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n Retail renaissance n Gloucester’s Magnificent Seven n How heritage-led regeneration works

regeneration and investment magazine

HISTORY IN THE MAKING Gloucester is focusing on its heritage while looking to the future. The city is at the start of a unique renaissance

MARKETING EXPERTISE THAT THE

WORLD

IS WATCHING

The intelligence behind a programme of pioneering marketing initiatives aimed at raising the profile of Gloucester: • Promoting its inimitable heritage • Showcasing the city as a unique tourist destination • Evoking pride and passion within the community It’s our job to make sure people know that Gloucester is a great place to live, work and visit.

www.marketinggloucester.co.uk Photographed in Blackfriars Priory, as part of the gloucester: through the ages campaign For more information contact us: 3rd Floor, Alexandra Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2LG T: 01452 207020 F: 01452 348523 • E: info@marketinggloucester.co.uk • www.marketinggloucester.co.uk

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Contents

n Retail renaissance n Gloucester’s Magnificent Seven n How heritage-led regeneration works

regeneration and investment magazine

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Cover image: Gloucester Quays at night with the new High Orchard bridge in the background.

In pictures

A brief look at Gloucester’s historic assets.

INtroduction

An in-depth look at Gloucester’s past, present and future.

Projects

The major schemes that are shaping the city’s regeneration.

Waterside

The benefits of waterside development.

Retail

Gloucester is soon to be top of the shops.

Heritage

Gloucester’s unique historic buildings are shaping its future.

business

Local businesses are set to benefit from the city’s development plans.

back page

Investor information on Gloucester.

Executive editor: Kirsty MacAulay Features editor: Alex Aspinall Art director: Terry Hawes Production: Rachael Schofield Advertisement sales: Lee Harrison Office manager: Sue Mapara Managing director: Toby Fox Images: Gloucestershire College, www.cotswolds.com, Brindleyplace, Bristol City Council Visual Technology, Ipswich Council, Wikipedia, Kirsty MacAulay, Gloucester Cathedral, VisitCheltenham/David Sellman, Anthony Tian, www.imagebank.sweden.se, Andrew Wing Printed by: Wyndeham Grange Published by: 3Fox International Ltd, Lower Ground Floor, 189 Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TB Tel: 020 7978 6840 Fax: 020 7978 6837 On behalf of: Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company Tel: 01452 782 990 www.gloucesterurc.co.uk Subscriptions and feedback: go to www.gloucester7.com Š 3Fox International Limited 2009. All material is ­strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written ­permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly ­forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no ­responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this ­magazine are not ­necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company.

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NEW Masterplanning and Gloucester Heritage URC

The URC Framework creates distinctive masterplans for The Magnificent 7 with a high quality public realm and movement strategy for the city centre.

Integrating the Docks, the historic core and Kings Square.

Gloucester URC was NEW Masterplanning’s first client, and we feel a strong personal as well as professional connection with the future of the city. We are therefore delighted to be able to support the URC and its partners in promoting the quality of work being delivered in the city and the exciting opportunities which still exist.

Before setting up NEW Masterplanning in 2006 Geraint, Andy and Hans led the consortium that prepared the URC Area Regeneration Framework. This Framework

Illustrating the potential of Kings Square as a retail and leisure destination and as an event space.

has guided the regeneration of key sites across the city.

Our strategy for Blackfriars and Southgate Moorings opened up the potential for office, hotel, cultural, leisure and specialist retail development. Our early vision for Kings Square and our work with the City Council and Morley Fund Management shaped the scale of the mixed-use proposals and the brief for the design competition.

Since completing the URC Framework NEW Masterplanning has maintained a strong connection with Gloucester.

Our detailed masterplan for British Waterways built on the principles established by the URC Framework. The uses tested in an exciting mixed-use scheme included apartments, town houses and student accommodation, education and employment, retail and leisure together with enhanced public realm, parking and visitor facilities.

Hans van Bommel, Andy Ward and Geraint Hughes.

The directors of NEW Masterplanning.

For more information on Gloucester or any of our projects please visit our website or phone us on 01202 742228.

Our masterplan for British Waterways strengthens the Docks as a visitor destination, a mixed-use community and a gateway to Gloucester.

NEW Masterplanning in the South West Gloucester is just one example of how our strategies and masterplans are already delivering growth and regeneration. Geraint and Andy led the Taunton Vision which identified the potential for significant growth of the town centre. Our award-winning proposals included regeneration of the vacant cattle market (Firepool) as a mixed-use, office-led waterfront development, improvement of the County Cricket Ground and retail expansion on the High Street. All these proposals are being implemented by the private sector and NEW Masterplanning is assisting St Modwen as preferred developer for the Firepool site.

NEW Masterplanning’s winning design for St. Modwen at Firepool.

NEW masterplanning

107 Bournemouth Road, Poole BH14 9HR www.newmasterplanning.com

in pictures

a jewel in the

crown

With a history that dates back to Roman times, when it was one of the country’s leading cities, it is little wonder that the city of Gloucester has such a wealth of historic assets. The city’s character is shaped by its heritage, and so is its future. Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company is working to improve the area for residents, businesses and visitors while protecting and enhancing its historic environment // By Kirsty MacAulay

The city’s docks are a vibrant hive of activity once again.

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Âť Gloucester

Cathedral

The cathedral sits in the heart of Gloucester city centre, as it has done for almost 1,000 years. A site of Christian worship for over 1,300 years, work started on the building which can be seen today in 1089. The construction was overseen by Serlo, a monk from Mont-StMichel, Normandy. Henry III was crowned in the cathedral in 1216 at the tender age of nine when the building was known as the Abbey of St Peter.

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in pictures

Âť blackfriars church

The magnificent original timber roof can still be seen in the main hall. In its heyday the priory accommodated 40 monks, dwindling to just six and a prior before it was bought by Sir Thomas Bell in 1539 and converted into a private residence.

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Development Our specialist subject

With extensive local knowledge and experience, Savills should be your first call Please contact: Julian Harbottle Development jharbottle@savills.com

Savills Bristol Embassy House Queens Avenue Bristol BS8 1SB 0117 9100 330 bristol@savills.com

savills.co.uk

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in pictures

Historically significant buildings,like Bearlands House (right), are being given new leases of life around the city.

» changing faces »

No. 15 Ladybellegate Street, an old townhouse that has been converted into office space, overlooks Blackfriars Priory.

« ancient walkways

The historic buildings and walkways throughout Gloucester’s city centre give it a unique character that is being enhanced by the regeneration programme.

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Gloucester City Council Who does business here?

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Why Gloucester?

Cradled by the picturesque Cotswold Hills, with its skyline dominated by its Norman Cathedral, Gloucester has plenty to offer in terms of culture and heritage. Combine this with a diverse and growing economy, good access, a skilled workforce and excellent support for business and you start to understand why locating in Gloucester city makes good business sense and can provide a quality of life second to none.

Technical engineering, manufacturing, the finance industry, design and technology all have a strong base within the city through companies such as Messier-Dowty, Avon Metals, and Severn Glocon. There have been many investors in retail and leisure over recent years including designer names locating at Gloucester Quays, the city’s new retail outlet centre opened in May 2009. Companies that have enjoyed success here for a number of years are now choosing to re-invest as they expand their operations, most notably Unilever has chosen Gloucester as one of its main European centres.

Major Future Investment and Regeneration The city is benefitting from a ten year development programme – A new campus for Gloucestershire College, the new South West bypass and the opening of The Quays designer outlet centre have all created new opportunities at the historic docks and quays, whilst further investment is planned at other key sites in the city.

Unique Heritage and Lifestyle With its Roman foundations, victorian docklands, a magnificent Norman cathedral and an impressive list of award winning museums and attractions, Gloucester’s rich historic past Gloucester City Council, Economic Development and Community Regeneration, Herbert Warehouse, Gloucester Docks, GL1 2EQ

T 01452 396973 E annag@gloucester.gov.uk Minicom 01452 396161 www.gloucester.gov.uk

combines with a modern multicultural city to create a vibrant atmosphere, full of life and begging to be explored.

Get in Touch Whether you require assistance in finding the right development site or property or would like to discuss any aspect of locating your business to the city, The Economic Development and Community Regeneration Team of Gloucester City Council is here to assist.

