The City Centre Area Action Plan is a key element of the Local Development Framework.  Once adopted, the plan will form the framework for development in the City Centre for the next 20 years to protect its special qualities but also identify area-based proposals to stimulate enhancement where it is needed. It will focus on issues such as shopping, tourism, the evening economy, employment, traffic and transport, the historic environment, the public realm, recreation, community facilities, cultural activity and housing.

The People Changing Places Programme

Background

People Changing Places (PCP) is a one-year programme funded by the Commission of Architecture and The Built Environment (CABE) and The City of York Council. The PCP programme aims to improve regional demand and capacity for high quality urban design by linking built environment professionals with local communities and key stakeholders through a programme of creative and practical activities. People Changing Places is being run on behalf of the Council by Beam, an arts, architecture and learning centre based in Yorkshire, and their partner architects DSDHA.

City of York Council were approached by Beam to work with them to run the People Changing Places programme in York in 2009/10. The programme aims to raise public and stakeholder awareness of high quality design by linking communities with professionals through a programme of design exercises and workshops, that build towards an event in which a public space within the city centre is transformed over a weekend (21 and 22 November). 

Programme to date

The purpose of the programme is to raise awareness and interest in the Council's public realm work.  It is helping to facilitate stakeholder involvement (internal and external) that can be held in perpetuity, as well as providing an ideal opportunity to rehearse methods such as 'Placecheck' and design workshops that can be used to implement the public realm proposals being developed through the Council's City Centre AAP.  

There have been 3 public events between July and October 2009 after which the programme will switch it's focus to 'in house' practical training sessions for CYC staff involved in the processes associated to the design and management of public realm schemes. 

Placecheck

The first public engagement event scheduled in the programme was a public drop in exercise. 'Placecheck' is a interactive method used for assessing the qualities of a place, showing what improvements are needed, and focusing people on working together to achieve them. Beam designed the event to combine the Placecheck questionnaire with a number of interactive activities to engage the general public and invited participants. The event took place on Saturday 4 July from 11am - 3pm and focused on exploring Exhibition Square, Manor Lane and the space behind the Art Gallery.

The event was successful and the response to the programme was also very positive with many participants wishing to be involved in later stages.  Moreover, Beam developed a young persons Placecheck method that was very successfully run alongside the more traditional, or adult orientated, Placecheck.  

Site Visit

'A Grand Day Out To Sheffield' was the second workshop. It was designed to inspire and inform participants about placemaking in order for them to become ambassadors for the improvement of the public realm in York. Twenty-one people attended including representatives from York Access Group, York Youth Parliament, Transport and Planning, York University, Civic Trust, Garden and Landscape Heritage Trust and the general public. Sheffield was chosen not as a direct comparison to York but as a good example of how a city centre can be transformed through a clear public realm strategy.

Transformation Workshop

A third workshop, 'Hopes, dreams and designs', was held on Saturday 24 October at The Guildhall.  Architects DSDHA invited people who had previously taken part in either or both the previous events to give their views on Exhibition Square, and help to design a temporary transformation of the space in terms of both it's appearance and activity.

YourSpace

Over the weekend of 21 and 22 November Exhibition Square will be transformed as part of an event called YourSpace. YourSpace includes a series of large-scale temporary structures that will come alive through animated performances and lighting.  Beam and DSDHA are working with the Theatre Royal pilot theatre group and other York creative talents.

Exhibition Square was chosen for the reason that the square and it's immediate environment bring into focus many of the issues that the forthcoming public realm strategy will consider; such as access, harmonizing pedestrians and traffic, and designing in the context of the historic environment. 

The aforementioned public realm strategy is being produced as part of the LDF City Centre Area Action Plan.  Feedback from PCP consultation events will be used as part of the evidence base for this work. It is in this context that we can also consider the lasting benefits of the programme; as well as being a worthwhile exercise in terms of design education and participatory public engagement, the Council has been able to use 'People Changing Places' as a learning tool and rehearsal for it's own future consultations. 

Issues and Options

An Issues and Options Report was produced in July 2008 to promote discussion and ideas on the main issues to be addressed in the City Centre and proposals for resolving them.  This was accompanied by a Sustainability Statement that considers the key sustainability issues arising from the issues and options report.  These documents are available to download below:

Issues and Options Document (123 pages, 30Mb) 
Issues and Options Document (No Maps) (109 pages, 3Mb)
Issues & Options Map 1: Economic Drivers (1 page, 2Mb)
Issues & Options Map 2: Traffic & Transport (1 page, 1.5Mb)
Issues & Options Map 3: Central Shopping Area (1 page, 1Mb)
Issues & Options Map 4: Potential redevelopment & Infill for retail (1 page, 1Mb)
Issues & Options Map 5: Historic Environment (1 page, 2Mb)
Issues & Options Map 6: Public Realm (1 page, 2Mb)
Issues & Options Map 7: Residential areas (1 page, 3Mb)
Issues & Options Map 9: Castle Piccadilly Opportunity Area (1 page, 3Mb)
Issues & Options Map 10:  Cultural Quarter Opportunity Area (1 page, 3Mb)
Issues & Options Map 11: Gateway Streets Opportunity Area (1 page, 1Mb)
Issues & Options Map 12: City Spaces Opportunity Area (1 page, 1.5Mb)
Issues & Options Map 13: Riverside Opportunity Area (1 page, 1Mb)
Issues & Options Map 14: Potential Boundaries (1 page, 1.4Mb)
Issues & Options Character Areas map (1 page, 0.2Mb)
Issues and Options Sustainability Statement (60 pages, 0.5Mb)

Consultation

Consultation on the issues and options was held between 28th July and 22nd September 2008, but was extended into October in order to receive later representations.  This stage of consultation is now closed.  Your feedback will play a central role in the development of the Area Action Plan.

Next Steps

A report summarising the outcome of the issues and options consultation will be published in due course. 

Following consideration of the consultation responses, more focussed consultation will be undertaken on a more detailed approach to development and enhancement in the city centre, based on the views of the public, stakeholders, the City of York Council and government agencies.  Individuals and organisations who made comments on the Issues and Options document will also be consulted at this stage.  Should you wish to register your details as an additional consultee then please contact us using the details below. 

The final submission document is scheduled for public examination in 2010.

Further Information

For more information please contact the City Development Team via the details below:
City Development
9 St Leonard's Place,
York YO1 7ET
tel: (01904) 551463
fax: (01904) 551392
email: citycentreaap@york.gov.uk