Urban Village, Market Street development Options

[Exhausted]

Quite. I'd be surprised that, if asked, a significant number of people wouldn't want fecking great walls and barbed wire entanglements to make them feel safer in their homes, whereas the reality is that this kind of urban design creates a hateful dangerous place. Asking people what they want doesn't always elicit a healthy answer and sometimes it's best to ignore what you hear and trust the architects (and yes, I do sound like Petra, and that worries me too).

I doubt anyone on here has much to offer in terms of town planning or architectural design, so what we have to rely on are the professionals giving us what we want when we haven't got a clue what we do want. Part of the remit has to be profitability and if WBC are trading the land for the proverbial quid, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The key here is........

what do we want for the living space and what style or density should we have

can we afford gated garden squares surrounded by two or three storey houses

how much social housing (affordable) should we have

what do we want for the commercial side (shops etc) big shops or little shops. Barry Forkin v John Lewis

do we want a pub, a nursery, a primary school.

how much parking do we need, multi storey, how many levels, underground or above ground

what do we want for the pedestrian access both within and through ways

what do we want for transport interchange, bus and taxi only with extended pick up points

I can't think of all the answers or even all the questions but if we can produce a want/desire list perhaps Simon might like to co-ordinate the results and present them as the newts request.

[On the edge]

Great idea, time we had another newt anyway!

[Simon Kirby]

I doubt anyone on here has much to offer in terms of town planning or architectural design, so what we have to rely on are the professionals giving us what we want when we haven't got a clue what we do want. Part of the remit has to be profitability and if WBC are trading the land for the proverbial quid, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The key here is........

what do we want for the living space and what style or density should we have

can we afford gated garden squares surrounded by two or three storey houses

how much social housing (affordable) should we have

what do we want for the commercial side (shops etc) big shops or little shops. Barry Forkin v John Lewis

do we want a pub, a nursery, a primary school.

how much parking do we need, multi storey, how many levels, underground or above ground

what do we want for the pedestrian access both within and through ways

what do we want for transport interchange, bus and taxi only with extended pick up points

I can't think of all the answers or even all the questions but if we can produce a want/desire list perhaps Simon might like to co-ordinate the results and present them as the newts request.

That's a top post Exhausted, and a great excuse for another Newt...