Carlisle Renaissance

Have your say on revitalising city centre

From this Friday (19 October) local residents are being asked to give their views on Carlisle's city centre and how it could be enhanced.

As part of Carlisle Renaissance the City Council have appointed Gillespies, experts in urban design, to prepare an Urban Design Guide, Public Realm Framework and Public Art Strategy for Carlisle's city centre.

Their proposals for improvement will take around six months to draw up and public involvement is sought at the first stage of their work. A series of questions will be posed in the Cumberland News on Friday (19 October), on the City Council's website http://www.carlisle.gov.uk/ and via paper copies available from the Civic Centre's Customer Contact Centre.

Local people will be asked:

• What do you think is the most attractive space in Carlisle's city centre; where do you take visitors and feel proud of the city?
• What is the least attractive area in the city centre? What areas do you try to avoid and why?
• Is there anything you find frustrating about living, working and shopping in the city?
• What other cities or towns in the northwest or elsewhere do you like to visit, any why is that visit a good experience?
• How does Carlisle's compare with other cities and towns?
• How important do you think it is for the city centre to look attractive?

Responses should be returned by 12noon on Tuesday, 13 November 2007 to: Roger Higgins, Carlisle Renaissance, Civic Centre, FREE POST CE98, Carlisle, CA3 8BR or by e-mailing lpc@carlisle.gov.uk.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson said:

Carlisle city centre has many fine attributes - it's medieval street pattern, its wide, open market place and its exceptional historical architecture. It's important that we take steps to protect these but also look at how we can enhance them for the benefit of local residents and visitors.

We want to know what local residents think of the city centre areas and how they think they compare with other towns and cities that they visit. This information will help our consultants draw together some ideas for how it could be enhanced in the future. We are the first stages and a more detailed consultation is planned early next year.

In addition to seeking local residents views, an initial consultation will also involve statutory planning stakeholders and other local interest groups.

Victoria Farley, General Manager of Hoopers said:

This work is an important stepping stone towards achieving a high quality appearance for Carlisle's city centre. This is key when attracting visitors and helps us keep ahead of our competing cities and towns.

A public consultation on Gilliespies proposals is planned early next year. Following this, and City and County Councils' approval, the draft guidance will be made into Supplementary Planning Documents that will be referred to when planning applications are submitted.