A first impression of an unfamiliar city: Nottingham

I visited Nottingham today to study the design of the NET Metro public transport system and meet some of the people behind it. While I was here I thought I would have a look around.

As an urban designer I love cities. Discovering new cities, or parts of cities, is a bit of geeky hobby of mine. As a city nerd I am also quick to be critical about a city: what it does right, what it does wrong, what excites and what disappoints.  This was my fist visit to Nottingham. Here are some first impressions of the city...

My first impression was formed by the NET Metro itself. Quiet, efficient and clean. It gave me the impression of a forward thinking city. Somewhere that is investing in the future, not just clearing up the mess of the past.

I got off in the Gustavson Porter designed Old Market Square. The only reason for this impulsive departure was because it was the only thing about Nottingham that I knew about. So I thought I'd go and have a look. 

Old Market Square showed what can be achieved when the designer is brave enough to take out all of the crap and clutter. That level of emptiness can look terrifying when its on the drawing board, but alongside a building like the imposing, but unfortunately named, Council House it works beautifully. The materials were carefully contrasted with the sandstone slabs used everywhere else in the city and the details and standard of maintenance were top class. However, it was very sad to see that the innovative water feature, which was so important to the original design, was out of commission.

After Old Market Square I followed my nose and tried to spot something interesting and walk towards it. What took my eye was the cities way finding system, an effective network of signs and columns that is effectively a finger post system and a roving Rough Guide rolled into one. Taking the time to read and follow it transformed my experience of Nottingham.

Having seen part of contemporary Nottingham I was cast back in time to the Old Lace  Market. National chains gave way to smaller indie businesses in handsome red brick buildings, side streets and intimate squares. More info panels explained that whilst the city's lace production went back to Saxon times it was Thomas Adams' approach to production and employee welfare that helped put the city on the map.

Having had a glimpse of 19th century Nottingham and the hint of a more ancient past, I thought I'd try to see what the city could reveal about its medieval history. I followed the frequent info panels and found my way to Maid Marion Way, a cruel urban motorway surrounded by grey brutalist car parks, towering facades and stark structures that arrogantly divided the new city from its medieval past. Most British cities have places like this, but the experience was still a bitter disappointment. This area must be a future priority for the city council who will need to unstitch this sorry mess that segregates the city from 1000 years of history.

Once I'd reached the gates of the Castle I was disappointed to see carelessly located planters, devoid of actual pants (just mud) in front of probably one of the most important buildings in the city. It seems that the attention to detail, so evident in Old Market Square, had not managed to cross Maid Marion Way and had given up and turned back. This wasn't the only example. Other historic buildings, that would be celebrated in other cities, were left marooned in amongst disabled parking bays and double yellow lines. It seemed that the City Council, or certainly departments of it, are guilty of not being precious enough with some of their most prized possessions.

A short walk around the sandstone outcrop upon which sits the castle revealed Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, England's oldest inn, dating back to 1189 and a stopping off for medieval squaddies on route to the holy land. I expected to find some of them still there trying to master the most addictive pub game in the whole of Christendom. I was thankful that I got lucky and beat the game after twenty minutes.

In two hours, thanks to the information provided by the city council, I had a good feel for the city, it's past, present and its future. The question that i was left with was: for a city as good as this why does it have such a non-descript national persona? If half of this stuff had been in Liverpool, Manchester or Glasgow the whole world would know about it. In a competitive market place for tourism and business investment Nottingham has more than enough assets to stand out but needs to shout more confidently about what a great little city that it is. 

By James Brown

Enabling Change of Use in Town Centres: A step in the right directionbut not the solution

Recently, amongst almost daily updates in the national news on the state of our high streets, new changes to permitted development rights in England were reported.   The changes, which came into effect on 30th May, were widely reported as a boost to town centre regeneration that will make it much easier to bring new uses to empty units on the high street.  But how much impact will these changes actually make?

Summary of the changes

Changes were made that enable certain changes of use without the need to apply for planning permission.  In relation to town centres the key changes are:

• Premises in B1(a) office use will be able to change to C3 residential use.
• Buildings with A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, D1 and D2 uses will be permitted to change use for a period of up two years to A1, A2, A3 and B1 uses to help new and start-up businesses.
• Premises in B1, C1, C2, C2A, D1 and D2 use classes will be able to change use permanently to a state-funded school.

This means that the costs and delays associated with the need to apply for planning permission in these cases can be avoided.  The intention here is to speed up the process and make it easier to fill currently vacant space in town centres.  This  helps to bring planning in line with wider town centre revitalisation initiatives that are based on diversifying uses, promoting new local businesses and increasing vitality.  Allowing the change from office to residential use has the potential to increase footfall in town centres which will increase demand and it is therefore a step in the right direction.  

However, planning is only one of a number of hurdles in bringing empty spaces back into use in town centres.  Therefore the changes may not have the degree of regenerative impact that is being anticipated.    

There are a wide range of challenges that need to be overcome along side the matter of planning.  Some of the key issues include:

• Prior approval - The changes of use that no longer require planning permission will require an application for prior approval which will consider matters including highway/transport impacts, contamination risk noise and flood risk.  
• Building Regulations - Whilst planning permission will not be required, the conversion of buildings will need to meed building regulations.  Our experience indicates that this can be a significant barrier particularly in the conversion of upper storey offices to residential.  
• Demand - A relaxation in planning alone does not create demand for new uses or developers who will undertake the conversions; it is not a case of ‘permit it and they will come’! 
• Management - The residential use of a property has different management implications to commercial uses and landlords may not have the capacity or inclination to accommodate these changes.  

The changes are welcome in principle to facilitate change but it is unlikely that they will, in themselves, bring about substantial revitalisation of town centres in England.  

By Mark Farrar