2.1.6

Original Document

MANAGING ECONOMIC AND PHYSICAL CHANGE AND PROMOTING REGENERATION

The city centre has considerable strengths in its accessibility, the diversity of its people, its great topography, its civic and industrial heritage, its iconic buildings, its strong retail and commercial sectors, its academic and research institutions, its modern manufacturing base, its strong IT infrastructure, and its distinct quarters. There are major opportunities to raise the city’s profile in commerce and arts and through digital communications technologies, and to further improve its accessibility by rail, air and Metro. At the same time, the city centre is experiencing dynamic change, with the expansion of central area uses and the decline of its traditional employment base. These changes are clearly reflected in the physical environment, in which a thriving core is in close proximity to several areas of stagnating or declining activity, substantial vacancy levels and poor physical environment. In recognition of this, the plan will propose delivery-vehicle based transformation, policy-based evolution or conservation in different parts of the city centre.

Plain English Translation

The city centre has many good points:

  • it is easy to get to
  • there is a wide range of people here
  • it has great physical features
  • its history and industry
  • its well-known buildings
  • good shopping and office areas
  • its colleges, universities and research organisations
  • its modern manufacturing base
  • its strong technology network
  • its separate districts

There are big chances to raise the city’s profile in business and arts and through technology and to make it even easier to get to by rail, air and Metro. The city is changing, the central area activities are getting bigger and the places it normally gets its workers from are getting smaller. We can see these changes in the buildings and other areas, where a central area is doing well and is close to other areas that are not keeping up or have less activity, lots of empty buildings and bad surroundings. Because of this, the plan will suggest changes that could happen in different ways. We could make the changes ourselves, change our rules to encourage other people to make the changes or make sure we don’t change the parts that are working well.

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Last edited on 5 January 2009; This entry is filed under 2 Towards a strategy for the city centre.