Civic Stewardship Symposium - MAG / AoU

Civic Stewardship Symposium Event Summary Report

Town Centre gardening during a MAG study visit to Omagh. Vegetables were harvested during a follow-up visit. The planters have now been adopted by the Arts Centre cafĂŠ as a local food source.

Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment (MAG) supported by Landscape Institute Northern Ireland Architecture + Design Scotland The Academy of Urbanism Belfast City Council Ligoniel Village, Belfast, Northern Ireland Thursday 21 November 2013

Civic Stewardship Symposium On a brisk morning, participants converged at the Ligoniel Community Centre in North Belfast, Northern Ireland, for an interactive symposium on civic stewardship.

The morning began – as it should – with coffee, tea and scones and a brief meetand-mingle with other participants. However, the day’s schedule was packed tight, and the programme began promptly.

Frazer Macleod – Planning Officer, Glasgow City Council All Places Matter – The Local Authority as Facilitator Frazer Macleod from Glasgow City Council started the morning session with a talk about “stalled spaces” – places in the city where development was due to happen (and where demolition has probably already happened in anticipation of the proposed development) but has been stalled for economic (or other) reasons. He began by comparing the city of Glasgow to the city of Belfast – there are lots of similarities: beyond having a river, both have strong industrial roots with inspirational and aspirational architecture and many regeneration projects. At the same time, there are lots of pockets of deprivation and social exclusion, and that is why Glasgow City Council’s Stalled Spaces programme is relevant and able to fill a gap in the market.

The Stalled Spaces programme operates within Glasgow city for registered vacant or derelict land, whereby temporary uses are put in place on sites of stalled developments or underused open space. The purpose of the Stalled Spaces programme is to give community groups and organisations various opportunities to improve the quality of the local environment. The types of projects funded by Stalled Spaces include outdoor arts, urban growing, natural play, environmental education and green networks. Groups are eligible if they have a managing body that meets regularly, have elected office bearers and generally deliver their purposes by notfor-profit groups.

Stalled Spaces is funded by Glasgow City Council (£25k), and Glasgow Housing Association (£25k) with a maximum of £2,500 awarded to individual projects through the programme. Previous successful projects include Forest Education Programme, Beechwood Nursery, Easterhouse, Johnny’s Garden, ‘Bees in the City’, and Parkhead Community Garden. Feedback from successful projects has been positive.

Frazer noted the importance of making sure that everyone has agreed to a legal framework and to not use a one-size-fits-all solution. Every group is different and it is important to realise that not everything proposed can happen – the community has to drive the project, be persistent, and be realistic. That being said, there were 59 Stalled Spaces sites with projects in first 2 years and 20 more this year.

Arthur Acheson, as Chair of the Symposium, thanked Frazer and mentioned that ‘Stalled Spaces’ has won a number of awards since its inception. He also thanked the partners involved in putting the symposium together, noting that the speakers were funded by the Landscape Institute of Northern Ireland with support from Architecture and Design Scotland, and Belfast City Council had kindly granted the venue free of charge.

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Q&A session Frazer’s talk was followed by a lively Q&A session with input from a range of participants. The question arose as to whether the Stalled Spaces programme – under the planning authority of Glasgow City Council – could potentially become an obligation, but Frazer noted that because it is a community-led project, it must remain optional. There was also surprise at how little funding was needed for such projects. It was noted that communities are required to source matched funding, and Frazer pointed out that many apply for other funds in tandem with the Stalled Spaces programme, for example from the Big Lottery Fund. There was also curiosity as to whether some of the ‘stalled’ spaces have become ‘unstalled’ causing projects to close or relocate; however, because the programme is still in the early stages, this has not yet happened.

There was a question surrounding what happens with maintenance, assessment, etc, once a project is off the ground. Frazer stated that the council monitors activity on site, to see how it is going and to check if the group needs ideas on how to build funding.