Contact us on (01452) 396973, 396974 or 396986 browse our web pages at www.gloucester.gov.uk/business or email us: Anna Gwinnet annag@gloucester.gov.uk Gordon Dwyer gordon.dwyer@gloucester.gov.uk

hidden heritage Gloucester’s regeneration aims to bring new and improved facilities, housing and opportunities to the city. But it is just as much about uncovering and promoting what is already there // By Charlotte Goodworth

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introduction/Hidden heritage Gloucester’s colourful history, dating back to Roman times, is what makes it unique. The mix of Victorian docks (a hive of industry in the 19th century), ancient cathedral (site of Henry III’s coronation) and Blackfriars (the most complete Dominican Friary in England) is now shaping the city’s future.

Greg Smith, chair of Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC) and principal of Gloucestershire College, says: “GHURC is the only ‘heritage’ URC in existence and with more than 500 listed buildings in the regeneration area it’s easy to see why it is so crucial to preserve and highlight these existing assets. However, the aim of the regeneration programme is not just to preserve the buildings but to bring life back into these historic areas.”

Officially launched in 2006, GHURC was founded by four main partners: the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA – formerly English Partnerships); the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA); and Gloucester’s City and County Councils.

Working together, they are building on the city’s world-class heritage to create a prosperous, attractive and sustainable urban centre. At SWRDA the head of regeneration for Gloucestershire and the West of England, Chris Foley, describe’s the URC’s aims: “The regeneration of Gloucester brings benefits for the community and for businesses by making the city a better place to live and visit, and by raising the city’s profile.”

And it has made a positive start. A recent review by consultant Alan Baxter & Associates suggested Gloucester’s regeneration is on track to become an exemplar heritage-led project nationally and internationally. Fresh, modern buildings, such as the new waterfront Gloucestershire College campus, sit confidently opposite stunning regenerated buildings. “We are already starting to see payback on our agency’s investment in Gloucester Docks, local road infrastructure and the Gloucester Works employment projects,” adds SWRDA’s Foley.

The HCA has been closely involved in some of the URC’s early projects, as HCA south west regional director Colin Molton describes: “We have been working with GHURC on projects including the relocation of the college and funding the construction of the new High Orchard Bridge. We’re now poised for the next stage of that commitment with the redevelopment of the former Gloscat site at Greyfriars and by helping to unlock other sites to move the city forward and help realise its full potential.”

All this is within the context of an initial 10-year plan to transform the city, a plan that includes some ambitious targets: reclaiming 100 hectares of brownfield land (about the size of 240 football pitches), repairing and reusing 82 listed buildings, delivering 2,000 jobs, creating about 30,000sq m of new shopping space and 15,000sq m of new offices, building 3,000 new homes and

“£400 million invested so far and Gloucester Quays The impressive Gloucester Quays development is helping establish the city as a competitive retail destination.

Gloucester College The college’s new campus, at Gloucester Quays, opened in 2007.

Bloor Homes

Having completed 59 new homes along the Canal Corridor, Bloor Homes is looking at further development in the city.

Gloucester Docks

The warehouses in the docks are being given a new lease of life as offices, shops and apartments.

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pulling in £1 billion of private investment. GHURC chief executive Chris Oldershaw is enthusiastic about the organisation’s chances of meeting those aims. “We’ve come to the end of our fourth year and we’ve had just over £300 million of private investment and about £100 million of public sector investment,” he says. “Plus there is £600 million in the pipeline. So we’ve made a great start.”

A GROUP OF PROJECTS across gloucester lead the city’s regeneration. Dubbed “The Magnificent Seven,” they are: Gloucester Quays, Canal Corridor, Gloucester Docks, Greater Blackfriars, Greyfriars, Kings Quarter and Railway Triangle. Much of the development at Gloucester Quays, along the Gloucester and Sharpness canal, is finished and gives a good indication of the quality of GHURC’s regeneration programme. Gloucester Quay’s newly completed 100-unit Designer Outlet Centre, which has secured luxury brands such as Calvin Klein and L.K. Bennett, welcomed over 100,000 visitors during its opening weekend in May 2009. This development includes a new Travelodge hotel and a Sainsbury’s superstore, also recently opened.

A new Gloucestershire College campus at Gloucester Quays has already had a huge impact on the area, introducing around 6,000 full- and part-time students, and the new High Orchard Bridge has improved traffic flow around the city making the waterfront more

visible and accessible. Other recent achievements in the area include the conversion and refurbishment of the remaining derelict and vacant Victorian warehouses into largely residential accommodation and the redevelopment of the former Cattle Market at St Oswald’s into a successful retail and leisure park.

But this is just the beginning. Three to six million extra visitors to Gloucester are forecast, thanks to the Designer Outlet Centre.

According to a CACI report commissioned by Designer Outlet Centre developer Peel Holdings, there are 8.4 million residents within 90 minutes’ drive of the scheme. The report predicts Gloucester Quays could rank third in the UK by resident market potential for outlet centres, and as high as seventh in Europe. So how can GHURC encourage these visitors to explore the rest of the city, especially the city centre, so that the economic benefits are spread as widely as possible?

GHURC is improving links between the Quays and the city centre. Planning is well under way and work is expected to start on this project, likely to cost in the region of £7 million, in 2009.

“We are in the process of bringing forward projects such as vital economic linkages and public space improvements in Kings Square,” Oldershaw says. This type of project is seen as vitally important as a catalyst for further private-sector investment, especially in the context of the current economic downturn.

£600 million in the pipeline” Bypass

The South West bypass was completed in May 2007.

Kings Quarter

This retail-led mixed-use development will have a major new continentalstyle public square at its heart.

Vinings Warehouse

Just one of a series of converted warehouses in Gloucester Docks. Vinings is now home to apartments and a restaurant.

Barge Arm

The creation of 84 new flats by Crest Nicholson has reinvigorated the docks area.

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introduction/Hidden heritage But GHURC is not concerned with physical regeneration alone; it is also working hard to promote the city’s remarkable heritage assets, which are largely hidden from view but which Oldershaw sees as the key to increasing civic pride. “You need a research degree to uncover some of Gloucester’s heritage,” he jokes. “We’ve got 500 listed buildings but a lot of them are hidden away. It’s about getting people to discover their heritage. They know about the docks and the cathedral, but they probably don’t know about some of the gems we have and it’s a case of drawing their attention to them. Working with Marketing Gloucester and the city, we’re trying to change people’s views.”

The URC helped set up Marketing Gloucester, a body tasked with promoting the city to locals and to visitors. It has developed tourist events such as the hugely successful Tall Ships Festival, to provide the city with a visitor experience capable of attracting people for weekend breaks. Marketing Gloucester chief executive Graham Walker explains how he is encouraging people to share his passion for the city: “We launched a campaign, ‘Gloucester Through The Ages’, to fill empty shopfront windows with photographs of England Rugby players and models in historic dress to celebrate and promote Gloucester’s rich history in a contemporary, positive way. The second Tall Ships Festival attracted an estimated 100,000 visitors across

three days this year, and was funded 80% by the private sector, which shows a great level of confidence.

“We’re also working to improve the presentation of the city by turning the bus station into an attractive, welcoming environment and running Operation Cleanup, which seeks to improve essential services such as toilet provision and street cleaning. It’s all about improving civic pride.”

Boosting locals’ knowledge and opinions of their home city is one of the keys to the city’s regeneration and it seems residents are keen to engage in the process – and the broader regeneration programme.

The GHURC mobile exhibition unit and community engagement team travel across the city taking information to residential areas.

Over 2,500 people attended the Future of the City event in May 2009.

Councillor Paul James, Gloucester City Council leader, believes local residents have a lot to be proud of. “People are anxious to see change happen as quickly as possible,” he concedes. “As one of the UK’s top 10 historic cities, with one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, Gloucester deserves to be a city we can all be proud of. The GHURC programme, with its emphasis on preserving, and promoting our heritage is vital if Gloucester is to reach its full potential.”

It is also important that Gloucester is not treated in isolation from the surrounding county. As Ian Mean, vice-chair for GHURC

High Orchard Bridge

The HCA funded High Orchard Bridge was completed in November 2008.

Sainsbury’s

The new supermarket at Gloucester Quays will complete the area’s retail offer.

Laing Homes at West Quay

50 new apartments, developed by Laing Homes, opened in 2005.

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and editor of the county’s two daily newspapers, points out: “Gloucester’s eminence as the county town will be re-established through its comprehensive regeneration programme. And with over £1 billion of private investment planned, the county will undoubtedly share in Gloucester’s success.”

The promise of shared success could change the traditional rivalry between Gloucester and neighbouring Cheltenham. “Working more closely, Cheltenham and Gloucester could become a tremendous powerhouse for economic growth in the area,” says Oldershaw.

