Rowland Hughes says:This was sent to me by Ann Faulkner to publicise as widely as possible. Please try to give it your support.
'Have Your Say' on a New Multi-Functional Centre Planned for Swanage.A week-long exhibition and consultation event incorporating sport, community, enterprise, training, and childcare uses is being planned by the Swanage Town and Community Partnership from Friday, 8 July to Friday, 15 July, to gather more public opinion on what form a multi-functional centre should take and where it should be situated.The 'Have Your Say' event, held in the sea-front Tourist Information Centre, will give residents and visitors to Swanage the chance to get the latest information about the project including the potential activities that people have already identified and the proposed sites for the new centre.The Swanage Town and Community Partnership is hoping that both residents and visitors to the area will participate in the event by answering a questionnaire and leaving comments about what activities they would like to see accommodated by the proposed facility.Tony Miller, Chairman of the Swanage Town and Community Partnership, said: "At this stage the plans for the new multi-use centre are pretty flexible. We have looked at all the comments that have been gathered over the last four years and have incorporated them into this consultation.""We are holding this event because it is important to work out what should be included in the centre based on local priorities. We want as many people as possible to look at the display and give us their thoughts. That way the final plans will meet as many aspirations as possible and will also be realistic in terms of what will be used and what is affordable.""There may be many more ideas we can incorporate - but we need people to tell us about them now."A second exhibition is planned for September. At this event the design and specification of the proposed centre, based on all the previous consultation work, will be unveiled to the public. After this the next stage in the project will be to seek planning permission for the new centre.The two 'Have Your Say' exhibition events are part of a £40,000 study looking into the feasibility of providing Swanage with a multi- functional centre providing activities and services for all sectors of the community. Funding is being provided by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, Purbeck District Council, Swanage Town and Community Partnership, Swanage Town Council and contributions from a range of sports groups and interests within the town.The feasibility work is being carried out, on behalf of the Swanage Town and Community Partnership, by Plymouth-based business consultants Hyder Consulting Limited and Bournemouth architects Terence O'Rourke.
Swanage Tourist Information Centre is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 5pm.end.For further information please contact:Ann Faulkner, Vice Chairman, Swanage Town and Community Partnership on 01929 424252.
--
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Ian Lowson said...
In view of the fact that 187 comments out of 699 referred to Transport. I would like to revive a suggestion of mine dating back to September 2002, which was at that time totally ignored by the Mayor and members of the Town Council with the honourable exception of Hilary O'Donovan, who expressed keen interest.
This proposal was admittedly of such a broad and sweeping kind, as almost to invite easy dismissal, but I wish to reiterate it in the context of the proposed Community facility to be discussed July 8-15, since it is in essence no greater in scope than other proposals on the board. So what follows is a brief summary of the project:
CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERGROUND COACH AND CAR PARK TO ALLOW PEDESTRIANIZATIN OF TOWN CENTRE.
1) Seek funding (e.g. National Lottery, Millenial Commission, English Heritage, Dorset County Council, European Commission)
for construction of a concealed, grass-covered multi-storey coach and car park to replace the present Victorian Avenue open parking area.
2) The Site of the underground Coach and Car Park would be the Recreation Ground along the seafront from Horsecliffe Lane to Victoria Avenue. Excavate the Recreation Ground area to a depth of 2-3 storeys. Create ramp exit and entrance for vehicles at the end of Victoria Avenue using existing lanes. (a secondary entrance/exit for vehicles is possible in Horsecliffe Lane for the use of Swanage residents, to replace the present Resident's Car Park and return it to recreation uses). The construction would require state-of-the-art tunnelling and excavation techniques that are minimally invasive, such as the Bentonite system, used to create the underpass at Hyde Park Corner and the entire Milan underground network. (This system is now generally used in much trafficked areas, allowing minimal interruption of town and tourist services).
3)In the excavated area, build a multi-storey carpark for upwards of 400 cars and coaches. Turf it over to restore appearance as a present (plant trees and shrubs! Such resurfacing over carparks already exists in several cities, e.g. Hyde Park in London, Jardins des Tuileries in Paris, Coach Stations in Madrid, Verona, etc.)
4) Create passenger exits at southern end, near the Mowlem, to pedestrianized esplanade and town centre (Mermond Place and the former beach-shelter area could provide such exits)
5) Pedestrianize Station Road and Institute Road (this would assume emergency access for taxis, SITA, ambulances, delivery vehicles, etc. along a single-lane central walkway, and early-moring deliveries to shops in these two roads) It would also entail the reversion of Kings Road East to two-way traffic to allow vehicular access to the south part of Swanage. Circulation should be enormously reduced by the virtual elimination of touristic traffic).
6) Redevelop the vacated Victoria Avenue Car Park as affordable housing for Swanage residents, perhaps combined with a community recreation facility and Pool as envisaged in the Community Plan.
ADVANTAGES OF THIS SCHEME:
1)Reduction of traffic in the town centre due to partial pedestrianization of shopping centre, as well as the esplanade from Victoria Avenue to Mowlem.
2) Displacement of the bleak and unsightly edge-of-town car park off Victoria Avenue to a more convenient, central location that is nevertheless concealed and landscaped.
3)Creation of under-cover parking for residents and visitors and long-term parking for owners of second homes in Swanage, producing a steady revenue for the Town.