Because these questions are centred on meanwhile spaces, there is always the consideration of what happens next with the projects that are part of the Stalled Spaces programme. One participant stated that it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle without having the bigger picture on the box. In response, Frazer suggested that their plans for the future include working with the sports and culture departments to design some sports spaces within the Stalled Spaces programme.

There were some contrasting views to the idea of meanwhile uses, as a MAG Member noted. This is generally because boards of development companies do not like the liability associated with such projects which can cause them to be skeptical of the whole Stalled Spaces process. The legal aspect is a very real stumbling block.

Walking tours Glenbank Park Community Garden A group of delegates headed down the hill from the Ligoniel Community Centre to Glenbank Park, which lies at the entrance to Ligoniel Village from the Crumlin Road and Belfast. The park is at a traditional interface of tension between the residents of upper and lower Ligoniel. In fact, in order to discourage direct access between the communities, the upper gate of the park into Ligoniel Village had been welded shut for many years. This gate had been reopened in recent years following requests by the community-led Ligoniel Improvement Association. Subsequently, funding from Belfast City Council has led to the establishment of a community garden inside a walled area close to this entrance to the park, and delegates met a Belfast City Council representative in the community garden.

The garden consisted of a number of planting beds, a short polytunnel and several raised beds. But it seemed very evident to all that this facility was not being used to the initiative’s best potential. Delegates were informed that all materials (plants, soil, tools, etc) were provided by Belfast City Council (BCC), and that instruction is provided by Conservation Volunteers NI (CVNI) once a week. However, the raised beds appeared to be untended, although they had been planted and maintained by volunteers with the help of skilled staff for the initial season. It was noted that despite its location in a south facing park with views high over Belfast, the garden itself was enclosed in a high-walled service yard, with no views possible either out or in, which felt isolating and potentially vulnerable for users of the garden.

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The garden is only open for use one morning a week when the CVNI volunteer is present. The rest of the week it is locked and no residents have access to the key.

It appeared to many of the delegates that certain characteristics of the Glenbank Park Community Garden were causing this facility not to be fully used, or to be unviable in its present form. A suggestion that a key could be kept in the community centre for collection by responsible users of the garden, revealed that one half of the community would be unlikely to venture into Ligoniel village where the community centre is located.

Since before the Glenbank Community Garden was developed, Ligoniel Improvement Association has provided community-based gardening with polytunnels, at the Wolfhill Centre in the village, which is open each day.

Delegates commented that two such facilitated gardening opportunities very close to each other significantly reduced the likelihood of residents using the Glenbank Park facility.

It was noted that there is a raised open area of ground, beside the path and with views over the park and street, between the high-walled service yard and the recently reopened Glenbank Park gate to Ligoniel Village. Use of this area for the garden could be open to all residents when the park is open, without requiring BCC / CVNI staff to be present. This would encourage open interaction between users of the garden, park and street, and is adjacent to the high-walled service yard where BCC and CVNI materials could still be secured.

Gardening facilities at Wolfhill Centre

Whilst its location in an area of ‘interface’ was commendable, it was felt by delegates that significant collaborative thinking is required to make the Glenbank Park Community Garden a beneficial and successful facility.

Greater Ballysillan Masterplan Around 30 participants joined landscape architect and urban designer James Hennessey on a walk to the nearby Willowgrove Centre, where public consultation on the Draft Greater Ballysillan Masterplan was taking place. Having reviewed the information panels over a cup of tea, the group was welcomed by Dale Harrison, Manager of the Community Centre. She explained how residents in this largely deprived area had felt excluded from city investment over the years and that being given the opportunity to shape a vision for the next 20 years was very much welcomed. James, who is leading the consultant team preparing the plan, explained the draft proposals and extensive consultation process being undertaken, including Community Drop Ins, Schools Workshops, Walk’n’Talk Days and a Family Fun Day. The subsequent discussion explored the merits and challenges of such regeneration projects. Great value was seen in creating opportunities for local people to take the ‘driving seat’ of developing a vision for their area (as long as this is followed by change on the ground). The nuances of North Belfast’s complex political boundaries were discussed, highlighting the challenge of defining neighbourhoods that have a strong sense of identity without inadvertently reinforcing division. The pros and cons of non-statutory plans were discussed, noting that the forthcoming transfer of NI

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planning powers from central to local government meant that such plans could become very influential in shaping future policy.

