Places Matter offers free design reviews for community groups
Super Slow Way, a cultural programme dedicated to developing public spaces along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal corridor, is the first to benefit from the scheme.
Liverpool-based Places Matter provides independent and impartial evaluations of the design aspect of a planning application. The organisation pulls together panels of architects, urban designers, planners, landscape architects, engineers and more to look at projects and share ways that they can be improved.
As part of the deal, Places Matter will offer design review support to Super Slow Way as the group works to build a 23-mile linear park that connects Blackburn and Pendle. BDP is the architect behind the park, which is still in the early phases of development.
BDP’s designs will seek to make the land around the canal corridor healthier and more resilient, encouraging biodiversity and providing lighting to make the area feel safer. There will also be clear wayfinding along the route to better connect the Leeds & Liverpool Canal with the towns it goes past.
Richard Tracey, Places Matter’s panel manager, said that Super Slow Way was the perfect group to offer the free design service to.
“We have been looking for suitable schemes to launch our Community & Arts programme and it makes real sense to work with Super Slow Way over a longer period as it develops its ideas and thoughts for the linear park,” he said.
“Our design experts will provide a constructive critique for the work which BDP has been commissioned to prepare”.
Laurie Peake, director of Super Slow Way, expressed her thanks to Places Matter.
“The Super Slow Way values and develops social spaces with communities where people can express their own cultural identities and celebrate their own everyday creativity,” she explained.
“This offer from Places Matter will help us explore green space strategies and add heritage and landscape expertise to the way we approach our developing ideas for the linear park.”
Interesting. As a planner who also helped to bring in the funding for the Liverpool Canal Link. I compiled the business plan for the funding which indicated the need for a sense of place and further have advocated for many years before others the need to include local Liverpool people on effective design etc panels for design statements reflecting Liverpool amazing heritage and history for guidance on development. ie not just bland towers and developer led design on our Waterfront and the significant historical context of the Canal areas. Nice to think i advocated this first before outside consultants perhaps moved into the frame
By Bill McGarry