“Cheltenham has a strong festival culture and Gloucester has a stunning heritage and the natural waterfront assets of the River Severn and the canal. Early signs of cooperation are evident with a combined festivals programme.”

Geography is certainly an asset to Gloucester’s regeneration.

Proximity to tourist hot spots such as the Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds make it the perfect base for visitors, while its transport connections make it an appealing business destination. Gloucester is just one hour’s drive from Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham, and less than two hours by train from London. It is close to both Birmingham and Bristol airports. Road links are strong with the M5 running just to the east of the city and the M4 to the south.

That should help GHURC in one of its main aims, attracting

employment to the city. While about 70% of the city’s population is of working age, it ranks 94th out of 376 places in England and Wales for the number of people who are long-term unemployed. Hoping to improve that, SWRDA has put significant sums of money into a £6 million project called Gloucester Works to get local people into jobs.

Gloucester Works pulls together the City and County Councils, SWRDA, Jobcentre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council, offering free training and support to give local people the necessary skills and confidence needed to tackle the new posts being created. The Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre alone is expected to create around 1,000 new jobs, for example.

Gloucester Works director Ahmed Goga believes this type of scheme will make a huge difference to the people of the city. “Like the rest of the UK, Gloucester is experiencing tough economic conditions. But unlike many other areas, we have on-going major investment and a robust network of support structures in place in the city, which will stimulate positive activity in the job market.”

That positive outlook is echoed by Greg Smith: “There will be obstacles and disappointments along the way but the prize of a transformed city, with better opportunities for all, is definitely worth the hard work and commitment which is being invested”. 7

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Tall Ships Festival

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Gloucester through the ages

The Tall Ships Festival has established itself as one of the key events in the city’s calendar.

Empty shop windows are spruced up with images celebrating Gloucester’s rich heritage.

Shipton Square A series of new public spaces have been created

by SWRDA throughout Gloucester Docks.

Gloucester Works

The Gloucester Works scheme aims to reduce the number of long-term unemployed local residents.

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PROJECTS RAILWAY TRIANGLE

greyfriars

New proposals focus on an eco-friendly mixed-use employment and residential scheme at this key gateway location.

An eco-friendly residential scheme for around 400 homes and open space on the former college site.

Development partner: Galliford Try/Linden Homes

Development partner: LXB/Network Rail

kEY Railway Triangle Kings Quarter Greyfriars Greater Blackfriars Gloucester Docks Gloucester Quays Canal Corridor GHURC Boundary

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kings quarter A new events space within a retailled, mixed-use development. Wider project to include bus station, car park and homes.

Development partner: To be appointed 2009

GreATER Blackfriars New cultural centre with leisure and retail quarter. New education facility under discussion with university and county council.

Development partner: To be appointed 2009

gloucester docks New public spaces, flats and refurbished warehouses. New offices at Southgate Moorings and mixeduse scheme at West Quay.

Development partner: Crest Nicholson/British Waterways

Gloucester quays

canal corridor

A £400 million mixeduse retail, leisure scheme includes designer outlet centre, supermarket, hotel, bridge and college campus.

Strategic gateway into the city. Extensive canal-side residential developments including affordable housing are planned.

Development partner: Peel Holdings and British Waterways

Development partner: Commercial Estates/Bloor Homes

The Magnificent Seven and more…

Since 2004 approximately £400 million has been invested in the GHURC area with over £600 million in the pipeline. Plans are being led by seven specific sites in the city centre // By Alex Aspinall

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PROJECTS - the magnificent seven gloucester quays 20

gloucester quays

gloucesterurc.co.uk

The redevelopment of Gloucester Quays is a huge £400 million investment in the Docks area offering retail, leisure and residential space.

Gloucester Quays LLP Designer Outlet Centre, developed by Peel Developments and British Waterways, opened in May 2009. The 100-unit centre, reached via the new HCA-funded High Orchard Bridge, has greatly improved the city’s retail offer. The regeneration of this area started with Gloucestershire College’s new campus in 2007.

A new Sainsbury’s superstore has just opened, while the residential and other elements of the scheme will be delivered between 2010 and 2013.

Planning consent has been granted for 1,000 new homes by Gloucester Quays LLP. Further plans include new bars and restaurants, office space and a hotel creating a brand-new mixed-use area. The Peel Centre Multiplex Cinema recently receiving planning permission for three additional screens.

Geraint Hughes, director at New Masterplanning, the company commissioned by British Waterways to evaluate future development on the site, hopes the opening of the Designer Outlet Centre will aid the potential success of further developments. He says: “The Designer Outlet Centre should have a big impact, putting the docks between that major attraction and Blackfriars and the cathedral, creating a big desire line, which should bring a lot more visitors into the docks. The key thing is to make sure links to the city centre are there and people don’t treat the Quays as an out-of-town destination.”

n November 2008 New, HCA funded, High Orchard Bridge opened nM ay 2009 Designer Outlet Centre welcomed 100,000 visitors in its opening weekend n J une 2009 Sainsbury’s store opened

A residential neighbourhood, with around 400 new homes will be created at Greyfriars. The project sees Linden Homes and the HCA working to a masterplan completed by Savills in 2006 to deliver the new sustainable community as part of the Greater Greyfriars regeneration scheme.

They are currently engaged in community consultation, and a planning application will be submitted by early 2010.

Simon Gait, land director at Linden Homes, is optimistic about the development of the scheme, and is looking forward to dealing with the challenges of working on

the heritage-based site.

He comments: “I think it is a good thing that city centre residential development is coming forward. At the minute there is not a great deal of choice, and most is out of the centre. We are probably two or three years away from delivery, and by then there will be a greater offer.

“The front of the site, which is undeveloped at the moment, will hopefully be left intact, and that will preserve what is beneath the ground, which is important.”

n August 2006 Masterplan completed by Savills for HCA residential project n January 2009 Galliford Try/Linden Homes confirmed

by HCA as development partner

The development of Kings Quarter is central to the regeneration of the city centre. This mixed-use project, masterplanned by Urban Initiatives for partners GHURC, Gloucester City Council and Morleys, will become one of the more high profile examples of the shape Gloucester’s retail sector will take in the future.

The focus is the redesigned continental-style Kings Square,

by Churchman Landscapes/ Niall McLaughlin Architects, which will continue to be the main location for Gloucester’s festivals and outdoor events.

Caireen O’Hagan, representing project architects Churchman Landscapes and Niall McLaughlin Architects, says: “It is an important area and an integral part of the new retail scheme. You could choose to do something extremely mundane and inoffensive, but what is going on is much braver, and more radical. I think it is just what Gloucester needs.

“It will be a positive move for the city. If we follow through with the design that we proposed at the competition stage, and everybody is on-board, then it will be fantastic.”

greater blackfriars

kings quarter

greyfriars

greyfriars

kings quarter

greater blackfriars

The regeneration of one of the city’s most historic areas took a step forward with Feilden Clegg Bradley/Savills’ draft masterplan for the redevelopment of the Blackfriars site. The plan was drawn up after a series of community workshops held in January 2009.

Plans for the site will see the opening to the public of Blackfriars Priory and the development of the area as a creative and cultural industry hub, incorporating shops, a new hotel, office and commercial developments, as well as 300 new homes.

The project will link the city centre to the docks and quays areas, and hopefully become a major destination in its own right.

Geoff Rich, studio leader at Feilden Clegg Bradley, says: “Gloucester is a great place. The city has a truly fascinating historic character, which creates the potential to surprise and inspire. The Greater Blackfriars masterplan is perhaps the critical part of the future regeneration plans for the city as it will carefully mend an historic city quarter and help to create a confident new identity based on the creative re-use of some fantastically important and under-used historic buildings like Blackfriars Priory.

“As a focus of conservation, sustainability and progressive change, the project includes an exciting mix of ideas designed with a thorough appreciation of the area’s historic significance.”

n J anuary 2009 Masterplan taken to Princes Trust organised community workshops n J uly 2009 Feilden Clegg Bradley/Savills’ draft masterplan completed for SWRDA

n July 2007 Urban Initiatives masterplan completed for GHURC, Gloucester City Council and Morleys n J uly 2008 Niall McLaughlin Architects/Churchman Landscapes selected to redesign Kings Square

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Changing times, better places As Gloucester evolves, so do we...

EDAW AECOM is delighted to be involved in the regeneration of Gloucester as part of our work towards the creation of successful communities and great places.

