Kevin McCloud And The Big Town Plan: The Story So Far | 4Homes

Date Published:: 23/06/2008

Castleford Bridge. The Castlefield Project. Kevin McCloud

Regeneration and design consultants teamed up with the citizens of Castleford to help them plan their town's future. Each project featured a small working group led by a local representative. The project is now close to completion with 10 out of the 11 schemes either finished or well underway.

The most ambitious of the schemes is the new S-shaped pedestrian bridge over the River Aire. This was completed in July 2008 at a cost of £4.8 million. It will provide a safe, stylish crossing for those living on the north side of the river, and open up the previously-neglected riverside to potential investors, with possible transformation into a leisure and recreation area.

Other achievements include a town centre gallery and exhibition space, a new village green in New Fryston, and the creation of a play forest in Cutsyke. The outdoor market in the town centre has been expanded and relocated to a more accessible site, and a new town square was officially opened last May. The first phase of community park improvements at The Green, Ferry Fryson is complete, and the park has already won a prestigious Green Flag award.

Future Prospects

The area round the town’s new underpass is currently being landscaped. By getting local people to set the agenda and take part in Kevin McCloud's Big Town Plan at all levels, the aim is to ensure that the work lasts long term and that locals are empowered to lead in the future of their community.

Since 2003, regular meetings have been held between the people of Castleford, the council, and agencies and organisations with an interest in the town to discuss how it could be improved. Some of the ideas focussed on improving the environment with more attractive and sustainable public spaces, some supported neglected neighbourhoods and others contributed towards attracting renewed interest and investment in the area.

The schemes from Kevin McCloud's Big Town Plan that have been identified as priorities for improving Castleford include:

Building a new bridge - Castleford was once on the path of an important Roman road which forded across the River Aire, but until now has only had one bridge. People wanted a new river crossing to allow better access by foot and bike.
Improving the riverside view - The one picturesque view of Castleford over the River Aire was ruined by an adjoining, overgrown area piled up high with rubbish (and a magnet for vermin). Locals wanted this cleaned up and opened so that they could use and enjoy it.
Transforming the shopping centre - The pedestrianised high street was tired and drab, bordered by charity and discount shops. It was crying out for a better, brighter, inspirational scheme.
Creating public space - Lack of investment and problems with anti-social behaviour had turned The Green, Ferry Fryston (a strip of parkland in one of the most deprived parts of town) into a derelict, no-go area. The local Friends of the Green group were keen to make it a safe public space again.
Giving young people a place to play - A local community group identified a piece of land in the Cutsyke part of town that could be turned into an adventure play park and community centre.
Making neighbourhoods safer - Close to the main shopping district, the Wilson Street Area had a reputation for petty crime and speeding cars. A residents’ group was set up with the aim of improving the neighbourhood.
Supporting the community - New Fryston, once a thriving colliery, and now a village of historic mining terraces, lacked amenities such as a pub, newsagent and community centre. National Regeneration Agency English Partnerships improved the village green in a way that supports local peoples’ needs.

Consultants in regeneration and design worked closely with townspeople to help them plan their town’s future, and each project featured a small working group led by a local representative.

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Comments

We went to visit the bridge before the programme was aired. We manouvered our way round to the houses side of the brige, parked and approached the bridge, it was amazing. We walked across, it is a superb experience with the speed and noise of the river. The effect it had on people was wonderful, everone was smiling, all the children were enthralled, people were speaking to each other about the bridge. Having crossed to the "Town side", we retraced our steps. We were well impressed with our outing, and will return again. We loved the programme and thought it inspirational, we felt proud of the "locals" commitment, and although unused to dealing with Architects, Planners and Councillers, they were able to hold their own and express very forceful views. The disappointment of the programme was for the people of New Fryston, what the American lady decided they should have to look at was totally unsuitable for the little community. What they needed was a hall to play Bingo and to meet socially, a green space to walk or sit and chat. The end product was neither useful or decorative, the row of houses seemed to be cut off. The overall effect off the Big Town Challenge has been positive and encouraging, perhaps can be used as a model for other villages - our own could do with some improvement. Well done to all concerned.

Posted by Marjorie Lacy on 20/08/2008 20:21:43

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Excellent, inspiring, but also instructive. The will, skill and commitment to community engagement can be important to successful and sustainable projects but programme time does not really show how far and how well this has been carried out - the community champions just seem to 'appear'. The Council comes across as lukewarm, and English Partnerships on another planet in this regard (will a centre will ever be built for the new communities planned for around the green, now the old one has been left high and dry??). Fanciful architects and prima donna designers have their place but they have to understand the social context and all have to work to a brief. I wonder, too, if any of the third-sector organisations with experience of involving local people in practical, hands-on regeneration of community open spaces (BTCV, Groundwork, etc) have ever been approached. The passage of time showed that the successful playgrounds and the dubious 'village green' each highlight an enduring British disease - the public and private realm can often be very good at creating fine buildings and spaces, but utterly crap at maintaining them. Weeds, graffiti, lack of maintenance, litter picking and proper cleaning... we see this from hospital to high street, park to plaza. Something to do with, I think, historically easy availability of capital but inadequate thought and provision for long term running costs. There's a subject for a documentary...