Ligoniel Hills and Dams Environmental Project and Ligoniel Park Damien McCallin, Environmental Officer at Ligoniel Improvement Association, led a team of delegates to view the community-owned Ligoniel Hills and Dams Park. The community had been working on this project for over twenty years and had convinced the statutory authorities and private sector housing developers that the original proposal to drain the former mill dam (the Middle Dam) was less desirable than repairing the dam and retaining it as an environmental asset. Following engineering reports and subsequent extensive remedial works, the dam was declared safe and was acquired with surrounding lands by the community association. The lands and dam extend to some 4.6 hectares (11 acres) and include a derelict stone former corn mill for which a planning application has been submitted for restoration and reuse as an environmental centre. Ligoniel Fishing Club leads on water management. The club includes experienced water bailiffs and takes an active role in the land management too. Central government is assisting with a physical development scheme that includes disabled access to fishing platforms and improved pathways.

Ligoniel Park, by comparison, is statutorily managed and discussions are in hand to create appropriate terms of reference to allow Belfast City Council to benefit from the active management capacity of the local community organisations.

It is intended that work will include the reopening of another former mill dam, Boodles Dam, which is currently concealed behind high steel railings and significantly overgrown. The community association is ready to assist Belfast City Council with creative techniques of management and is discussing further involvement to increase use and create further opportunities for the development of activities in the Park.

Structured conversation The Chair opened this section by sharing the principles of Action Learning and the notions of ‘friends’ and ‘neighbours’ of a given space. He drew participants’ attention to the back of the MAG Civic Stewardship document for the software needed to deliver these principles. The document is available as a PDF by request to magsecretariat@dcalni.gov.uk One delegate with experience of living in West Fife in Scotland was struck by the common elements he encountered on the walking tour. The Scottish coal mining tradition also includes the concept of common ownership – mutuality and reciprocity.

A university lecturer in architecture spoke about how in this area there is an amazing ability of residents to work with the government and the community, which is very refreshing. For example, the Fishing Group had a say on how funding would be spent in Ligoniel Park, demonstrating great synergy in projects.

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There are practicalities around how to get things done, particularly with changing powers. It took a lot of visionary work to make something like the dam be delivered and established in the community. It took the initiative of a number of community groups to make that happen. The project is working across lots of different groups including local groups, special interest groups and the government, which is great when it happens, but all too rare. Even in the city centre there are a lot of divisions in terms of getting things done. Collaboration and breaking down silos is achieving lots up here in Ligoniel.

An Arts Director noted that we are witnessing the power of the volunteer – one volunteer can be better than 10 tired council workers, and she said that as “a tired council worker!” She cited the Ballymena Blackboard project that was developed in conjunction with MAG which has captured the collective imagination with social media presence, and it also won an award a few weeks ago for excellence in marketing the arts.

A Member of MAG discussed the community gardens in Glenbank Park coordinated by Belfast City Council that were visited on the walkabout. This Park is recognised as an interface area; the garden had been created through the Shared Space funding initiative, but was disappointing in its current use and appearance. A gardening facility exists a short distance away at the Wolfhill Centre. With two community gardens near to each other, the Glenbank Park garden is underused, although the Chair referred to several community gardens that are well sustained in Belfast. They are all immediately adjacent to staffed council facilities and therefore benefit from continuous interaction with skilled staff.

A delegate suggested we need a shared understanding to bring things forward.

