Presentation by Eddie Curry, Head of Parks and Open Spaces, Nottingham City Council, and Sharon Scaniglia, Principal Arts Officer, Nottingham City Council
Minutes:
Eddie Curry, Head of Parks and Open Spaces, and Sharon Scaniglia, Principal Arts Officer, gave a presentation on projects happening within the City Centre and highlighted the following points:
(a) there are four key areas of development:
· entrance enhancements;
· landscape enhancements;
· interpretation trail;
· creative lighting;
(b) the entrance enhancements include:
· Hurts Yard and the West End Arcade:
o a feasibility study will be confirmed before Christmas and works will be carried out before the end of April 2016;
o a local artist from the Creative Quarter will be commissioned to make improvements to the visual appearance;
o the work will address the concerns of the retailers regarding low level anti-social behaviour and low footfall;
· Carrington Street Heritage Townscape improvements to:
o restore and enhance the visual appearance;
o profile historic buildings and frontages;
o improve the streetscape quality;
o improve the connective quality of the public realm to the City Centre;
o create a distinctive and memorable entrance to the City;
· Trinity Walk:
o an archway has been made by a local artist, in consultation with the street traders;
o the visibility of the walkway has been improved;
o it creates a sense of identity;
o it will improve footfall;
(c) the landscape improvements include:
· replanting sections of the Old Market Square;
· removing tree stumps and replanting City Centre gateway approaches such as Castle Boulevard, London Road, and Mansfield Road;
· horticultural features at Canning Circus;
· the City Centre sculpture trial;
· other planting features;
(d) the City Centre interpretation trail:
· it will:
o build on existing apps to direct people to events in the City Centre, but needs to avoid duplication of existing apps, tours or websites;
o actively encourage tourism;
o allow visitors to access live information/offers;
o provide guidance and quality visitor time;
o profile the cultural offer and City’s rich heritage;
· the aim of the tour is to:
o show the City off to visitors;
o profile heritage and architectural features;
o drive footfall to businesses that will benefit economically from the increased spend;
o encourage return visits;
· the timescales:
o the tender documents are due to completed before Christmas;
o the tender process will take place in January 2016;
o the first phase of the project will be completed by 31 March 2016;
(e) creative lighting:
· will:
o create welcoming environments at night;
o enhance footfall to a specific location;
o generate a sense of place;
o create an environment that feels safe;
o add to the attractiveness of the City as a place to spend time in;
o create excitement about the location/site/place;
· a brief was sent out with a deadline of 18 November. Seven tenders have been returned and three have been shortlisted;
· the proposals include:
o structural lighting;
o interactive lighting;
o architectural lighting;
· the process will include:
o feedback and comments on the proposed projects;
o consultation with the Highways and Commercial Governance Manager;
o interviews taking place on 3 December.
The following comments were made during the discussion:
(f) the Flying Horse Walk is an example of what can be achieved at the West End Arcade and Hurts Yard. Improvements will attract people to walk through them to access other areas;
(g) the businesses have been fully involved in the improvements they want to see at Hurts Yard and the West End Arcade and they are also investing their own money;
(h) additional lighting would be a great improvement to Hurts Yard as it looks dark from both entrances;
(i) improved signage at the West End Arcade to list the shops inside is being worked on, and work will be done to make the vacant premises more attractive;
(j) Hurts Yard can be slippery when it is wet so it is important to improve the flooring or the hand rails;
(k) there are lots of apps available for the City already, such as the Caves and Creative Quarter tours, so there is still a lot of work to do on the interpretation tour to ensure that it is overarching rather than duplicating. It is hoped that it will be managed centrally;
(l) improved lighting in the City Centre would have a positive impact on the night time economy and make it more family friendly;
(m) creative lighting can attract people to areas that they wouldn’t usually visit;
(n) lighting up existing features should be considered;
(o) lighting could also be used to lead people to a particular area and show people the way to go.
RESOLVED to request that an update on the proposals for City Centre creative lighting project is submitted to the next meeting.