08_next steps This document and its masterplan are a ‘thought leadership’ piece. At this stage it is not a detailed design. It’s the start of a process not the end. It is a community-led vision – which now needs to be developed into one that is shared by others – principally the Council. The development of this shared plan is the next key step in this process. It will change and develop as the detail of the constraints and further opportunities arise and detailed debate takes place. The key concepts can be found in the Strategic Framework (Figure 5). The Strategic Masterplan (Figure 7) is a visualisation of the Framework. The priority should be to share the concept of the neighbourhood we are trying to create.
– a liveable city centre neighbourhood.
costings and materials The estimate of costs for the delivery of the Masterplan has been deliberately avoided as these costs can vary considerably. The next step of discussion and further design will produce such costings. A key consideration of costs is the expense of the materials employed. It’s usual, with an area such as this, to jump straight into expensive materials, such as York Stone paving slabs and granite and York Stone setts. In historic streets such as White Friars and Old Hall Place this should be the case. However, in other places such as the Neighbourhood ‘Heart’, Cuppin Street, Back Weaver Street, Commonhall Street and Pierpoint Court, less expensive surface materials can, and perhaps should, be used. In such areas coloured tarmac, for example, could be used as has been the case in the recent resurfacing of Frodsham Street in Chester ( shared use scheme that won the Healthy Street Award in 2019) . The key is to use high quality ‘trims’ (Conservation / granite kerbs and channels) and high-quality street furniture. The Council’s Commonhall Street Design Guide and its materials and street furniture guidelines provide the necessary guidance for this. This neighbourhood should be a cool, vibrant and colourful place – an alternative to the formality of Chester’s Row streets. Therefore, the surface treatments and street furniture can have a more quirky, creative and artistic feel – involving local designers and artisans - and its design needs to be led by the local residents of this neighbourhood.
image via Twitter @aaldakheelalla
copyright Andy Farrall Limited 2022
31