From October 2009, EDAW AECOM will be known as Design + Planning at AECOM, reflecting a closer integration of our services and capabilities.

Enhancing & sustaining the world’s built, natural and social environments.

From regenerating cities and creating new communities to designing inspiring open spaces, EDAW AECOM is a leader in making successful and sustainable places. We prepare masterplans, design guidelines, and site plans for a wide range of development types including large-scale town planning, residential community design, mixed use developments and public realm schemes. EDAW AECOM’s projects are grounded in environmental, social and economic sustainability, while offering cutting-edge, flexible and lasting solutions that create the best value for clients and communities.

EDAW AECOM has offices in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast with more than 180 spatial and development planners, masterplanners, urban designers, architects and landscape architects along with experts in economic development, ecology, project management, community engagement, graphic design and GIS. Our projects range from masterplans that guide sustainable Olympic and legacy development, through Area Action Plans that set the policy context for lasting physical and economic change, to strategies for successful, thriving town centres. We have created pioneering economic-led plans for cities, as well as much-loved public spaces and squares that put places on the map. Our planning teams have delivered record-breaking planning applications for the UK’s most significant developments in a generation. We have planned and guided delivery of award-winning new communities, and defined new ways of ensuring that people have access to the social and cultural infrastructure that makes our towns and cities great places to live.

www.edaw.co.uk

About AECOM

www.aecom.com

AECOM is a global provider of professional design, planning, technical and management consultancy services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental and energy. With 43,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation, and technical excellence in delivering solutions that enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural, and social environments.

PROJECTS - the magnificent seven

canal corridor

canal corridor

Linking Gloucester Quays to the southern boundary of the city, the Canal Corridor is a massive stretch of land, which is currently underutilised.

The areas bordering both sides of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal represent excellent redevelopment sites, which could be used to create residential, commercial and leisurebased developments that re-establish the canal’s relevance at the heart of the city. The South West bypass project was completed in 2007, 59 additional homes have been completed and planning consent has already been granted for a further 500 units.

The scheme is ambitious, and still in its infancy at present, with work being carried out to assess exactly what should be delivered along each section of the canal.

Steve Macpherson, strategic land and planning manager at Bloor Homes says: “Long ago it was identified that this area was an up and coming part of the city, and as we have developed on the site we have had Gloucester Quays open up on the other side of the canal, and there is also Sainsbury’s adjoining our site.

There is a good ripple effect on the back of those developments, and we hope to see some good sales on the project.”

Work is already afoot to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) for the area, which would focus attempts to boost the canal corridor’s appeal.

n Planning consent granted for 500 new homes by Bloor Homes and Commercial Estates Group 2007 South West Bypass opened n May

J anuary 2009 Completion of 59 new n houses by Bloor Homes nA ugust 2009 BID ballot scheduled

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railway triangle

railway triangle

Initial plans for the regeneration of the Railway Triangle site were unveiled in April 2009 at a community event encouraging input from local people and business.

The 19-hectare site, which is mainly brownfield land, is currently an underutilised area on the edge of the city centre. Draft masterplans, by GVA Grimley/EDAW, for the mixed-use development include eco-housing and employment with a medi-park, health innovations centre and improved pedestrian and cycling links to the city centre.

EDAW principal Sandra Roebuck says: “The key to making the site a success is to get the right developments, and the right mixture of developments, not only for the stakeholders but also for the community. We also need to resolve some of the access issues, and make sure the developments are of a high quality.”

n June 2009 GVA Grimley/EDAW complete draft masterplan for HCA scheme n GHURC confirms support for new Parkway Station at Elmbridge Court

gloucester docks

gloucester docks

Gloucester’s impressive docks are already being restored to their former glory with the creation of shops, bars, restaurants, more than 230 residential apartments by Crest Nicholson and Laing Homes, and public spaces on the site. The area’s heritage has taken centre stage, with the continued operation of the boat repair yard and dry docks and the presence of tall ships.

Public realm works at Shipton and Mariners Square are now complete. The area will form part of a public route, linking Gloucester Quays and the docks to the city centre. Work for this stage of the project should begin on site by the end of 2009.

Mike Tilt, director of development at GHURC, says: “This project will link the city’s primary shopping area with Gloucester Quays. There has been massive investment in the historic docks, and the area is increasingly vibrant. It is now a case of finishing it off and creating the linkages to the other areas of the city.”

n December 2006 Over 230 new homes built n March 2008 Shipton and Mariners Squares completed n J anuary 2009 West Quay phase II masterplan

by New Masterplanning completed

gloucester 7 summer 2009

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PROJECTS - community regeneration

gloucester works

gloucester works

Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company has underlined its commitment to including all sections of society in their consultation work by establishing the Urban Youth Forum.

The forum gives young people, a group often overlooked by community engagement programmes, the opportunity to get involved. It brings together young people from schools and youth groups, allowing the young people of Gloucester to influence at the highest levels the direction in which their city is moving.

MARKETING GLOUCESTER

Community engagement is an essential ingredient to successful regeneration. Sam Hoad, community engagement manager at GHURC comments: “We actively encourage local people to get involved. We have community ambassadors who provide vital bridges, elected by the forums not us, telling us how we can best reach certain groups and get their views,” Hoad says.

“It’s vital we reach out to them so they understand the plans and have a feeling of pride in what’s happening to their city.”

Mobile exhibition units regularly venture across the city. Hoad has met many older residents who recall past planning mistakes. “People know Gloucester needs to change but they are concerned as to how it will affect them,” Hoad says.

And the interest in Gloucester Heritage’s regeneration plans for the city can be gauged by the crowd of over 2,500 who attended the four-day Future Of The City Exhibition at Blackfriars Priory in May, where the plans were unveiled and debated.

urban youth forum

community engagement

community engagement

urban youth forum

Designed to meet the jobs and skills needs of local workers and residents, Gloucester Works was launched in September 2008. The £6 million plan will improve workforce skills and the employability of those working and living in the city.

Delivered by business-led economic partnership Gloucestershire First, the scheme works with employers to locate and recruit members of staff, and with workers to ensure they possess the skills and qualifications required by the city’s businesses.

A key part of Gloucester Works’ activity has been to support the launch of the multi-million pound Gloucester Quays development, which will eventually create 1,000 new jobs. A recruitment event held

by Gloucester Works attracted over 1,700 people.

marketing gloucester

December 2008 saw the coming of age of Marketing Gloucester, when it went ‘live’ as a not for profit company. Its aims are to: ‘promote Gloucester as a retail, leisure and business centre for the South West,’ and ‘improve the image and perception of Gloucester’ by visitors, investors, the media and local people.

Marketing Gloucester is working closely with GHURC, and has already made its presence felt with an innovative Gloucester Through the Ages event.

This transformed the city to various stages from its history with Roman encampments, Nelsonian boats and vehicles from World War II set up across the city centre.

It also ran the second Tall Ships festival in Gloucester Docks which attracted tens of thousands to the city. gloucester 7 summer 2009

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PROJECTS - across the county cinderford regeneration

stroud valley canal company

stroud valley canal company

cinderford regeneration

New employment opportunities, homes, leisure facilities and public spaces will be created for this former coalfield community, thanks to investment from the Homes and Communities Agency and other stakeholders.

Plans include a major new access road, 189 mixed tenure homes, with an emphasis on affordability, 20,000sq m of employment space and a new further education college.

The development will be delivered within a ‘Green Charter’ which will promote exemplar environmental and design standards.

rural renaissance

rural renaissance

Gloucestershire County Council’s Rural Renaissance scheme has invested £8 million in more than 100 projects designed to aid rural communities and businesses since 2005. The money has boosted the rural economy through investment in job creation, employment support, business creation, business support, accessibility and skills.

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on responsibility for the operation, management and maintenance of the canal once the initial restoration work is carried out.

The restoration is being led by Stroud District Council, and has already attracted £19.6 million of external funding, drawn mainly from the Heritage Fund and the South West Regional Development Agency.

gloucesterurc.co.uk

The partnership sees a cross-section of public, private and voluntary sector organisations working together to facilitate change in rural Gloucester.

The South West Regional Development Agency has contributed £4 million to the initiative so far, with the rest of the funding being drawn from the public and private sectors.

cheltenham civic pride

The much-anticipated restoration of the canal system stretching from Brimscombe and Stonehouse has taken a huge step towards realisation, following the creation of a company set up to acquire and oversee the necessary works.

