Hello and welcome to my presentation on Avoncliff, the centre of my main design project this year with Unit 09. The aim of Unit 09 is to re-connect the Avon Valley. It is currently comprises many sleeper towns. With bigger market forces such as Bath, Bristol, Reading and London all relatively near by and planning policies allowing for industrial sites to be re-developed as housing residents have been left with little choice but to commute out. With the advent of internet and a bit of imagination and the skills I’m learning on my MA in spatial planning and urban design, we believe this could change.
Through this presentation I’m going to pitch to you one way this could be achieved. Firstly looking at Avoncliff’s historical roots, then, moving on to its present day assets. From here we can take a more rounded look at planning policies and the development site I have identified culminating in how it could be used to provide more opportunities in tourism and for the local community. I’ll be linking in lectures and tasks from my MA that have helped me come to the viewpoint I have.
I’ve used quite a few of the photo’s I took in the Avon Valley in this presentation, not just to distract you with pretty pictures, but because I like looking at places assets in the very small scale. I believe it forms a bit of a photo essay in itself of what captured my imagination in West Wiltshire.
David Brett in the evening lecture on Belfast highlighted how important it is to know the history of a place in order to plan its future. With that in mind, here is a very brief introduction to Avoncliff. It started life as a ford the traffic this created made a Pub viable. In the 16th Centaury wealth was brought to Avoncliff as well as many other hamlets and towns in the Avon valley with cotton, rubber and grain mills. Avoncliff also boasted many quarries. During WW2, these now derelict quarries were used to store treasures and artefacts from London to spare them the bombings. The Kennet and Avon canal was built in 1810 by John Rennie. It was designed to carry goods from the quarries and mills. With the advent of the railway in 18th Centaury the Canal fell into disrepair. Goods could now be easily transport between South Wales and the South Coast.
It comprises 27 homes, 1 (very good) Pub, 1 Café, a bed and breakfast, various holiday lets and an alternative healing shop. It is (surprisingly) under Lib Dem rule after a change of boundaries before the most recent general election. The Office for National Statistics suggests that the average inhabitant is middle age and commutes out to work. Avoncliff is a key destination for walkers with Ross Kemp and Kevin Spacy being recent visitors much to the Hamlets delight. It is obviously keen to capitalise on tourism with a swanky website and all its facilities geared towards them. As you may have noticed, very little has changed in its fabric since the 1882 map on the previous slide, however all the historical industry is now gone with tourism being its only income.
Let me guide you through Avoncliff. Through the centre is the River Avon, running alongside it is the railway. Running from the right of the river then across a stunning aquaduct to the left of the railway is the Kennet and Avon canal, recently restored to its former glory. The main walking route runs alongside the River Avon and up into the woods. Access to Avoncliff is tricky. It has two routes into the valley one from the left direct from Bradford on Avon and one from the right, Bradford on Avon via Trowbridge. Both of these roads are single track and unable to cope with heavy goods traffic. On a wet November day we found it pretty inaccessible with some cars requiring students to get out and push! I dread to think how residents have coped with the snow… The hamlet is dissected by its infrastructure, making it is completely impassable by car (this is not necessarily a bad thing…) It’s also pretty confusing by foot. You can see where you want to be, but not how to get there. Mark Hackett highlighted how Belfast has a similar problem, although on a much bigger scale and how small interventions can make a big difference.
On all sides Avoncliff is surrounded by agriculture- beautiful, but struggling agriculture. As this rather crude map shows there is a plethora of farms within a 5km radius. Only one of which has diversified to include a farm shop and café. Anyone who has read my manifesto will know that I have my own ambitions to be a small holder. This definitely fuelled my interest in learning more about this sector in my project.
Planning policies have already identified the need to provide more employment in West Wiltshire with a target to reducing commuting by 20% in 2020. To achieve this, it is essential more opportunities are created. There are a few other important planning considerations to take into account. The area is in the Bristol and Bath green belt, it is an area of high ecological value (many of the quarries have given a home to the very rare greater horse shoe bat, the River Avon has salmon & lamprays). In addition it’s within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Any development would have to ensure it was not to the detriment of existing character. It would also have to prove the local transport links and amenity could cope with any development. Specifically with agriculture, the policy is well aware of how farmers are struggling. It is also aware that without farming, the area would lose most of its beauty and tourist appeal therefore a balance needs to be struck. Their suggestion is diversification, if done sensitively. This could be as simple as taking the raw product (e.g milk from dairy farms) and creating cheese or cream. A farm shop to sell produce direct (such as the one pictured in nearby Trowbridge) with a café or bed and breckfast and holiday lets. One area I believe would provide more prosperity for the region and comply with planning policy, is a Rural Skills Centre linking tourism and agriculture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI1aMZDRPeE
Tourism is currently Avoncliffs biggest asset. However, this is seasonal and can leave locals feeling bitter, as their traditional ways of life are eroded by the hospitality trade. One way to encourage tourism whilst still providing for the community and the existing skills set of the locals is a Rural skills centre. People are keen to learn how to get their own piece of the good life and will pay a premium for course such as the ones run by the soil association. By creating a central base in Avoncliff where indoor learning facilities could be provided capitalising on the existing bed and breakfasts for accommodation and pubs/ café for food. Visits to local farms to put into practice what has been learnt would financially benefit the farmer therefore linking in all the existing trades. Avoncliff’s position close to many major cities with existing transport linkes would also make it a great area for this scheme. As part of my research I wanted to go on one of these courses, but the nearest one I could find was in Somerset, a good 3hrs drive. Avoncliff is less that 2hrs from London- very achievable after work one Friday night.
For the community, there are also great benefits. There’s currently no central meeting place for the hamlet and its wider, more isolated inhabitants within a 10km radius. The Rural skills centre could be used as a base for organisations such as NFU and Young Farmers. It could provide a surgery to put farmers in touch with any funding and grants they may not be aware of. Lecture series from vets and reps would educate farmers on new products that might benefit them, or diseases to look out for. For those not involved in farming (or just looking for a new hobby) local artisans could teach their skills such as flower arranging, painting and knitting. Providing a space for the community to meet would raise moral and create valuable new connections for locals as shown in Paul Dominola’s lecture on Liverpool.
The site we identified comprises a number of somewhat randomly placed and underused buildings. It also incorporates some public space that could do with some re-ordering and co-ordinating to solve the current confusing segregation. At 1.2 acres it would be sufficient to maintain all the current functions of a base for British Waterways and café with room to build the rural skills centre around it. There are however some key issues to overcome, the main one being the access roads.
In summary, I believe that working with the existing trades and services in Avoncliff to create a Rural Skills Centre would capitalise on its assets and provide much needed employment and financially and emotionally benefit the community with a central hub. As Mark Hackett identified in his lecture on Belfast “community confidence, leads to civic confidence which in turn leads to commercial confidence. It is supported by planning policy as well as being potentially restrained by the beauty and importance of its location.
I hope you have enjoyed my presentation and have learnt a little bit more about Avoncliffs past, present and prosperous future. Does anyone have any questions?
No comments:
Post a Comment