The importance of local knowledge cannot be underestimated. In fact, a systemic approach (rather than systematic) is needed – apply the balm to the tip of the plant and it is absorbed by the roots.

With over 400 community groups noted during MAG research in a single council area, we can learn from the best practice of what is happening here in Ligoniel – how community is literally and actively engaged. However, each place is different and therefore has different needs and sets of rules, habits and regulations. We can share knowledge and information from Ligoniel Village to inform other places.

A Regeneration Officer suggested that Ligoniel demonstrates the enormous potential of community leadership and community workers – the example of Ligoniel provides the opportunity for Councils to look again at what they have and what they can do.

An Expert Advisor from MAG noted that Ligoniel is a large area and the task is enormous. Perhaps the space is too extensive for a community to lead. Topography is very interesting in the area but the built form turns its back on it. The interface is the quality of environment and the immediate relationship that you have with your surrounding environment. It is very important to be taken around an area by a local person, as they can provide you with a perspective that outsiders don’t have.

Signage is needed.

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Maria Morgan, Chief Executive of Ligoniel Improvement Association, noted that improved signage is underway. In the next 2-3 years, you will be able to walk from Lisburn to Carrickfergus along newly opened routes, which will allow for environmental discovery. In terms of housing, many new developments feel cut off from the village of Ligoniel. It’s a work in progress. The Chair shared an anecdote that gave him a glimpse of the future: He met some German tourists who wanted directions to the River Lagan. They had walked from Queens University to Belfast Castle and back again. What local person has done that? It takes someone from outside to show us the potential for exploration on our doorstep.

One participant had worked in Edinburgh for 20 years in community planning, which is new to Northern Ireland and may be more challenging than in Scotland, but there is still reason to be optimistic. A delegate was amazed that we were talking about this, stating that thirty years ago they were doing this in Scotland through interdepartmental groups.

It can turn out that there are not a lot of answers, but an awful lot of questions. There are issues over literal ownership (ie. with the community garden being locked and only one or two people with keys). You don’t have to enclose something to make it safe.

Afternoon ‘round room’ discussion This round room discussion session began with a Belfast Residents’ Group representative asking “why do we always start with consultation and finish with a plan? – it should be a process of discovery to inform ideas rather than work towards a final master plan.” A Scottish delegate agreed, stating, “the master plan has a deadening effect. I like the idea of a discovery process. You cannot tell people the answers to questions that they haven’t asked.” The Belfast Residents’ Group representative clarified that it is important to link local knowledge into the infrastructure, organisations and delivery.

Projects should be the outcome of a discovery process, not a masterplan. The word masterplan is a word to steer clear of. It can be quite a dangerous word to use in certain contexts. It suggests that there is a finished product and the end has been predetermined. Our plans need to be more flexible and open. Charrettes have allowed the discovery process to play out. But charrette is an even more scary word, although it suggests a different way of working.

Another participant brought up similar contentions with the word ‘site’, explaining that it can be perceived as a place apart – with a fence around it. It’s important to think outside the four corners of our ‘site’ and to try and benefit the wider area and work in partnership with local groups. We need to think beyond the ‘site’ – once we get rid of that word, communities will be able to take ownership.

Here, community groups are identifying the gaps and going to statutory bodies to fill them. If people see a direct outcome from their involvement, they will be more inclined to continue involvement.

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How can we do the discovery/experiments at very low risk? Even a small design flaw can turn into a big issue. Designers need to understand the detail but often do not receive or require sufficient evidence at the time of briefing. There is greater likelihood of success if the level of responsibility is delegated to the level of activity where there is energy and passion to get the project right. People who actually use places on a regular basis have the most to contribute about its design but, sadly, caretakers and other users who know the place intimately are often not asked.

A delegate from Lisburn noted it is very obvious from being with Damien in the morning that community input is crucial, and the community example in Ligoniel was very encouraging and inspirational. The Balmoral Show had been held in 2013 at a new venue, Maze Long Kesh, for which his organisation is responsible. The Show had brought in 100,000 people and attracted great interest in spite of the change of venue.