4) The underground Coach and Car Park would require services, such as toilets. cafes and restaurants, which could also be accessible from Shore Road. This stretch of beachfront would evolve into a true landscaped esplanade, free of traffic as far as Victoria Avenue.
5) The two main approaches to the town - cars from Studland Ferry and coaches from Wareham would converge conveniently at the new Parking, providing easy accesss to the beach and town centre for passengers.
PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF THE ScHEME - NONE, I THINK, INSUPERABLE:
1) Construction difficulties - terrain,geology, erosion, ventilation, drainage,
disruption of traffic and tourism.
2) Resistance to pedestrianization,
inconvenience to residents and shops, conservative attitudes and environmental concerns.
3) Dependence on outside funding.
4) Maintenance problems.
Afterword: Schemes of this kind are usually associated with richer and more populous towns than Swanage. But you will find many such schemes brought to successful fruition in medium-size seaside towns throughout Europe, especially in France (e.g. Monte Carlo) and Italy (e.g. San Remo). It's chiefly lack of imagination rather than lack of resources that prevents the adoption of such plans in England.
Ian Lowso
Ian Lowson said...
In view of the fact that 187 comments out of 699 referred to Transport. I would like to revive a suggestion of mine dating back to September 2002, which was at that time totally ignored by the Mayor and members of the Town Council with the honourable exception of Hilary O'Donovan, who expressed keen interest.
This proposal was admittedly of such a broad and sweeping kind, as almost to invite easy dismissal, but I wish to reiterate it in the context of the proposed Community facility to be discussed July 8-15, since it is in essence no greater in scope than other proposals on the board. So what follows is a brief summary of the project:
CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERGROUND COACH AND CAR PARK TO ALLOW PEDESTRIANIZATIN OF TOWN CENTRE.
1) Seek funding (e.g. National Lottery, Millenial Commission, English Heritage, Dorset County Council, European Commission)
for construction of a concealed, grass-covered multi-storey coach and car park to replace the present Victorian Avenue open parking area.
2) The Site of the underground Coach and Car Park would be the Recreation Ground along the seafront from Horsecliffe Lane to Victoria Avenue. Excavate the Recreation Ground area to a depth of 2-3 storeys. Create ramp exit and entrance for vehicles at the end of Victoria Avenue using existing lanes. (a secondary entrance/exit for vehicles is possible in Horsecliffe Lane for the use of Swanage residents, to replace the present Resident's Car Park and return it to recreation uses). The construction would require state-of-the-art tunnelling and excavation techniques that are minimally invasive, such as the Bentonite system, used to create the underpass at Hyde Park Corner and the entire Milan underground network. (This system is now generally used in much trafficked areas, allowing minimal interruption of town and tourist services).
3)In the excavated area, build a multi-storey carpark for upwards of 400 cars and coaches. Turf it over to restore appearance as a present (plant trees and shrubs! Such resurfacing over carparks already exists in several cities, e.g. Hyde Park in London, Jardins des Tuileries in Paris, Coach Stations in Madrid, Verona, etc.)
4) Create passenger exits at southern end, near the Mowlem, to pedestrianized esplanade and town centre (Mermond Place and the former beach-shelter area could provide such exits)
5) Pedestrianize Station Road and Institute Road (this would assume emergency access for taxis, SITA, ambulances, delivery vehicles, etc. along a single-lane central walkway, and early-moring deliveries to shops in these two roads) It would also entail the reversion of Kings Road East to two-way traffic to allow vehicular access to the south part of Swanage. Circulation should be enormously reduced by the virtual elimination of touristic traffic).
6) Redevelop the vacated Victoria Avenue Car Park as affordable housing for Swanage residents, perhaps combined with a community recreation facility and Pool as envisaged in the Community Plan.
ADVANTAGES OF THIS SCHEME:
1)Reduction of traffic in the town centre due to partial pedestrianization of shopping centre, as well as the esplanade from Victoria Avenue to Mowlem.
2) Displacement of the bleak and unsightly edge-of-town car park off Victoria Avenue to a more convenient, central location that is nevertheless concealed and landscaped.
3)Creation of under-cover parking for residents and visitors and long-term parking for owners of second homes in Swanage, producing a steady revenue for the Town.
4) The underground Coach and Car Park would require services, such as toilets. cafes and restaurants, which could also be accessible from Shore Road. This stretch of beachfront would evolve into a true landscaped esplanade, free of traffic as far as Victoria Avenue.
5) The two main approaches to the town - cars from Studland Ferry and coaches from Wareham would converge conveniently at the new Parking, providing easy accesss to the beach and town centre for passengers.
PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF THE ScHEME - NONE, I THINK, INSUPERABLE:
1) Construction difficulties - terrain,geology, erosion, ventilation, drainage,
disruption of traffic and tourism.
2) Resistance to pedestrianization,
inconvenience to residents and shops, conservative attitudes and environmental concerns.
3) Dependence on outside funding.
4) Maintenance problems.
Afterword: Schemes of this kind are usually associated with richer and more populous towns than Swanage. But you will find many such schemes brought to successful fruition in medium-size seaside towns throughout Europe, especially in France (e.g. Monte Carlo) and Italy (e.g. San Remo). It's chiefly lack of imagination rather than lack of resources that prevents the adoption of such plans in England.
Ian Lowso
Post a Comment