The Stroud Valley Canal Company, which was established in March 2009 for this purpose, will also take

cheltenham civic pride

Adopted by Cheltenham Borough Council back in July 2008, the Cheltenham Civic Pride Urban Design Framework is a project designed to boost the local economy of the town by enhancing its streets and public spaces.

The jointly funded consultancy study looked at the urban design, transport and public realm strategies and development proposals for three key town centre sites. It is hoped to develop a partnership comprising Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucestershire County Council and SWRDA to progress the framework from planning to delivery.

GLOUCESTER

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Welcome to Linden Homes Linden Homes is delighted to be involved with this major regeneration project in the heart of the historic city of Gloucester. We are part of Galliford Try plc, one of the UKs leading construction and housebuilding groups, bringing our local experience and understanding together with the strength and reassurance of a major plc. Â&#x2021; 6XFFHVVIXO VSHFLDOLVWV LQ EURZQILHOG GHYHORSPHQWV Â&#x2021; &XUUHQWO\ EXLOGLQJ EHVSRNH GHVLJQV DQG VXSHULRU TXDOLW\ KRPHV DFURVV WKH 8. Â&#x2021; $ZDUGV LQFOXGH +RXVHEXLOGHU RI WKH <HDU %URZQILHOG

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WATERSIDE/Natural assets

Natural Assets Waterside regeneration has transformed cities across the UK. But what can Gloucester learn from them? // By Toby Fox

Gloucester, unlike many other UK cities, has a lot of natural assets. The River Severn and the Sharpness Canal have already attracted £200 million of investment into Gloucester Docks and further opportunities lie ahead. Of the seven key sites at the heart of the city’s development programme, four – Greater Blackfriars, Gloucester Docks, Gloucester Quays and Canal Quarter – have waterside frontages. That’s a big advantage for the city to exploit, when the importance of river and canal frontages in the successful regeneration of other cities is considered.

Less than 50 miles from Gloucester, Birmingham is a perfect example. Asked a decade ago the whereabouts of canal-side Brindleyplace, Birmingham’s residents might have been scratching their heads.

Today they don’t need to be asked: the crowds thronging to attractions such as the Sea Life Centre are enough of a clue.

Brindleyplace was begun by Argent in 1993 and the first phase of about 5,500sq m of canal-side shops, restaurants and bars, called The Water’s Edge, opened the following year. Brindleyplace is now a bustling combination of over 100,000sq m of striking office buildings and apartments, retail and dining, civic squares and leisure facilities including the Sea Life Centre.

“With each development at Brindleyplace we have tried to introduce something new,” says joint managing director Gary Taylor.

“We use a simple approach, setting ourselves the challenge of providing everything you need during the working day alongside an eclectic mix of high-quality leisure facilities to attract visitors at other times.”

The scheme’s latest new building, the Glenn Howells-designed 12-storey Eleven Brindleyplace, opened in March 2009 offering over 10,000sq m of grade A office space. Property agent Colliers CRE took a five-year lease on over 500sq m of the top 30

gloucesterurc.co.uk

floor for its 60-strong Midlands operation.

“Of course there were all sorts of reasons for locating here, but the waterfront was certainly a consideration,” says Colliers head of Birmingham office David Smeeton. “From the village where I live, I could cycle the entire journey to work along the Trent and Mersey Canal without once meeting a road.”

And he adds that the canalside location is a lively and attractive environment for the company’s employees to enjoy. “We are just drawn to the water,” he concludes.

“Water provides a focus for an area,” adds Philip Harcourt, head of development consulting at Colliers CRE. “A lot of people are attracted to waterside locations and it can turn a location into a destination.”

Humans have a profound attraction to water. “It’s not very scientific but it’s quite simple,” maintains Harcourt. “If you’re choosing between two identical buildings, one on a waterfront and one not, you’ll choose the one on the water.”

Harcourt points to many examples of successful waterfront-based regeneration: Canary Wharf in London, the docks in Liverpool and, in Wales, Cardiff Bay. He teases out common reasons for their success.

“If you put Canary Wharf in [South London suburb] Peckham, for example, it wouldn’t have been the success it was,” he says. “The waterside location isn’t the only factor, but it is certainly one. It enhanced the marketability of Canary Wharf. Liverpool has put attractions on the waterfront and encouraged the city to move towards it.”

Harcourt is referring to Kings Waterfront which has augmented the already successful Albert Dock scheme with a new 10,600capacity Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre, alongside a mixed-use development of residential, hotel, office, retail, leisure, community and open space uses.

Water provides a focus for an area, it can turn a location into a destination. It’s not very scientific but it’s quite simple – if you’re choosing between two identical buildings, one on a waterfront and one not, you’ll choose the one on the water says Philip Harcourt, head of development consulting at Colliers CRE

Water wonderland Formerly neglected and run-down waterside areas have been regenerated with dramatic effect across the country. (Anticlockwise from main pic) Converted warehouses in Gloucester Docks, Brindleyplace in Birmingham, Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Albert Docks and the docks in Ipswich.

gloucester 7 summer 2009

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WATERSIDE/Natural assets

But not all waterfront attractions are successful. “Cinemas are essentially inwardlooking,” Harcourt continues. “Why do they need to be on a waterfront? It’s a waste of a view and you might as well be anywhere.”

He concludes that planning is the essential first step to waterside regeneration. “The first thing to do is look at how you want the scheme to work, how you want people to behave, how the city and waterfront need to interact. Do the planning first, before you get architects in to do the design.”

Ipswich councillor and economic development portfolio holder Richard Atkins agrees. “You need to know what picture the jigsaw will be when it’s complete, before putting the pieces together,” he says of the £1 billion-plus waterfront regeneration in the Ipswich Dock Basin. The scheme started in the late 1990s when the commercial port moved its centre of operations downstream and developers moved into the northern quays area. They have built hundreds of flats, the four-star Salthouse Harbour Hotel in a converted warehouse, offices, restaurants, cafes and marinas.

People are naturally drawn to waterside areas if they are accessible but the key is to encourage visitors.

Bristol has been successfully attracting residents and tourists to its waterfront via its Harbour Festival(above) for years and Gloucester is achieving similar success with its Tall Ships Festival and Waterways Museum (top).

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At a trade event called Waterfront Expo held in November 2008, Colliers International chaired a workshop entitled “Connecting the Waterfront to the City”, attended by waterfront managers and developers from across the world. One of the workshop’s conclusions was the critical importance of events taking place on the water’s edge, to draw the city towards the water and create a perception of excitement and activity in visitors’ minds. Bristol Harbour Festival is a standout example, evolving over the last 37 years as the Bristol Harbourside area has been developed, to the point where 230,000 people (and 230 vessels) attended last year’s free weekend event. The crowds spent an estimated £5 million and enjoyed music, dance, circus, fireworks and historic ships. “It’s the flagship event for us, representative of Bristol and promoting the city to the rest of country – it shows off Bristol’s best bits,” says Bristol City Council festivals and events officer Jessica Noakes.

It’s a classic example of water helping to create a destination, and Gloucester is building a similar success story with its Tall

Ships event, which has been going since 2007 and attracted an estimated 100,000 visitors at this year’s three-day event.

Visitor numbers to Gloucester’s waterfront have rocketed since the opening of the Designer Outlet Centre. Tony Hales, chairman at British Waterways commented: “It is a fantastic addition complementing the other attractions, the boats and open space which make the Docks such a treasured asset.” GHURC plans to build on the success, it is working with the local rowing club to facilitate funding for relocation to a bigger building on the other side of the canal, adding to the vibrancy of the waterfront. Richard Owen, project director at GHURC comments: “It’s a long, straight stretch of water perfect for rowing.

We want to maximise the use of the water – we’ve got it, let’s use it.”

Creating an attractive, and busy, waterfront is certainly the key to success.

SWRDA is considering funding development of the public realm between the Quays and city centre, which is currently parking space. Owen explains: “It’s a great spot to sit and enjoy the sunshine. We want to improve the area so people want to walk through and spend time there.”

