Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre ... ing independent stores or ethnic retailers. ... Document will allocate sites for housing, employ-

~ Stockton-on-Tees BOROUGH COUNCIL

Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre

URBAN DESIGN GUIDE Final Report

July 2012

Prepared by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

For further information please contact Urban Design Technical Services Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council P.O. Box 229 Kingsway House West Precinct Billingham TS23 2YL E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.stockton.gov.uk/urbandesign

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FORWARD 7

Introduction

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Context & Opportunities

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Principles & Framework 39

Intervention 65

Streetscape Guidance 80

High Street

Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre Urban Design Guide 7

We are delighted to introduce the Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre Urban Design Guide, which aims to improve the vitality and viability of the town centre by providing design guidance for any party involved in the regeneration of the town centre.

The buildings, places and spaces that we live, work and learn in should inspire and lift the spirits, whilst providing functionality; regardless of who pays for or profits from the development.

The importance of good design is clear from the huge positive impacts that well-designed places have on the people using them. It fosters a sense of local identity and civic pride; creates the right environment for reversing social decline and generating wealth; enables more sustainable living; improves physical and mental health; reduces opportunities for crime; enables more efficient delivery of public services; and reduces costs from construction through to maintenance. Good design is in the public interest and it makes business sense.

The Council’s ambitious plans for the regeneration of Stockton town centre are underpinned by this guide, and following the Guide’s adoption by the Council’s Cabinet in May 2012, it can now be used as a tool by anyone planning new developments, public or private, in the town centre.

Forward

Councillor Robert Cook

Leader of the Council

Councillor Michael Smith

Portfolio Holder for Regeneration & Transport

Introduction

Victoria Estate

Splash

Municipal Buildings & Library

Parish Church & Gardens

Wellington Square Shopping Centre

High Street

1 Cultural Quarter

Town Hall

River Tees

Castlegate Shopping Centre

Millennium Bridge

Chandlers Wharf

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Townscape Heritage Initiative Investment Area

Stockton Heritage in Partnership Investment Area

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The Urban Design Guide covers the area defined as Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre within the Local Plan, with the addition of the Victoria Estate to the north east of the centre and the Riverside and

Chandlers Wharf to the south east. The Study Area follows the natural physical boundaries of the River Tees to the east and the ring road around the remainder of the centre, which has resulted in the

exclusion of a small part of the Stockton Town Centre Conservation Area on Dovecot Street which will be appraised and the subject of a Masterplan as the key linkage to the Town Centre from the Parkfield

Housing Regeneration scheme. The Study Area incorporates the central retail, leisure and commercial hub of the town, encompassing the High Street, the Wellington Square and Castlegate Shopping

Centres, the Cultural Quarter and Municipal Buildings.

Study Area

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© Crown Copyright and database right 2011 ordnance survey 100023297

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12 Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre Urban Design Guide

Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre has witnessed a degree of decline over recent years, partly as a con-sequence of the wider economic downturn; how-ever, the Town Centre has a number of assets to build upon to create a vibrant, bustling centre that has much to offer in terms of retail, business, lei-sure and culture. Planning permission has been granted for circa 2000 new homes within one mile of the Town Centre at North Shore, the adjacent former Corus site, the Northern Gateway development at Queens Park North, and at Boathouse Lane. There is real potential to attract new investment, businesses, residents and visitors through a strate-gic and integrated approach to the Town Centre’s regeneration. The strength and clarity of a Town Centre remains a tangible measure of its health. The appearance and use of its public realm has a major part to play in the quality of this self image, and requires the development of carefully conceived policies of management and physical improvement. The Stockton Heritage in Partnership (SHiP) Scheme has been one of the key drivers behind the identi-fied need for an Urban Design Guide, with an em-phasis on conservation management to under-stand, preserve and enhance Stockton’s historic character during this transition. The Stockton Town Centre Study (Nathaniel Litch-field & Partners 2009) identifies how the Town Centre is to improve its offer and attractiveness to investors, retail operators, shoppers and visitors alike. The study identifies the need for an overarch-ing framework for the vision and management of the Town Centre, to provide a platform for the public and private sectors to work together in the long term.

