The Old Town Masterplan
It seems the revised old town masterplan although not yet complete is finally taking the local residents views on board below is a email bulletin which was sent to all local residents who had given their email addresses as a point of contact at the last old town meeting:
Dear All
I am writing further to the introductory public meeting for the Old Town Masterplan that was held on 18th October 2012. I would like to invite you to an Ideas Workshop for the Old Town Masterplan which is taking place on Tuesday 26th March 2013 between 6.30pm-8.30pm at Matthews Yard in Old Town and to update you on progress on the Old Town Masterplan and other regeneration projects in the Old Town.
I am very pleased to announce that Croydon Council has now appointed a multi-disciplinary design team being led by Allies and
Morrison Urban Practitioners (AM-UP) through a competitive tender to work on developing the Old Town Masterplan. The team bring to the project expertise in architecture, heritage, urban design, transport planning, economic development, landscape architecture and urban planning. They will now be working closely with Croydon Council, stakeholders and the community to develop ideas for the future of Old Town.
The purpose of the Old Town Masterplan is to improve the built environment for people living, working and shopping in Old Town. It will be a Planning Guidance Document that sets the parameters for development of the buildings, streets and public spaces in Old Town and also looks at how movement in, out and around the area could be improved over the next 20 years. It will also recommend how the heritage assets of the area – its treasured buildings and historic street patterns - can be preserved, enhanced and celebrated. The Old Town Masterplan is funded by the Mayor of London and Croydon Council the draft masterplan will be formally consulted on towards the end of this year.
Ideas workshop: The Old Town Masterplan – Tuesday 26th March 6.30-8.30pm
As a follow-up to October's Public Meeting we would like to invite you to an ideas workshop that will be held on Tuesday 26 March 2013 between 6.30pm-8.30pm at Matthews Yard for people who live, work and shop in Old Town. The address of Matthews Yard is 1 Matthews Yard, off Surrey Street, CR0 1FF, website: www.matthewsyard.com. The workshop will be an opportunity for you, as local experts, to provide Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners and Croydon Council with your valuable local opinions and information on the buildings, streets, public spaces and transport in the Old Town area and also let us know what you believe are the important issues and opportunities for the built environment. You will also be able to discuss and explore options for the future of the area with the masterplanning team and other local people. The information gained at this event will be used to inform the emerging options being developed through the masterplaning process.
It is essential that the objectives and proposals of the draft masterplan are informed by local knowledge so that the outputs are designed to improve the quality of the built environment and movement around it for local communities. We hope to see you on the 26 March, even if you are only able to spare the time to attend part of the event. I would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance by emailing croydon.gov.uk">oldtownmasterplan@Croydon.gov.uk.
In addition to the masterplan, there are several other related projects underway in Old Town at the moment, including:
Portas Pilot
Old Town was one of 27 areas in the country to be awarded funding by the government to help improve its retail offer under a national scheme led by Mary Portasaka"The Queen of Shops" – famous for her TV series about UK shops. The Portas Pilot in Old Town is governed by a Town Team made up of local volunteers. In January 2013 the Town Team published their business plan which is available to view at the following weblink: wp-content/uploads/Town-Team-Business-Plan.pdf href="http://www.oldtowncroydon.org.uk/guide/wp-content/uploads/Town-Team-Business-Plan.pdf" target=_blank>www.oldtowncroydon.org.uk/guide/wp-content/uploads/Town-Team-Business-Plan.pdf
As well as local traders, the town team is keen to work with local residents. If you would like to find out more or get involved in their work, please contact the Town Team direct by emailing portas@oldtowncroydon.org.uk or find it on facebookfacebook.com/croydonoldtown href="http://facebook.com/croydonoldtown" target=_blank>facebook.com/croydonoldtown or twitter: twitter.com/oldtowncroydon.
High Streets Project
Croydon Council is in the process of appointing a design team through a competitive tender to deliver public realm and building frontage improvements for Old Town High Streets (Church Street, Surrey Street, Drummond Road, Tamworth Road, Old Palace Road).
The same team will also deliver public realm and building frontage improvements for London Road, High Street and Katherine Street.
The design team will start work in April and a full public consultation will be run next summer, building on the continuous dialogue Croydon Council has been having with the Town Team and Croydon Old Town Business Association. All works will be delivered by April 2015.
Croydon Minster Memorial Gardens
Croydon Council has submitted a bid to the Greater London Authority for extra funding to deliver landscape improvements to Saint John's Memorial Gardens. If this bid is successful, the works will be delivered by the Old Town High Streets team, and within the same timescales as the High Streets project.
what are your views of the latest update on the regeneration of old town Croydon?
