity of materials throughout the North Place development is key to creating a high quality and attractive public realm

48 Exposed Aggregate

Lay concrete as normal, when sufficiently dry apply a concrete retarder (Rugsol). When sufficient time has passed softly wash the surface to expose the aggregate.

The size of the largest aggregate of the base mix shall not exceed 19mm.

Schist Stone

Stonewerx Poolburn and Alex Blend Schist Stone.

Schist stone walls layed in a 7mm coloured cement mortar. Mortar must be racked back to enhance the variety of schist’s.

Precast Concrete Edging

Limestone Steps

Limestone steps 2000x200x170 with a 15mm nosing projecting beyond the step riser. Corduroy pavings bands are to be carved out at the top and bottom of each step.

Lighting

The Linea luminaire uses indirect lighting to provide a soft and inviting ambience. Using the latest in HID technology its functional with the highest level of sophistication. The Linea Luminare with be used throughout the square to highlight key routes and features while still providing the sense of a safe environment.

Flat top concrete edging 50x150x915mm, layed on 150mm hardcore, and haunched.

All edging must be tightly butt jointed and all corners neatly closed. All cut edging should be neatly trimmed and squared. The edgings should be set as close as possible to the surrounding ground levels to prevent trip hazzards and facilitate easy mowing of grass verges.

Pebble Seats

Made of polished concrete using recycled cornish granite. Colours black and marble.

Sizes: Oval 205x105x46 Asymmetric 177x104x84

Slot Drain

Marshals slot drain Mono 1000 Slot drain with landscape channel, 10/0 channel unit. Double slot entry.

Limestone Pavers

London stone - Jura Beige limestone pavers with straight machine cut edges.

Layed on 20mm mortar bed ontop of a 100mm concrete base, which is layed on 150mm hardcore.

Paver sizes:

The Square 2000x 400x40 800x400x40 400x400x40

1200x800x40 800x800x40

Digital Waterfall 800x400x40 600x400x40 400x400x40

Digital Waterfall

Lighting should be regarded as an integral ingredient for any water feature. Water features operating at night that are well lit are completely transformed. The Digital Waterfall will have neon lighting at water level and beneath each step.

Coloured lighting will look especially superb.

12.5 VEGETATION STRATERGY

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Trinity Square will become an urban oasis near the heart of Cheltenham. In such a dense urban environment surrounded by buildings provoking interest is key. With a mixture of heights, colours, deciduous and evergreen species, shadows and softened light from the vegetation creates interest and beauty, whether its in the summer or winter months.

Trees

Shrubs

Groundcovers

Evergreen Oak. Produces catkins and acorns in the spring. Trinity Square’s feature tree.

Neat, shrubby herb with glossy, dark green evergreen leaves. Bees and butterflies enjoy the deep pink flower spikes during late Summer.

Used as a formal border hedge.

Titoki, Alectryon excelsus

Black Mondo Grass, low maintenance ground cover. To be used as a border, and planted in-front of the Box and Germander hedges.

Box Hedge, Buxus Sempervirens

Holm Oak, Quercus ilex

Titoki is a shiny-leaved evergreen tree.

Produces small purple flowers in spring and a bright red and black fruit, which is desirable to many birds.

Liquid Amber, Liquidambar styraciflua

Deciduous tree, recognizable by the combination of its five-pointed star-shaped leaves. Beautiful colours in the Autum. Also produces a hard, spiked fruit in the spring.

Dwarf Maple, Acer palmatum

Small deciduous tree. Both Red and green leaved Dwarfed Maples are to be used in this scheme.

Germander Hedge, Teucrium x lucidrys

Very dense small round dark evergreen leaves.

Formal low hedge to be used infront of the Germander Hedge.

Clivia

Herbaceous evergreen plant with green, strap-like leaves, and orange flowers in the spring. Clivia is to planted at the base of the Oak tree.

Mondo Grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’

Lamium amplexicaule and Houttuynia cordata mix

Herbaceous perennials to be used as ground covers at base to trees. Both flower in the spring and summer months.

Ajuga reptans

Herbaceous flowering plant. Dark green leaves.

In the spring it sends up tall flower stalks with many purple flowers on them. It is to be used a spreading ground cover below the Oak tree.

Grass

Made for Shade grass mix A 50/50 mix of American Chewings and Creeping Red Fescues . All are fine leaved and prosper in the shade and also grow well in full sun. Medium green in colour with a very fine leaf.

13.0 REFERENCES About. (2012, 11). Retrieved 2012, from Cheltenham Festivals: http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com Bentley, I. (1985). Responsive Enivronments. Architectural Press.

Cheltenham Civic Pride. (2008). Retrieved 2012, from http://consult.gct-jcs.org/consult.ti/civicpride_ spd/viewCompoundDoc?docid=563508&partid=563508&pfv=Y&clientuid= Cheltenham urban design framework. (2006, 07). Retrieved 11 2012, from Cheltenham City Council: www.cheltenham.gov.uk/.../appendix_1-civic_pride Demographics Online. (2010, 11). Retrieved 2012, from Experian: http://www.demographicsonline. com/Cheltenham Gloucestershire’s population and demographic trends. (2012, 11). Retrieved 2012, from Glos County Council: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/inform/index.cfm?articleid=94017 Lambert, T. (2012, 11). A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM SPA. Retrieved 2012, from local histories: http://www.localhistories.org/cheltenham.html Racecourse, C. (2012, 11). A Proud History. Retrieved 2012, from Cheltenham Racecourse: http:// www.cheltenham.co.uk/about/history/ The curiosities of Cheltenham Spa, past and present. (2012, 12). Retrieved 2012, from Chetlonia: http://cheltonia.wordpress.com