The popularity of waterfront living has grown since the first ‘yuppie’ flats at Albert Docks in Liverpool and the river at Canary Wharf were developed in the late 1980s. And it is clear that residential accommodation plays a valuable role in reconnecting people to the waterfront. A concept Gloucester understands – many of the dockside warehouses are now homes and further conversions are planned. Crest Nicholson is planning new homes on Merchants Quay with ground floor shops and restaurants, which it is hoped will encourage more activity in the area. Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, says: “Most of the warehouses are now homes or offices, so they are in use but currently there is not enough confidence to open shops and restaurants. Hopefully that will change now the outlet centre is open and the area is visibly busier. Gloucester’s waterfront is an amazing asset, improving it will not only benefit residents but also attract tourism and therefore revenue to the city.” 7

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RIBA Stirling Prize 2008: Accordia, Cambridge

Regenerating heritage cities QUAD Visual Arts and Media Centre, Derby

At Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios we are intrigued by the ways in which cities create unique identities through their relationship with their historic development. We also recognise the power of a city’s history to inspire its citizens through helping people to discover, understand and learn about the places that shape their home town.

In Gloucester we have been inspired by the fascinating combination of Roman, Medieval and Victorian ‘layers’ within the Greater Blackfriars area, and the passion of the local people for the possibility of progressive change for their city.

Designing for a Heritage city like Gloucester demands the highest design skills in both the repair of historic buildings and in designing for contemporary lifestyles. We believe that the very best schemes for historic sites demonstrate that conservation and design are truly inseparable. We always seek a continuity

of design from the Conservation Planning for historic buildings such as the C13th Blackfriars Priory right through to the sensitive design of new buildings that set new benchmarks for design quality and sustainability.

As Masterplanning Architects of the Year we are very proud that our attention to detail in designing for historic cities was recognised by the RIBA Stirling Prize for Accordia in Cambridge, and to have achieved full planning permission for the major Western Riverside Development in the World Heritage City of Bath. These and our other urban regeneration schemes in London, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Bristol and Birmingham demonstrate our understanding of successful public spaces and our abilities as forward thinking urban designers. Geoff Rich Geof Rich leads FCBS’ Creative Re-Use Studio geoff.rich@fcbstudios.com

Greater Blackfriars masterplan, Gloucester

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has a national reputation for sustainable conservation, design and regeneration. Their clients include Historic Royal Palaces, the National Trust and they are framework architects for English Heritage and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Bath Brewery Toll Bridge Road Bath BA1 7DE +44 (0)1225 852545 www.fcbstudios.com

Circus House 21 Great Titchfield Street London W1W 8BA +44 (0)20 7323 5737

RETAIL/Broadening horizons

Broadening horizons The opening of a major new shopping centre heralds the beginning of a new dawn for Gloucester’s retail scene // By Adrienne Margolis

Gloucester’s retail sector is undergoing a major overhaul to improve what is on offer not just for locals, but casting the net wide to attract millions of potential shoppers from further afield.

The catalyst for the change is the Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre that opened in May bringing discounted top fashion brands to the city and with it 100,000 visitors in the first week of opening.

Developer Peel Holdings started work on the site in the late 1990s, initially in competition but eventually in partnership with British Waterways, which owned land on the other side of the canal. The decision to build a designer outlet centre was based on independent research commissioned by Peel on the retail potential of a centre of this type and the impact of similar projects all over Europe.

“The report guided us to the type of tenant we should be seeking,” explains Lindsey Ashworth, Gloucester Quays chairman and Peel development director. “If you get the mix wrong, people won’t shop there.” The recommendation was to target mid- to high-range stores,

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which could draw in more than three million shoppers annually and put the city in the top five, according to the report.

Recession has taken hold since that 2006 report. But Gloucester Quays is bucking the trend, the fit out quality of the centre itself, with polished granite, marble floors and modern exteriors, along with the potential identified in the report, have drawn top brand designer tenants in: such as The White Company and Calvin Klein.

“We found with [previous Peel development] the Trafford Centre in Manchester that visitor numbers rose from 10 million to 32 million, because shoppers thought it was a nice place to be,” Ashworth says.

The designer outlet centre, and newly opened Sainsbury’s store will also bring benefits to retailers elsewhere in the city. With 60% of Gloucester residents previously not shopping in the city, Ashworth points out that other local businesses should profit as the Designer Outlet Centre convinces some of those people to shop locally. He says: “I believe Gloucester Quays will be a turning point

says Chris Oldershaw, chief executive of Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company

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100,000 visitors flocked to Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre in its first week of trading.

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Gloucester Quays will bring in more than three million extra people every year

Hopes are high that the new outlet centre will act as a catalyst for the city’s retail sector which has declined over recent years.

for the fortunes of this great city and lead it into better and more prosperous times.”

And it is not just shops the development is offering. A food court, named after the adjacent Pillar and Lucy warehouse, will open later this year. Restaurants will open out onto the waterfront and a new public square offering weary shoppers the opportunity to recharge their batteries before setting off again. Importantly, as outlet centre director Franco Muccini points out: “In purely economic terms it encourages people to spend time and money in the area.”

Gloucester’s retail offer was on a par with nearby Cheltenham in the 1980s, but since then the quality of shopping in Cheltenham has improved markedly, leaving Gloucester behind. At The Mall shopping centre in Eastgate Street, at the heart of the city’s shopping area, centre manager Neil Draper explains: “The main concern in Gloucester has been that the city has struggled to get good fashion brands to come here.”

For Ashworth, though, this deterioration presents an opportunity: “This is probably the last location in England where a designer

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RetAiL/Broadening horizons

outlet centre can be built,” he claims. “The public made it happen – they got behind the plan in the beginning, and filled in thousands of forms supporting it. That meant the council got behind it too.”

“We have recognised for many years that Gloucester has been underperforming as a retail centre and we have a ten-year plan to address this deficit,” says Chris Oldershaw, chief executive of GHURC. “Gloucester Quays will bring in more than three million extra people every year and we are acutely aware of the benefits of this if we attract them to the city centre.” This is the thinking behind a major £7.4 million project to create pedestrian links between the two areas to ensure shoppers explore past the Quays into the Docks and beyond. Work is likely to begin on this project later in 2009. “Even if 10% of people who visit the Quays come into the city centre, it will be a major benefit,” Oldershaw points out.

Another piece of Gloucester’s new retail jigsaw is the Kings Quarter development at the heart of the city centre. The scheme will create over 29,000sq m of new retail space set around a public square as well as a new bus station and car park. Development partners will be announced later this year, but the plans must go through EU processes. This is a long-term project that may take until 2015.

Kings Quarter will transform the city centre, according to Chief Executive of Gloucester City Council Julian Wain. “At the moment we do not have the type of space some retailers require,” he says. “But they would take space in a new scheme like Kings Quarter.”

Smaller businesses are also enthusiastic about the planned improvements. “It is a fantastic opportunity”, says Mark Owen, chairman of the Gloucester branch of the Federation of Small Businesses. Improved transport links, especially those connecting the train and bus stations, will make a huge difference as the area is the gateway to the city.

In the meantime, work starts early next year on refurbishing Kings Square. A continental-style square is planned, encouraging people to spend time in the city centre during the day, and encouraging a resurgence of the city’s evening economy.

Nearby Kings Walk shopping centre is also hoping to benefit from the new square. “We are a busy shopping centre with a high footfall, on a public thoroughfare from the railway and the bus stations,” manager Paul Chalmers explains. He adds that improvements are planned for the centre “to give the place a spark and increase the dwell time”.

“The creation of a public square and some independent retail is an opportunity for us to broaden our offer,” Chalmers continues.

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Most of the Kings Quarter scheme is some years off, so local retailers are looking elsewhere for early progress. At The Mall, Draper is targeting one market in particular. “Where space is becoming available we have encouraged smaller independent shops,” he says. “We have 9,000 students in the city and independents are turning to this niche market.”

A city with such unique, historic buildings lends itself well to independent retailers. Oldershaw hopes to encourage a mix of retail. “We want to have a strong independent sector and not be a clone town,” he says.

“We have our fair share of independent shops. In the current economic climate retailers have got to raise their game and promote themselves. They could take advantage of Gloucester Quays opening.”

Additional sites for independent retailers are planned in the Blackfriars area. This is a very important location between the Docks and core city centre where regeneration has been promised for 20 years but not happened, until now. Oldershaw believes: “Blackfriars is one of the city’s most exciting possibilities. It could become a cultural and commercial centre. For example the Friary is a fantastic building, but it is not currently open to the public on a regular basis.”

Another heritage site set to make its mark on the city centre is St Michael’s Tower. This summer the tower, built in 1455, will open as a heritage and performing arts centre and hopes are high that it will attract more people to the city centre. As Marilyn Champion at Gloucester Civic Trust explains: “We’ve got 50 tour guides and audio trails aimed at making heritage fun and educating local people on how the past impacts on how we live today. The building will look fantastic and definitely increase footfall. Local businesses are quite excited and have been very supportive. We ran a promotional event last year and had 10,000 visitors – Thorntons ran out of ice-cream and Starbucks sold three times as much coffee as normal. Retailers can see the benefits, it does work.”