Background


The intention of the Urban Design Guide is to set out a framework, providing design guidance for areas undergoing change and identifying areas where growth or change needs to be promoted and managed within central Stockton-on-Tees. It creates a sound basis of understanding of the built form and how this can be conserved and en-hanced, building on the policies of the emerging Local Development Framework, in particular the Regeneration Development Plan Document (DPD).

The aims of the Urban Design Guide are:

■ To deliver positive change that revitalises the central area whist protecting and reinforc-

ing the distinctive historic character of Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre;

■ To establish a strong network of buildings, streets and spaces that delivers both quality

and meets the needs of Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre and its users.

The objectives of the Urban Design Guide are:

■ To provide overarching urban design principles for Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre

through a sound understanding of the historic development and existing environment, building on the Conservation Areas & Historic Environment SPD;

■ To provide detailed guidance on the design of buildings and the spaces that connect them taking into consideration context, grain of development, local distinctiveness, use

of spaces, scale, massing, materials, and hard and soft landscaping;

■ To identify areas of opportunity for sympathetic and appropriate development;

■ To provide a framework for connectivity including public transport and linkages with the riverside and gateways sites, analysing the links and spaces that connect the centre

with the wider suburban setting.

Purpose The Guide is designed to be used by any party from either the public or private sector involved in the ongoing conservation and regeneration of Stock-ton-on-Tees Town Centre, reinforcing its unique historic market town character. The Guide will be used as a tool to generate public and private in-vestment; help encourage and reinforce a top qual-ity built environment that draws on the history and identity of Stockton-on-Tees; and help to strengthen its retail niche as a market town.

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Planning Policy The Stockton Town Centre Urban Design Guide will be adopted as a supplementary planning docu-ment (SPD) and will form part of the Local Devel-opment Framework (LDF). The purpose of an SPD is to amplify guidance in planning policy set out within the Core Strategy, other Development Plan Documents and national planning policy, as set out below. This section of the guide provides the rele-vant national and local planning policies and strategies which this supplementary planning document is based on.

National Planning Policy Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development sets out the overarching planning policies for the delivery of sustainable develop-ment, emphasising the importance of high quality design. PPS1 identifies the need for positive plan-ning by making suitable land available for develop-ment in line with economic, social and environ-mental objectives, to improve quality of life. Planning Policy Statement 4: Planning for Sustain-able Economic Growth recognises the role of retail and Town Centre development in providing em-ployment opportunities, generating wealth or pro-ducing economic outputs and products, and ensur-ing that this provides sustainable economic growth by focusing new Town Centre uses in existing cen-tres. A fundamental objective of PPS4 is the pro-motion of the vitality and viability of retail centres, which should be regularly monitored through Town Centre health checks. Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the His-toric Environment recognises the value of the his-toric environment and the contribution it makes to cultural, social and economic life, and sets out how to conserve these assets and use them to create sustainable places for future generations.

Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport pro-motes more sustainable transport choices; accessi-bility to jobs, shopping, leisure facilities and ser-vices by public transport; and reducing the need to travel, especially by car. The draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will replace all national Planning Policy Statements in one streamlined document. The draft document maintains references to improving the vitality and viability of Town Centres; promot-ing good design that ensures attractive, usable and durable places; conserving and enhancing heritage assets and; balancing the needs of the transport system in favour of sustainable transport modes. However, streamlining the documents means that the level of guidance on these issues is now less prescriptive.

The Development Plan

Stockton’s Local Development Framework is cur-rently being prepared and will replace the existing Local Plan. The Local Development Framework (LDF) is not a plan, but a folder of planning docu-ments, forming a single source for all the planning policies. The Core Strategy is the key LDF document and was adopted in 2010. Policy CS5 recognises Stock-ton Town Centre as the main shopping area within the Borough and sets out the Council’s strategic vision for the centre, supporting the promotion of a new specialist role for Stockton Town Centre. Potential roles for the centre include promoting the town as a historic market town or through attract-ing independent stores or ethnic retailers. The pol-icy also encourages additional leisure and cultural opportunities; improvements to the main southern, eastern and northern gateways in to the town; and improving pedestrian links to the riverside. It is an-ticipated that the guidance in this document will amplify this existing policy.