Posted by DavidS on 19/08/2008 09:04:30

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Interesting programme showing the vital importance of involving the community - English Partnerships please note!! The unspeakably awful "village green" created by the dictatorial, inflexible and apparently deaf (to local opinion) American Martha Schwatz (who on earth considered her to be appropriate to design an English village green?!) has to be one of the most striking examples of the 'before' scenes being infinitely nicer and more inviting than the 'after' ones - showing a monstrosity plonked down in front of the existing houses. What a hideous waste of money - a classic example of grey people in suits in distant places deciding by committee what the lesser folk ought to want. Ugh!!

Posted by claire w on 18/08/2008 23:21:17

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What an interesting program - but why, when this weeks program was about the redevelopment of Castleford's neglected public spaces, were UK Landscape Architects hardly brought in? Kevin McLough brought in a bus load of architects, and the glitzy land-artist Martha Schwarz. However, the design of the childrens park by local landscape architects seembed to be brought in as a tag-on 'as they have experience in maintenance'. Look what can happen when UK Landscape Architects are commissioned, we get vibrant spaces designed and loved by the community!

Posted by veronica on 18/08/2008 22:14:50

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Hope to catch the programme when its repeated again..dissapointed i missed it....so glad for castleford just wish we here in Stocksbridge could benefit from something similar rather that be left in the hands of independent developers who just want to build much of a muchness shopping centres and extremly large car parks! Our 'Steel Valley'& its residents deserve much more!!! You are so lucky and should be so proud....Good luck for the Future..

Posted by Tracey Martin on 18/08/2008 15:34:31

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Hi everyone Thanks for your comments on Castleford, keep them coming. As for a revisit - I spoke to Kevin McCloud about this and he indicated that he would definitely like to go back in five or 10 years to assess its impact. As for house prices, I'm keeping an eye on what's happening up there - it's bound to have a positive impact... although with the market as it is at the moment, who knows... I'll find out about repeats and let you know - place to look usually is More4 or 4oD.

Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 18/08/2008 13:01:15

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I have read newspaper reports of this programme, and have enjoyed the web pages, but nowhere can I find where the original programme will be repeated. I'd really like to see what everyone is talking about and record the programme for use with my regeneration colleagues and students

Posted by Steve Mills on 16/08/2008 20:00:55

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Didn't get chance to see the episode on monday night but have seen the adverts and think the project is a really good idea. Went to see the bridge today and it's excellent. I have a bit if an interest in the weir because the boat stuck on it was my grandad's. It was strange being able to stand right above it thinking it's been there for so long and never moved.

Posted by stephen on 16/08/2008 18:43:26

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So pleased for Castleford. We saw the t.v. programme and thought the bridge was suberb ..... and then we saw the rushing, gushing river and immediately thought 'electricity'. Now wouldn'nt that be something for the community!

Posted by W.A. & J Carter on 14/08/2008 20:08:45

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I don't know what to say about the program. It was very emotional to see how the community took strong responsibility of their own likes and dislikes about the bridge design. I think is great and I hope that other countries/ counties/ towns/ cities take good note of what it can be done with the efforts of everybody. When town planners, architects, urban designs sit down together to design or launch new town plans. They usually forget what the people really need in the area that will be redesigned/ regenerated. What they really think about that regeneration. At the end of the day the people who live in that area are going to be affected by those decisions. They must be taken into account for their own future. Their opinion is crucial, important for their own development of quality of life.

Posted by Ana on 14/08/2008 18:33:22

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I would be interested to know if the upward impact on nearby property prices of the new footbridge is being monitored by someone.

Posted by Janos Abel on 12/08/2008 15:27:11

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As the co-designer with Martha (john Pegg) and the guy who turned the landscape architects sketches into real engineering construction drawings then took on the responsibility of Contract Administrator on site to ensure delivery of the Village Green - I am very interested in the picture that will be painted next week. (Having moved on from BDP to Arup)

Posted by Brian Holden on 12/08/2008 10:59:18

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I waas really moved by the work done in Castleford and hope that the town can regenerate as the people were fantastic and didn't want their town to die. The bridge was awesome. Looking forward to next weeks programme.

Posted by annieB on 12/08/2008 02:25:42

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I was born in Lock Lane in Castleford, and lived there for ten years, it was not referred to as 'Duck Island' by the residents of Lock Lane

Posted by J Smith on 11/08/2008 22:20:36

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I live close to the green, and while they have improved the play area the rest of the park is in need of lots more work. They paint the railings by the entrances but leave the rest untouched. Like anything else that involves WMDC. Just do bits that are on the telly. Great idea but totally false impression.

Posted by Philip Begley on 11/08/2008 15:35:14

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With everything that gets shown on tv there are going to be critics. I, for one, am glad that such a programme is going to be aired as I feel it is the job of urban designers, architects, town planners and everyone involved in the place making/regeneration process to get behind programmes like this for the benfit of the rest of the country. It would be great to get follow up programmes of how it has changed the lives of the people in Castleford and its effects 5,10,15 years into the future.

Posted by cassian opara on 08/08/2008 14:25:38

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