In these areas a great deal of intensive work by individuals and local groups has achieved successful compromises that have improved the public realm, making it more accessible and welcoming to all, and providing increased economic opportunities for local businesses.
The successes have often required a huge amount of voluntary effort and leadership and have relied on the generosity of effort of individuals. But are we now failing to do this?
York is a city of many parts that have developed over centuries.
The city is not dominated by a single design like Bath or Milton Keynes.
Each neighbourhood has its own character developed by continuous change and adaptation.
These changes are most often driven by local authorities, commercial enterprises, or individuals and to a lesser extent by local communities.
Many have not stood the test of time and have disappeared leaving little trace whilst others have remained and added to the rich urban texture of York.
The City of York Council has just finished a second round of consultation with residents, businesses and the wider community to share and test ideas exploring how to improve Front Street in Acomb.
The Phase 2 consultation looked to ask the community for its views on making Front Street a more welcoming space, protecting the pavements and reviewing the recently installed bollards and seating, the future use of the road and markets and activities.
In 2022 following extensive local consultation City of York Council published the Future of Acomb Front Street Study, setting out a 10-15 year vision for the area.
Funding was secured from the central government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund to address some of the needs identified through the consultation.
Unfortunately, the resultant scheme with its oversupply of bollards was not met with enthusiasm as what was delivered did not fit with the ideas expressed for the area and seemed to differ from the options proposed as part of the study.
The Future of Acomb Front Street Study contained some bold and design-led ideas for transforming this important part of the life of Acomb to create something that York and Acomb could shout about and which would benefit both residents and businesses in the area and put the community at the heart of the development.
The study was a strong piece of community-inspired design that unfortunately felt far short of the community’s expectations in its initial delivery.
York Civic Trust has been actively involved in commissioning reviews and advocating improvements to the places people live and work for nearly 80 years.
The Civic Trust sponsored a ground-breaking report by the leading architect Lord Esher in 1969 setting the groundwork for the next 50 years of development of York, commissioned reviews and design studies from urban designers including George Pace’s important work on Bishophill in early 1970’s and more recently Derwenthorpe and the former Terry’s factory site.
The Trust has actively supported local Traders’ Associations and organizations such as York Bid and the council to improve the public realm across the city.
The reactions to the recent Front Street improvements have clearly demonstrated the passion for and the desire to achieve high-quality public realm that local people possess.
There have been many complaints in this paper and other media that the standard of York’s public realm is slipping and that perhaps the gains made in recent decades are being lost as uncoordinated development, lack of investment, poor maintenance and a lack of agreement and vision take over.
City of York Council, with ever-diminishing resources, cannot do it all. External funding opportunities such the UK Shared Prosperity Fund have come along, and York needs to be ready to respond proactively.
Is it not time for our city to have a strong design-led public realm strategy, developed by local communities, urban designers and policy makers, that covers the whole city? Not one that is developed and put on a shelf, nor requires endless volunteer advocates, but one that is held close to the heart of the city and informs all of our futures.
Andrew Morrison is Chief Executive of York Civic Trust. Duncan Marks is the Trust’s civic society manager
