Event Summary
UKREiiF GALLERY + VIDEO | How to build a new town
Jolly Harbour may not exist today, but the fictional town conjured up by those attending Place North’s Tuesday breakfast event served as a great testbed for conversations about placemaking best practice.
“How to build a new town” saw local authorities, developers, engineers, architects, planners, and more converge to debate and discuss how to turn a place into a community.
The UKREiiF fringe event was sponsored by Rapleys, A+B Engineering, and Wigan and Leigh College and was held at the Leeds Marriott Hotel.
Scroll down to the bottom of this story for a gallery from the event
Our panel of experts
- Sophie Bevan, director of regeneration at Liverpool City Council
- Tom Bousfield, executive director of growth, business, and skills at South Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Cllr Katrina Kerr of Cheshire West and Chester Council
- Mark Latham, regeneration director at Urban Splash
- Stephen O’Malley, chief executive of Civic
- Olaide Oboh, executive director at Socius and managing director of Populate
AI was used to generate a postcard image of the town during the event – it left quite a bit to desired. This second version is decidedly better. Credit: AI generated with ChatGPT
Meet Jolly Harbour
The audience and Place’s panel of experts started with some intel on the new town – it was coastal, Northern, and by a city.
From there they gave it a name and explored topics from housing tenures to technical education facilities to health to transport.
The end result was Jolly Harbour, a town known for its lively harbour and prominent promenade. Jolly Harbour is a town that takes pride in its natural surroundings and ensures there is accessible outdoor space for all.
Density varies, with higher density around the harbour and lower as you leave that central area.
While it could rest on its laurels as a commuter town, it has a culture and employment hub of its own – as well as an expertise in preventative healthcare.
Jolly Harbour also happens to be the rum capital of the UK and has earned acclaim for its rum ice cream – a fun fact, that unfortunately took too much prominence in ChatGPT’s original AI generated image.
Key takeaways
- Placemaking needs to be authentic and rooted in its place, whether that’s heritage or geographical
- Health should be a focus at the start – if we think about health then it will naturally lead us to having more green spaces, as well as homes that are accessible
- Connectivity cannot be an afterthought – digital and transport infrastructure needs to be put in at the start
- Nature should be a collaborator, with blue and green infrastructure helping solve problems and informing the design of a place
- Culture has a large role to play, helping bring together people and give them a sense of pride. Story House in Chester was hailed as a prime example of this
- A new town must be living project, one that changes over time as it grows – stewardship is key, as is flexibility
- The future is hubs, locations that bring together different groups and sectors – encouraging collaboration and growth
- New towns take a long time to build and they need to be vibrant, liveable places throughout that – no one wants to live on a construction site
- Give people more say – consider a Pride in Place style programme to let the community be involved in placemaking, rather than just the consumer of its results
What’s next?
9 June | North East Development Update
18 June | Cumbria Development Update
23 June | M-RES: Midlands Real Estate Summit
Gallery
Click any image to launch gallery