A Landscape Architect spoke about the European Landscape Convention, which states that ‘all landscapes matter.’ The Northern Ireland government has a responsibility to all places and all landscapes. It’s a process that’s ever-changing.

Basic psychology – place, environment and people all interact and all matter.

If we are looking out for our own well-being, we are responsible for our well-being, and that of the community around us. All places matter. The government has an obligation to work for the well-being of all landscapes. Landscape is not simply a view, a physical thing, but is a process that is ever changing – an interaction between people and the environment.

A lot of the talk at the symposium was about securing money for projects. Those people with the vision and passion are not only improving their local places but also benefiting from the health impact of their involvement in the community. They are operating away from the sedentary lifestyle that our society is so used to living now.

The Chair put forth the idea of scientific method where elements are tested in reality.

Stewardship learning is needed to inform both design and the planning process on a continuing basis. Proposals could benefit from wider and more critical thinking to achieve better results on the ground more quickly and inform the longer processes.

Big infrastructure tends to create big unintended consequences. These all need to be considered in the planning process. A proper understanding by those involved in the planning process ought to be embedded into education. He mentioned the HM Treasury Green Book, promoting radical options, which another participant agreed with, bringing the Green Book as a methodology to people.

In Glasgow City Council there are 5000 employees and in Belfast City Council 2800 employees. Are these people being asked to work in single function jobs in single function departments? One delegate had worked in the private sector for many years and his biggest fear is how governance is going to evolve. Political decisions about projects are being made for ideological reasons – they are not sufficiently challenged on the basis of facts.

One participant noted that at a conference in Lithuania recently, he got the feeling that Europe is getting more involved in the idea of culture. The Council of Europe is now including the work of communities when previously it was all about policy. It is important to achieve the right balance.

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Pauline Gallacher – Neilston Development Trust An Ordinary Passionate Place Pauline Gallacher spoke in the afternoon on ‘An Ordinary Passionate Place.’ She began by showing a slide of a chair in a sunny backyard space in Copenhagen.

She took this photo ten years ago and it highlights her ideas of placemaking, contingencies and happenstance, that all come together to create a narrative on place. It was a formative experience.

The talk centered on where Pauline lives in Neilston in Glasgow. Formerly a major centre for the cotton industry for two centuries, Neilston is now a postindustrial village of 6,000 people. What makes Neilston special is that it is ordinary – it was never a special enough place to get taken care of.

The story starts as Pauline was working for Glasgow in 1999 to roll out community engagement with architecture and design, preaching the gospel of good design to some of the poorest communities in Glasgow. At the end of that, she wanted to find a way to test some of her theories, but first needed to get a feel for the life of a place. She took Jan Gehl’s mantra “first the people, then the spaces, then the buildings” to her town of Neilston.

Pauline wanted to develop and implement a community-based public space strategy capable of adoption by local authority. Essentially, she wanted to make Neilston a better place to live that was well suited to the 21st century with local people leading. The ingredients of this agenda would be a special kind of plan in which local people would have a real say. This included a programme of workshops and festivals.

The Neilston Development Trust (NDT) has taken a slightly more business-like approach, which stands for people, place and prospects. The Neilston Charter provides a framework for the vision of the NDT. They now have an advisory group comprising all local stakeholders and community members and a recent survey has endorsed key themes for ongoing work.

For example, through the community right to buy, the residents purchased the old bank in the village which became the Bank Café, the base for Neilston Development Trust (NDT) and the local community choir. ‘Neilston Renaissance Town Charter,’ published in 2009, was a detailed document containing 44 aspirational projects, from a future for the mill to high quality public space. Pauline clearly took the long view in her stewardship and leadership for her village. As well, Neilston Community Windfarm LLP was begun by the community in partnership with a developer, and NDT has a 28.3% stake in the £15.3 million development, which will raise £10 million for Neilston in the next 25 years. Northern Ireland could look at potential community owned energy ventures such as this.

