The Vision for Malmesbury!
The Vision for Malmesbury!
Last night was unexpectedly and refreshingly one of the most inspiring nights of my life. We’ve all seen many changes in Malmesbury, over the years and there are potentially a lot more changes on the horizon but as to what those changes could look like, last night truly opened my eyes to new and exciting possibilities.
The findings of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Communities
1st March 2012
An entirely new site was put forward for housing and the same for a supermarket. The key that unlocked the inspiration was that it wasn’t about where but why. We were shown why housing should go somewhere different and the same for a supermarket. It wasn’t about running away from development; it was about embracing what we have here and enhancing it, whilst fitting in with required development – creating the history of tomorrow, in the same way that we are lucky enough to have a history that we treasure here today.
The New Mead
Our best asset here is the abbey and we were shown how the historic parts of Malmesbury have been built up in terraces from the river; how they are constrained by natural ‘pinch points’ around the town and lead up towards the abbey in a network of streets. For a start, the simple way to maintain the abbey’s place as the pinnacle of the town is simply not to build on any higher surrounding areas.
The site in Malmesbury that the PF team put forward as the most appropriate site for new housing achieves precisely this and much more. The area of land they propose extends from behind Dyson, southwards (ssw) down to the primary school. It follows the route of the river, along a flood-risk free level and designs were put forward that encompass a flow of small spaces – like the old town, with walkable blocks and, in particular, no cul-de-sacs.
This area was chosen after looking at the flood risk and also considering its potential as a wildlife habitat. It is large enough to take the whole of the Core Strategy allocation of housing for Malmesbury and would incorporate social housing in exactly the same way that any large-scale development is required to do. It should have it’s own focal point; a small ‘square’ like the Horsefair or the Triangle and perhas would have a shop there too.
Plans had been drawn, which showed how the development could look. Existing hedgerows were incorporated into the layout and pedestrian links were there to encourage people out of their front door, particularly as the location is in close proximity to the primary school, Dyson and Co-op. The density of housing was the same, in their proposal, as in the old parts of the town and allotments and orchards on the land above the houses created natural, robust edges whilst maximising productive space.
Supermarket
Working under the assumption that there is a need for a supermarket here, PF looked at how best to integrate this into the town, with minimal threat to the town centre and community. The team felt that Knees is a particular anchor in our existing High Street; that other shops rely on the footfall they create and that footfall is reciprocal so it’s important to maintain the number and variety of shops that we currently have.
Old Station Yard was their preferred site for a supermarket as it’s close to the town centre and there is parking on site. We were shown that, surprisingly, the area could accommodate, at just one end (close to the bottom of the Abbey Steps), the same size supermarket as Waitrose are currently proposing.
They saw the Garden Centre site as being a real threat to the town centre, and also that better use could be made of that site to encourage economic development locally. They didn’t feel that the proposed supermarket development for that site made any sense.
There was a question as to whether Waitrose would have the potential to capture footfall. It could be seen as an opportunity to regenerate the Lower High Street, where shops used to be, increasing activity there. Plus, it would provide a car park in reasonable proximity.
A new supermarket could provide the potential for planning gain over the short, medium and long term. Town centres need managing – that’s the way forward and funding from developers can provide this.
Movement and Transportation
Malmesbury is a place about being able to walk but improvements are still possible. The town is dominated by its road layout but the PF team demonstrated how it could be enhanced for pedestrians. For example, the Market Cross is at the heart of Malmesbury and could be better protected from traffic. The suggestion was to reconsider whether parking was needed there and also whether we could extend the pedestrianised style road surface right around the Market Cross, giving more precedence to the importance of pedestrians and playing down the roads running through.
Cross Hayes
Why do we call it Cross Hayes Car Park? It’s an important town square in its own right. In the workshops that had taken place during the week, a pupil from the school had come up with the idea of turning the car parking spaces around the other way to maximise space. It was discovered that this would provide just one less space, whilst providing a large free space area at the north end. Maybe trees could be planted – this was just one idea put forward, to be explored and it could also apply to the Triangle and the Horsefair too.
The team felt that Malmesbury needed its own parking and pricing strategy – specifically for Malmesbury.
Public Realm
Signage was addressed and ideas from other towns put forward, where they’ve chosen signage that complements the town, rather than jars with it. We could also think about ‘announcing’ the entrances to the town. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing to look at Malmesbury’s signage when compared with other places that have really made an effort but it showed the difference that can be made and that’s where we’ve all got to look; forward.
Alternatives to road markings were suggested, that avoid the need for the ugly white and yellow lines that most of us don’t really notice until they’re not there. Again, images were shown of how this has been achieved in other towns and the difference was dramatic.
The presentation was followed up with a Q & A session
The main question was whether all of this work will be in time to halt the potentially unsuitable developers proposing to build in Malmesbury right now – who are looking to beat the new Localism Bill before the changes come into being.
A test case is underway at this very moment, which will have a direct bearing on how much ‘weighting’ is allocated to the Neighbourhood Planning process. This relates to the proposed development on Park Road. Wiltshire Council has put much emphasis on grounds of prematurity in its reasons for rejecting the application because we haven’t had time, as a community taking part in the ‘Front Runner’ scheme, to draw up our Neighbourhood Plan. If this decision to reject the application is upheld, it will empower Wiltshire Council to hold off other developers who are trying to beat the system. The decision is due at the end of March.
Many in the room, including myself, struggled to picture the land being put forward for housing. The PF team described it as being grazed, south facing pastureland with poor hedgerows. As part of the river corridor, it would become an extension of the existing river meads, with robust edges put in place. Heights, materials and streetscapes are aspects that the PF team would be able to advise on too, as shown in the drawings put forward. This absolutely does not have to preclude social housing at all. All large scale development must include social housing and in their experience, quality is not always necessarily related to cost.
The question of access to the land proposed for housing was brought up but drew a strong response from PF, who feel that every site will have its drawbacks – nowhere will be absolutely perfect but their transport expert had assessed it and felt that it was definitely doable.
Education was brought up, as in what is the plan over the next 15 years and it was confirmed that Wiltshire Council does have a working group in place looking at this.
The key, from the Prince’s Foundation team’s perspective was that the future is not about big, exciting things but about lots of little things adding up. In the town centre, in particular, this is a lot to do with management. Communities evolve; if you plan for it, growth happens, people invest and it happens, naturally.
Summing Up
Summed up, the Prince’s Foundation found an elegant development to fit with the existing town. They’ve responded to its good qualities, rather than bad ones and their plan follows the natural course and paths of the area.
In their words, if the overall ‘master plan’ is right, there will be a way to achieve it.
In 3-4 weeks, their final report will be published with much greater detail but in the meantime, this really was one of the most inspiring nights of my life, where we were shown the future that many of us have been looking for, for our children and the generations to come.
Let’s pull out the stops, gather together and make this happen!
