Decide the future now
Public exhibition: 21 March to 4 April (not 22, 28, 29 Mar) 10am-4pm (8pm on 24 and 31 Mar).
The exhibition will cover:
Issues and option for a new vision, including ideas for major city centre sites.
Traffic Congestion; cultural development; retail vibrancy; Roman heritage – will all be addressed.
Visit the exhibition and give your views on how the city centre should develop over the next ten to twenty years.
Destination St Albans - Roman Spa Town
Roman Baths and other parts of the ancient City of Verulamium could be reconstructed in the future as part of an ambitious City Vision project that spans the next ten to twenty years.
A fully functioning recreational bathing complex, close to the original Hypocaust in Verulamium Park, could enhance the appeal of St Albans placing it in a new league of Spa towns to rival the World Heritage Site of Bath.
The bold idea is one of a range of options to encourage the City’s potential as a national and European visitor destination and is part of a range of measures to help St Albans meet future challenges and fulfill its potential as a regional historical and cultural centre.
The City Vision Exhibition which opens on Saturday, 21 March at the Town Hall in St Albans, invites residents and stakeholders to give their views on the draft vision document.
“City Vision is proving to be a very beneficial piece of work, not only will it inform the way forward to 2030 for St Albans, it is also helping the city react to the recession and impact of the credit crunch. The Exhibition is the next opportunity for residents and key stakeholders to comment on the work to date and help us to determine the way forward, “ says Cllr Melvyn Teare, portfolio holder culture and heritage.
The exhibition will cover:
Employment and Training – recession proofing the city by making it more self contained is a major aim with an emphasis on encouraging the Green economy; help for new business start ups and the provision of more flexible work space.
Traffic Congestion – a major concern of residents, the ideas include a varying degree of pedestrianisation of St Peter’s Street; more walking and cycling routes so they become the mainstream way to travel; better bus provision and park and ride facilities.
Shops and services – a food store in the city centre to cut the carbon footprint of residents and create a potential anchor store; more affordable space for specialist retailers to retain and attract small businesses which are at the heart of the city’s offer and building on the success of the street market to reflect its customer base and offer more interesting experiences, such as a night time market.
Homes and community – more mixed tenure housing to enable residents to live in the city centre at all stages of their life cycle; sustainable design and build techniques to help tackle climate change; a more vibrant public realm with lively squares in Market Place and the Civic Centre; young people’s designs used in Verulamium Park to ensure it is a place for them.
Culture and Leisure – the Civic Centre site as a cultural hub in the city offering a new cinema and the existing Alban Arena, which could be pared back to its original, acclaimed design. Building on the appeal of St Alban, the first Christian martyr, to optimise the appeal of spiritual tourism. Bringing to life the City’s Roman heritage with better interpretation and marking of the footprint of the city.
Opportunity sites – Drovers Way; the Civic Centre Site and others are specified in the exhibition as prime opportunities to help deliver the City Vision.
The exhibition will also explore spatial frameworks, including a Green ring around the City which would connect its parks and green spaces by cycle and foot ways.
For more information contact:
Member contact:
Cllr Melvyn Teare
Portfolio Holder for Culture and Heritage
Tel: 01727 868086
Mobile: 07710 249812
Communications Team contact:
Jane Ratford, Marketing and Consultation Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819243
Mob: 07799 658208
E-mail: Jane.ratford@stalbans.gov.ukwww.stalbans.gov.uk
Notes for Editor’s
The vision will have both long-term and immediate impact. Designated as a growth area in the region, the city has an opportunity to reconsider its appeal at a national and international level and its place within the region. With the anticipated vacancy of two key sites within the city a vision that impacts on the design and development of these areas is now urgent.
A comprehensive consultation programme has informed the draft vision . Public consultation will continue to inform the vision with a public exhibition planned for March/April 2009. The expected publication date of the vision document is summer 2009. The aim is to develop a strategy that guides development over the next 15 years in a way that reduces the carbon footprint of the city and provides facilities to meet the expectations of residents, business and visitors.
Funding of £150,000 was successfully secured under the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government Growth Area Fund.
St Albans City and District is designated a growth area with 7, 200 new homes to accommodate by 2021.