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Conclusions and resolutions Before the Chair provided the final conclusion for the day, a MAG Expert Advisor stated that he has difficulty with the word ‘community.’ He sees it as a negative word as well as a positive one, like ‘site.’ He pointed out that we had used the word ‘community’ over 200 times so far today – it could be an economic driver if we charged 50p per mention, we would have made £100!

The symposium was then concluded by the Chair, who stated that ‘community planning is a big new opportunity that should be a discovery process at the level where there is energy to produce evidence to make the community plan actually work for the greatest benefit of the public and all places in perpetuity.’

He ended with the question: what kind of living community do you want to see in 12 years time? We need to ensure it’s not just town centre, town centre, town centre, but that there is a connection and interplay between the areas. The word community is definitely there – it is in legislation. Community planning should be a discovery process at the level of where the greatest energy is.

A final report on Civic Stewardship will be published by MAG in March 2014.

This summary was created with notes written by Marianne O’Kane Boal, MAG Expert Advisor, and Bright Pryde, The Academy of Urbanism, on 21 November 2013.

Civic Stewardship Symposium Summary Report – March 2014

Delegate List Aisleain McGill Alan Moore Alan Strong Alice McGlone Ambrose Tohill Andrew Dadley Arthur Acheson Bright Pryde Bronagh O'Kane Carole Long Damien McCallin David Chisholm Diana Fitzsimmons Donna Fletcher Eileen McCallion Emily Smyth Frederick O'Dwyer Frazer MacLeod Hugh Mulcahey James Hennessey Joe O'Donnell John D FitzGerald Karen Knowles Karen McFarland Laura O'Connor Lee-Ann Gwynne Lindesay Dawe Lorraine McAllister Malcolm Murchison Maria Morgan Marianne O'Kane Boal Marion R Chalmers Matthew Boyd Michael Corr Mura Quigley Neil Galway Neil McIvor Neil Rainey Nick Brown Pauline Gallacher Pauline O'Neill Peter Carr Peter Day Peter Hutchinson Richard Lutton Richard Houston Robert Gibson Rosalind Lowry Ryan Nolan Sabine Kalke Sarah Longlands Saul Golden Taina Rikala Terence McCaw Walter Hutchinson William O'Donnell

Newry and Mourne District Council DOE Planning HQ MAG Belfast City Council DFP, CPD Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation MAG - Chair The Academy of Urbanism Strategic Investment Board Carrickfergus Borough Council Ligoniel Improvement Association Architecture + Design Scotland MAG - Member M W A Partnership MAG Secretariat MAG - Member Dept of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Glasgow City Council Concerto Partners LLP MAG Belfast Interface Project MAG - Expert Advisor DSD Strabane District Council DOE Planning Ards Borough Council University of Ulster Belfast School of Architecture High Kirk Presbyterian Church and High Kirk Social Action in our Community Coleraine Borough Council Ligoniel Improvement Association MAG - Expert Advisor MRC Planning & Economics Ltd High Kirk Presbyterian Church and High Kirk Social Action in our Community PLACE Ards Borough Council Planning Policy Division (DoE) Maze/Long Kesh Development Corporation NIEA Natural Heritage Directorate Ballymoney Borough Council Neilston Development Trust Ligoniel Improvement Association Belfast Metropolitan Residents' Group North Belfast Partnership LINI MAG Secretariat High Kirk Presbyterian Church and High Kirk Social Action in our Community Fermanagh District Council Ballymena Borough Council DOE Planning Service Belfast City Council University of Glasgow University of Ulster Belfast School of Architecture MAG- Expert Advisor MAG DSD, Regional Development Office RPS

Civic Stewardship Symposium Summary Report – March 2014