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The emerging Regeneration Development Plan Document will allocate sites for housing, employ-ment, Town Centre uses and any necessary infra-structure. The document will also include site des-ignations, for example the Town Centre boundary, and related policies to deliver the vision contained in the Core Strategy. As the document has not been adopted it has no influence on this Guide. The emerging Environment Development Plan Document (Draft) will deal principally with the pro-tection and enhancement of natural, built and his-toric environment and the delivery of green infra-structure throughout the borough. As the docu-ment has not been adopted it has no influence on this Guide. Parts of the Stockton Local Plan have not been re-placed by the Core Strategy and are still used in determining planning applications. Of particular reference to this Guide are the policies within Local Plan Alteration Number 1 which principally deals with new Town Centre developments, changes of use in Stockton Town Centre (policy S4, S5 and S6) and the design of new shop fronts. (policy S16).

Other Guidance The Council has adopted the following supplemen-tary planning documents, which amplify estab-lished planning policy in the development plan. Supplementary Planning Guidance No. 1 Shop Front Design Guide (to be replaced with the Shop Fronts & Advertisements Design SPD) provides guidance to prospective developers on the design of shop fronts in the interests of maintaining an aesthetically pleasing shopping environment. This document amplified the guidance in Local Plan Alteration No.1 policy S16. It is anticipated that this document will be reviewed to provide updated guidance on shop front design and advertisements on commercial properties.

Supplementary Planning Guidance No.5 Stockton Town Centre Eastern Gateway Planning and Design Brief sets out initial guidance for the development of a major development in the eastern part of Stockton Town Centre. This document supersedes this guidance. Supplementary Planning Document 4: Conserva-tion Areas & Historic Environment Folder is divided into sections covering all aspects of historic sites, buildings and monuments in the area. The folder includes guidance on aspects of protection, such as conservation areas and listed buildings, conserva-tion area appraisals and management plans. Supplementary Planning Document 1: Sustainable Design Guide is a tool to assist the council in the determination of planning applications and to pro-vide guidance to the public and developers on im-proving the design standards and sustainability of new developments. It will encourage attractive and inclusive neighbourhoods and promote high qual-ity design, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Best Practice Excellent examples of current best practice and guidance can be found in English Heritage’s ‘Retail Development in Historic Areas’ and ‘Streets For All North East’ reports; and from the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE) in their ‘By Design’, ‘This way to better streets’, and ‘Paving the Way’ guides. Stockton Council has also produced a maintenance guide; ‘Maintaining Your Building’, to provide best practice and advice to building owners. Proposals will be expected to keep up to date with current best practice. Council officers will be able to assist developers where nec-essary.

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Vision for Stockton

Support New & Existing Town Centre

Anchor Stores

Strong Visual & Physical Links to

the Riverside

Vibrant Riverside Leisure

Facilities

Strong Town Centre Living Offer

Improved Transport Movement &

On-street Car Parking Provision

Transformed Public Realm

Thriving Evening

Economy

Strong Range of

Independent

Businesses

Improved &

Celebrated Rich Historic Fabric

Celebrated Market Town – Home of the

Festival Year Round

STOCKTON

The future vision for Stockton Town Centre is for a modern, successful and vibrant market town with high quality public spaces and a growing retail of-fer that serves the needs of residents of the Bor-ough. High quality ‘Creative and Connected Spaces’ rein-force the town as the North East’s ‘Capital of Street Arts’ with animated public spaces that sup-port the town’s rich heritage in street entertain-ment.

Supported by thriving Universities and modern educational establishments, Stockton Town Centre and riverside will be a focal point for cultural and leisure activity through the provision of year-round festivals and top class leisure facilities; making the most of its unique built heritage through the con-servation and enhancement of historic buildings; and continuing to build on the asset of the River Tees and riverside area which provides a high qual-ity setting for new businesses, recreational activities and unique opportunities for riverside living.