Historically markets have played a vital role in Gloucester’s retail mix and have done for centuries. As well as an indoor market in Eastgate Street, there is a popular weekly farmers’ market, and a market in Kings Square on Fridays and Saturdays. There is also a new site, Hempsted Meadows, on the edge of the city, which attracted 11,000 people on the opening day last summer.

The markets are an important attraction for the city and much has been done to encourage visitors including promotion and new parking tariffs. In terms of the overall offer, the new outlet centre is all about high quality and value which complements the city centre.

Gloucester will be the place to come to get good quality and value in a unique setting. 7

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As well as designer stores Gloucester Quays also offers a new Sainsbury’s supermarket.

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Retailers in the city centre should benefit from increased footfall from visitors to the newly opened Gloucester Quays and St Michael’s Tower.

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Gloucester’s mix of shops will be complemented by retail-led development at Gloucester Quays, Blackfriars, Kings Square and the Docks.

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Markets have always been an integral part of Gloucester’s retail offer.

Today it has not only the traditional market in Kings Square but also a regular farmers’ market.

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HERITAGE/Back to the future

Back to the future Regeneration can be difficult in a place with as much history as Gloucester. But this city is learning from other heritagebased regeneration programmes // By Alex Aspinall

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Regeneration is not just about new buildings but also enhancing what exists.

This is particularly true in historic cities where ancient city walls, cathedrals or period buildings help create a unique sense of place as well as fostering a sense of pride and collective identity within the local community. Andrew Gravells, Gloucestershire County Councillor, says: “Heritage-led regeneration requires a different, more considered approach. A city’s past must be taken into account before plans are mapped out for its future.”

Andrew Vines, English Heritage’s South West regional director explains: “One of the main ways heritage-based regeneration differs is that it looks at historic assets, and how they can be used in the future, rather than focusing just on new developments.

“In Gloucester we undertook a characterisation exercise with Alan Baxter & Associates across the URC’s area early on before there was any real strategy in place, and the idea was that an understanding of historic assets, and the form of development in the past, will inform the city’s regeneration in the future.”

Bringing underutilised assets back into the centre of everyday city life is a particularly positive aspect of regeneration.

But this is not easily achieved. Working around buildings and sites of historical significance is packed with potential pitfalls.

However, while accepting that things may have to move slightly slower, the results can be worth it in terms of competitive edge.

Director of Peel Developments Lindsey Ashworth, who is also the chairman of the

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Opposite page: 15th century Llanthony Priory sits next to Gloucestershire College’s new building.

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Top left: The Crypt School, which was originally founded in 1539.

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Top right: Robert Raikes’ House reopened after an extensive £4.5 million restoration project by Samuel Smith Brewery.

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Bottom left: The revitalisation of Gothenburg’s former shipyards has created a new quarter in the city.

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Bottom right: After years of neglect Grainger Town in Newcastle is now a thriving part of the city centre.

Gloucester Quays LLP, a joint venture with British Waterways, built the newly-opened and highly successful Gloucester Quays Designer Outlet Centre. He says: “There is a perception that dealing with listed buildings costs more and takes longer to secure a consent and although this probably is not the case for most listed buildings what is certain is that the finished product always offers definitive quality as well as competitive advantage.”

The regeneration work carried out in the Grainger Town area of Newcastle city centre is often regarded as an example of best practice regeneration of a heritage site.

Built in the 1830s and 1840s, Grainger Town formed the historic heart of the city centre but it fell from grace during the 1980s and 1990s, as retail and commercial activity

Gloucester’s heritage is absolutely pivotal to how we promote the city.

Heritage brings people here

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HERITAGE/Back to the future

Gloucester’s heritage in numbers The GHURC area includes: 33 ancient monuments 490 listed buildings 37 Grade I listed buildings 51 Grade II* listed buildings 36 buildings on the ‘At Risk’ register 7 major regeneration projects

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The redevelopment of Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern has given the building a new lease of life and the South Bank a contemporary art gallery.

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As the country’s only heritage Urban Regeneration Company Gloucester’s wealth of historic buildings will, unsurprisingly, shape its regeneration plans.

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Newcastle’s Grainger Town was run down and neglected before the regeneration programme brought it back into city centre use.

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moved to other areas of the city.

Despite 40% of its buildings being listed as historically or architecturally important, Grainger Town became an underutilised asset. With a falling resident population and almost 100,000sq m of unoccupied floor space the area and its buildings began to fall into disrepair.

This decline was reversed by the £200 million Grainger Town Project, which was established in 1997. The project ran for six years investing both public and private sector funding in upgrading the quality of the built environment, and on improving business, social and cultural life in the area.

Grainger Town is now, once again, a thriving area of the city centre with a mix of uses, and an enviable footfall.

Vines recognises the merits of what was achieved in Newcastle. “Grainger Town is good because it shows what can be done in a historic context,” he says. “There are other examples too, with the docks in Liverpool being a good one.”

The heritage-focused regeneration of Gothenburg’s shipyards is regarded as a success. The area was once one of the city’s most dynamic centres, with 15,000 employees in its heyday. But as competition from cheaper foreign firms mounted, companies closed down, and the shipyards were nationalised and run down in an orderly way, leaving a largely derelict site.

But dedication from the public sector, and support from large private sector organisations allowed the gradual reinvigoration of the area. A stylish mixeduse quarter has grown out of the former shipyards. The area is now synonymous with quality design, and boasts a collection of education and research facilities, as well as a cluster of knowledge-led businesses and residential units. More people now live and work in the area than ever before, and an important piece of the city’s history has been preserved for residents and visitors.

The revival of Gothenburg’s waterside, and the transformation of Grainger Town, London’s South Bank and the redevelopment of the vast mills at Ancoats in Manchester show how heritage-led regeneration can allow cities to retain their unique historic buildings while gaining

new cultural, business or retail space. The projects at Gloucester Quays and around the city’s docks provide the perfect opportunity for similar success stories.

Ian Williams, heritage and urban design executive at GHURC comments: “Part of the story of making the most of heritage assets is providing a setting of appropriate quality, with renewed high-quality public realm.

“This process is under way, with fine public spaces being provided now at Gloucester Quays, through into the docks.”

Chris Boydell of Conisbee structural engineers echoes Williams’ emphasis on finding appropriate uses for the redevelopment sites. “At Gloucester Docks it is not just about docks or canals, it is about the re-use of the buildings for mixed-use purposes,” he says. “It is about the breadth of the redevelopment. Getting the balance right is important, so that the space created remains a living space. Part of redeveloping anything is to find a more appropriate, better use.”

The raw material is already in place in the shape of the city’s historic buildings, as are the plans for their redevelopment, and through considered regeneration, and successful partnerships between the public and private sectors, Gloucester could soon be adding its name to the list of historic cities around the world that have achieved successful, sympathetic regeneration.

This approach is certainly welcomed by those charged with promoting the city. Marketing Gloucester works closely with GHURC and is looking forward to the completion of more heritage-led projects, as they are perfect for persuading potential visitors to take a closer look at the city. As Graham Walker, chief executive of Marketing Gloucester, explains: “Gloucester’s heritage is absolutely pivotal to how we promote the city. Over 70% of people that come to Gloucester as tourists come to visit the cathedral. Heritage brings people here. Our offer should be based on heritage but also on showing that Gloucester is a happening, exciting place to be.”

History and heritage form a huge part of Gloucester’s attraction. The historic nature of the city also informs the direction its regeneration is taking, and the end product will represent something unique. 7

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gloucester regeneration and investment magazine

Gloucester 7 partners group Joining together to support Gloucester

Alder King theal@alderking.com

Am-pm design and print printing@am-pm.co.uk BPE Solicitors bpe@bpe.co.uk British Waterways enquiries.hq@britishwaterways.co.uk Bruton Knowles enquiries@brutonknowles.co.uk The Destination Marketing Group Philip Cooke philip@thedmg.co.uk Ecclesiastical Ian Simpson ian.simpson@ecclesiastical.com Gloucestershire College Peter White info@gloscol.ac.uk Gloucestershire County Council Simon Excell simon.excell@gloucestershire.gov.uk HSBC Richard Hardy richardhardy@hsbc.com Lincoln Financial Group customer.services@lincolnuk.co.uk Litchfield Morris Chris Morris chris@litchfieldmorris.co.uk Moose Marketing and PR Mark Owen enquiries@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk Nicky Godding nicky@nickygodding.co.uk South West RDA Ian Knight ian.knight@southwestrda.org.uk

Nicky Godding Communications

For more information about these companies, visit www.Gloucester7.com/links

the changing

magnificent seven...

