The West End of Plymouth, the city’s independent shopping quarter, was complicated to navigate with a lack of reference points for pedestrians. Too few connections made it hard for people to move easily into and around the area. Visitors by car, crucial to the success of local businesses and to the vitality of the street, found it difficult to access.
The negative image was exacerbated by poor signage and street clutter, with the quality of the pedestrian environment seriously impaired by the scale and impact of major roads.
Residential accommodation is still scarce and does not generate significant population levels. In many cases the residential accommodation above shops is of little architectural value, of low quality and responds poorly to the streetscape.
There is a great potential to harness the existing qualities of the West End and to resolve its problems through a programme of sustained and targeted investment.
LHC was commissioned by the Plymouth City Centre Company to develop a long term vision to guide the regeneration of the West End. There was a need to engender confidence about the future of the area, provide clarity about its role in relation to the wider city and raise aspirations. In response to this brief LHC proposed the ‘West End Vision’, a flexible framework of ‘20 Projects in 20 Years’.
The implementation of the first three projects around Cornwall Street, New George Street and New George Street/Raleigh Street Junction were undertaken during 2009 and involved the regeneration of the streets surrounding the existing Pannier Market. This included the creation of shared surface spaces, new tree planting, street furniture, on-street parking and a general up-lift in the quality of the public realm.
Through an extensive public consultation process and collaboration with stakeholders, local residents and groups such as Disabled Awareness Network and Guide Dogs UK, key factors were identified for inclusion. These were distilled by the design team and implemented through a series of interventions.
The key concept of the design is ‘Shared Space’, a well documented design concept which reverses the hierarchy of the street by putting the pedestrian first, cyclist second, followed by motor vehicles.
This was coupled with specific interventions to slow traffic to 20mph, achieved through lateral shifts in the carriageway punch points using bollards and psychological factors of non-normal layout to slow traffic. Historically these tools have been used in residential areas and rarely in a retail quarter. This has been complimented with rigorous safety auditing.
Retaining the independent character of the shopping experience and community was an important concept within the design. This was reflected in the distinctive colours of the paving and variety of spaces within the spatial design, which range from the dramatic Giant Zebra at one junction, to intimate spaces at other junctions. The innovative use of very narrow carriageways also reinforces this intimate atmosphere.
High-quality materials were used throughout the scheme; granite, stainless steel, contemporary street furniture and beautiful trees. The inclusion of trees was identified as an important requirement for improving the quality of the place.
A great deal of unnecessary and confusing street signage and clutter was removed, the remaining signage was rationalised and some replaced with new in the same style.
In total 63 trees have been planted in the streets, defining avenues and articulating spaces. Three different species have been planted – ornamental pears, Turkish hazel and Snow Mesphillus which lend a richness to the environment.
