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From the Newsletter- October 2004 |
AN INVITATION TO LEEDS
Recently I had a phone call from Dominic Murphy of the S.W. Regional Development Agency which finances the printing of "Towards Good Practice in Sustainable Urban Land Use". This is the document we publicised in a Bristol Civic Society Broadsheet in April 2004. It was produced by the Local Agenda 21 Land Use Group which has close affiliation with the Civic Society.
Dominic tells me that the guide is an enormous national success. The Excellence Network (9 Regional Centres of Excellence) are most enthusiastic and hope our research will continue and expand. A second print run is now required. Our Euro M.P. Glyn Ford put down a written question for the Commission asking if they were aware of our guide and on how our recommendations might be implemented throughout Europe. He's promised to keep me informed of progress. Also a member of the U.N. Sustainability Panel asked me for a copy I'm holding my breath on that one!
So far the most tangible outcome for me of all this enthusiasm has been a personal invitation from Leeds Planning and Heritage Officers to visit their city which I cheerfully accepted. As a teenager I knew Leedswell as a dark grey city with good theatres which I visited from our home in Wales.
Things have changed
Despite the rain Anne and I enjoyed a delightful day during which we were escorted by three leading officers who were justly proud of all they were able to show us. Our walking, with a pleasant break for lunch, was restricted to the City Centre and the waterside, but they have cheerfully agreed to answer a list of written questions about the wider city plans and problems. There is much to be learned from "Yorkshire Forward".
The central transformation which is taking place in Leeds is sensational: The city is no longer dark grey. The stonework and richly decorated terra cotta, mirror-glass mosaics and Art Nouveau carving have been cleaned and restored almost beyond recognition. The damage done by industrial smoke has been removed and Leeds is now revealed in Victorian splendour.
Particularly distinctive are the covered arcades traditional shopping precincts richly decorated with ingenuity and humour. And now the se pedestrian precincts have been extended to enclose entire streets with decorated glass roofs and car exclusion at street level. "Modern" need not be uniform. In contrast to the spectacular arcades the narrow alley ways ("ginnels") provide intimate accommodation for pub and caf‚ overspill. Diverse pedestrian routes are a high priority. Celebrating the corners of buildings and the entrances reminded one of Prague; and the new Millennium Square will go some way to compensate for lack of green Georgian enclosures. he planners regret the usual disruption of some high rise "anywhere architecture" and are now prescribing height limits which integrate with the existing context. Prescription need not inhibit. Their river was almost in flood and the surrounding regeneration of old waterside stone and brick buildings are reminiscent of some of the best work in Bristol. At present the warehouse conversions are mainly to residential; but they are conscious of the need for more vibrant mixed use, which has started.
If you're looking for tightly packed exuberant "urbanisation", Leeds is an inspiration. No wonder the residential and student influx is snubbing exodus to the south! There is plenty of attraction in Leeds and more to come.
Jerry Hicks
Convener Urban Design Group
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