...www.gloucesterurc.co.uk For further information, please contact: Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company Ltd 15 Ladybellegate Street, Gloucester GL1 2HN tel 01452 782 990 email VMĂ&#x201E;JLTHUHNLY'NSV\JLZ[LY\YJ JV \R

BUSINESS/Backed by business

Backed by business In these gloomy times there is an air of positivity hanging over Gloucester as businesses back the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regeneration programme // By Noella Pio Kivlehan

gloucester 7 summer 2009 43

BUSINESS/Backed by business

Gloucester has long been an alluring alternative to other business locations. At Ecclesiastical Insurance, which moved to the city from London over 30 years ago, director of strategic planning Ian Simpson counts off the main attractions: “We wanted a better environment for our staff, and we also wanted to tap into the growing labour pool in this area. This has proven to be a great decision. Our roots in the area are now well-established.

We employ over 600 people, drawing our skilled people from the local area and from further afield.

“Gloucester is a great place to live and work at the moment. It is a city on the up, with an impressive history and bags of potential for the future.”

There is no shortage of praise for the city from the businesses it hosts. At Lincoln Financial Group UK, president and managing director Michael TallettWilliams adds: “My experience of working in Gloucester is one where the people working for Lincoln have been hard working, loyal and committed. This has contributed to our success and helped to make working in Gloucester an enjoyable time for me.”

And Mark Owen, managing director of Moose Marketing and PR and chairman of Marketing Gloucester, comments: “As a business centre, the city has a vibrant, active and incredibly friendly business community where, over the years, I have made some strong and lasting personal friendships. I don’t think it would be anything like that in the more anonymous business environment of a large city like Birmingham or Bristol.”

While the people and scale of the city are important to many business owners, at Vinings restaurant the owner Muyazzom Choudhury also emphasises the setting of Gloucester Docks, with its attractive lighting and waterways, as key factors that helped him decide on a location.

Yet for all the praise there is a healthy course of realism on Gloucester’s business menu. As TallettWilliams puts it: “This is a good location with many good communications links. However, both road and rail links to London need to be improved. ...Gloucester has the potential to be performing better but just needs the catalyst to be able to fulfil its potential.”

That’s one of many tasks set before Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC), as part of its plans to complete £1 billion of private sector investment and create 2,000 new jobs by 2016.

GHURC has divided its main targets into a “Magnificent Seven”: Greater Blackfriars, Gloucester Docks, the Canal Corridor, Gloucester Quays, Kings Quarter, Greyfriars and the Railway Triangle.

Commenting on this ambitious programme, Simpson says: “I’d like to see all of the Magnificent Seven projects proceed and, while it might take longer than originally planned, I firmly believe that [GHURC chief 44 gloucesterurc.co.uk

Gloucester is a great place to live and work at the moment. It is a city on the up with bags of potential executive] Chris Oldershaw and his team will deliver.

Such an achievement would make a huge difference to Gloucester in terms of not only how the city is seen by others but also how it sees itself.”

“I think we are at a critical point,” adds TallettWilliams. “There has been good progress and there is the potential for a lot more. There is a clear plan and common understanding of what the objectives are and some of the first projects are nearing completion. Things like Gloucestershire College and the Designer Outlet Centre spring to mind. However, the credit crunch will make it harder to deliver some elements in the short term. We will persevere until all of the projects that make up the Magnificent Seven are completed.”

While the business community is aware that the recession will slow the regeneration programme – and it has already delayed Ecclesiastical Insurance’s plans to relocate to new offices at Gloucester Docks – it is also clear that the current economic climate makes regeneration all the more important. “It is critical for Gloucester’s future,” says Simpson. “We need to strengthen our business community, and the only way we can do this is through successful regeneration.”

And headway has already been made: St Oswald’s Retail Park was opened in September 2005 by developer Hammerson, with the first phase a mixture of leisure and retail and an extension is now planned. Land next to the park has been sold for the development of 450 residential units and a 150-unit ‘urban care village’.

The final phase will include a food store and further residential development, with a planning application to be submitted during 2009.

Developments such as this have reassured people in Gloucester that schemes, once built, will last. As TallettWilliams concludes: “Looking back, it is easy to see that some things could have been done better and there have been a number of false starts. This time, we have to make sure all the communities that make up Gloucester are involved and contribute to the solution. We have to be clear on what we want and not just copy the latest fashion. Gloucester has a great heritage that we have a responsibility to protect, but also to build on and interpret in a way that works in the 21st century. Above all, we have to insist on a quality that we will be proud to leave as our heritage.” 7

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Previous page: The dockside setting convinced a local restaurateur that this was the location for his business.

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Opposite page top: St Oswald’s Retail Park opened in 2005 and there are plans in place for further expansion.

Gloucester business case study: T Nielsen and Company 2006 was a great year for Gloucester Docks and for local ship restorer Tommi Nielsen.

Filming of the adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s The Hog Father and of Hollywood movie Amazing Grace brought star-studded casts and production crews to the docks – and to Nielsen.

Film originally brought Nielsen and his partner Sarah White, both former sailors, to Gloucester from Denmark in 1985. “We first came to the city in a big tall ship to do a Victorian film in the docks,” says Nielsen. The couple fell in love with the city and decided to stay, establishing their own ship restoration firm T Nielsen and Company, in Gloucester in 1988.

“We are happy here. We got to know the people and the dry docks, which are excellent facilities for us to work in. My partners and I wouldn’t have found these facilities elsewhere.”

Nielsen says the company is now the world’s leading specialist in repairing, restoring and building traditional ships and in rigging tall ships. It has up to 40 vessels passing through the yard each year, while as many as 50 people are employed at a time.

“The biggest job we had was HMS Gannet. Last month when the Prime Minster went to America to see President Obama he took a paperweight made out of timber from HMS Gannet. It is the sister ship of HMS Resolute, the timber of which the President’s desk in the Oval office is constructed from.”

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Left: A tall ship in Gloucester’s dry dock.

gloucester 7 summer 2009 45

BACKPAGE/Facts and figures

Gloucester facts and figures

5.9

Gloucester attracts 5.9 million visitor trips each year with annual visitor spend of £207 million Source: Gloucester City Council 2008

109,885 Population of Gloucester: 109,885 Population of Gloucestershire: 564,559 Source: 2001 census

82.8%

Gloucester’s employment rate 2008 = 82.8% National employment rate 2008 = 74.5% Source: Centre for Cities 2009

8,400,000 Around 8.4 million people live within 90 minutes’ drive of Gloucester

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Construction Real estate

7%

10% Health and social work

11%

Employment sectors in Gloucester

38%

16% 18% Manufacturing

Average gross weekly earnings: Gloucester: £468 UK: £457 Gloucester’s economy was worth

£11.3 billion in 2005, in terms of gross value added Source: Economy of Gloucester Report 2008

£1 billion: the projected value of Gloucester’s regeneration activities

other

Wholesale and retail trade

55

%

of working residents travel less than 5km to work

Number of working residents Gloucester: 52,525

Number of students

University of Gloucestershire: 9,200 Gloucestershire College: 6,000 House prices in Gloucester Detached: £277,823 Semi-detached: £153,052 Terraced: £128,168 Maisonette/flat: £110,225 Average: £165,089 Source: Land Registry 2009

Train times from Gloucester: London Birmingham Cardiff Manchester Birmingham airport Bristol airport

1hr 50 1hr 1hr 10 2hr 40 1hr 30 1hr 40

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n Retail renaissance n Gloucesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Magnificent Seven n How heritage-led regeneration works

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Designer Outlet A ÂŁ400 million long term regeneration project Gloucester Docks will be transformed into a place full of activity, style and culture Phase one of the Designer Outlet opened May 2009 Forty stores in the first phase with another sixteen to follow shortly and up to 80 stores in total A mixture of high street names and designer brands at up to 60% off Recommended Retail Price Bringing late night shopping and a night time economy to Gloucester for the first time Already attracting visitors from outside of the area Up to 6 million additional visitors per year will come to Gloucester because of Gloucester Quays Other attractions will include more new stores, an additional hotel, waterside bars and restaurants, offices, homes and a marina www.gloucesterquays.co.uk