On Thursday 17th March 2011 we held our 87th full design review panel meeting and considered new proposals for Slater Street in Middleport and the long awaited city centre public realm improvements.
Since our first panel meeting, held in October 2004, we have carried out 248 reviews and written 248 detailed reports on a wide variety of proposals.
Sadly, as a result of the changes to our funding discussed above, the monthly design review meetings, which have been a fundamental part of Urban Vision’s work for approaching 7 years, have now ended for the foreseeable future.
We do not intend to let the strong networks and experience be lost at a time when there is still so much to do in North Staffordshire and are looking at ways in which this may be continued, albeit in a reduced form.
To mark the end of the current phase of design review at Urban Vision we have produced a report Raising The Bar: design review and enabling in North Staffordshire 2004-2011 which is downloadable from our website, or alternatively read it on our Issuu page here.
This report explains what we have reviewed and what we said about it and then takes a look at the many schemes that form the legacy of our design advisory service, illustrating clearly the impact that we have had and will continue to have in shaping the future of the sub-region.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have contributed to the service; from our funders without whom this clearly isn’t possible, to our many expert panel members who have provided their time and extensive experience so readily, but perhaps most importantly to those who have presented schemes and been so open to the high quality independent design advice that we have provided. We hope to be continuing this valuable service in a reduced form at some point in the future so watch this space for more details.