Town Hall

Context & Opportunities


Looking North up High Street - c1790

Stockton-on-Tees began as an Anglo-Saxon settle-ment on high land overlooking the River Tees and was utilised as a port by the Prince Bishops. By the late 1400s ship building was recorded in Stockton-on-Tees and by the 1600s it had become the main port for North Yorkshire, Westmorland and South Durham, exporting wool, butter, bacon, lead and importing coal, glass, raisins and wine for the up-per classes. The town was largely re-built between 1660 and 1708 and pavements supplied in 1718 as the com-munity became more conscious of its wealth. The last half of the 18th century was a time of prosper-ity based on shipbuilding and agricultural export. Stockton-on-Tees was described as ‘a neat, well-built market town with a considerable trade’ but from the end of the 18th century this perception had started to change as a result of the industrial revolution.¹ It was the 19th century that really made the town prosper following its association with the Stockton and Darlington Railway on which the world’s first public steam passenger locomotive was put into use in 1825 by the inventor George Stephenson, further increasing trade and population to greatly enhance its stronghold as the heart of the area. However, the introduction of the railway was even-tually the downfall of Stockton-on-Tees, with ex-tension of the rail line to Middlesbrough during 1830. Middlesbrough was closer to the sea provid-ing a large advantage over Stockton-on-Tees when it came to sea trade.

Between the 1850s and 1920s Stockton-on-Tees became a ‘Steel City’ with huge supplies of coal from the South Durham coalfields and iron ore from the nearby Cleveland Hills allowing the devel-opment of factories and warehouses to dominate the landscape, in particular along the riverside area. By the 1960s the town’s heavy industry was start-ing to fade and the town ‘turned its back’ on the river to concentrate on the High Street. During the early 1970s a large swathe of the historic fabric of the southern end of the Town Centre was redevel-oped to form the Castlegate Shopping Centre. The development dominated the street scene and left the Town Centre disjointed and vulnerable to change. As a result, the bulk of the Town Centre was designated a conservation area in 1974, rec-ognising its unique historic character, with the Town Centre containing numerous listed buildings. The late 1980s saw a sea-change in thinking, with Stockton starting to revisit the river and recognise its importance to the success of the town. The sky-line is very different from that of the industrial age. Large warehouses and cranes have been replaced with modern office blocks and call centres and the river is now very much a focus for leisure. The in-troduction of the Tees Barrage in 1995 meant that the river became non-tidal, allowing its use for a variety of water sports activities. A more detailed appraisal of the Town Centre’s built form can be found in the Conservation Area Appraisal within the Conservation Areas and His-toric Environment Folder (SPD4).

Historic Evolution

High Street - c1930

1. Lambert, T - A Brief History of Stockton www.localhistories.org/stockton


c1899 c1924 c1932-50 c1970

Urban Grain sites’ varying in size providing opportunity for de-velopment of an appropriate nature. Substantial changes in urban grain over the last century occurred at the south-eastern and north-eastern corners of the Town Centre. The density of the urban grain to the south-east along the River-side and on Chandlers Wharf peaked in the mid 20th century when the quay side was a busy port serviced by the railway and was heavily populated with small warehouses and industrial works. These were replaced with three large commercial units in the 1980s and which today provide an industrial estate type environment. The terraced housing to the north-east was redeveloped in the 1970’s and was replaced by flatted development and generous amounts of urban green space. Evidence of both these major changes can be seen on the plans dated c1932-50 and c1970.

The urban Grain plans below and opposite demon-strate that generally the High Street today provides a uniform building line distinctive of its historical character; however it is clearly evident the impact that 1960s and 1970s development had on all ar-eas of the Town Centre. These types of urban form demonstrate larger footprints imposing an in-creased physical presence especially on the eastern side of the High Street where a large shopping centre replaced traditional smaller terraced units. Over the last century, small incremental changes in land use and building demolitions to areas sur-rounding the High Street have resulted in ‘gap

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Land Use The land use plan opposite demonstrates the over-all diversity and independence of uses in the Town Centre with a particular emphasis on retail, office use & banking provision. There is a polarised retail core in the centre with Wellington Square to the north, and the Castlegate Centre to the south, with high vacancy rates on the High Street in-between. There is a need to reduce this perceived stretched retail provision through improvements to the public realm which seek to create a focus or heart between the two shopping centres, and create a visually ‘shortened’ High Street environment. Professional and financial services are primarily lo-cated along Bishop Street and Silver Street. Food and drink uses, mainly in the form of public houses and takeaway outlets, are concentrated at the southern end of the High Street and on Yarm Lane and Prince Regent Street. The SHiP area centred on West Row and the Cul-tural Quarter centred on Green Dragon Yard repre-sent a diverse range of uses, reflective of the his-toric grain of these areas. Church Road provides a number of key civic functions (Municipal Buildings, Library, Splash Leisure Centre) with a healthy amount of smaller independent uses on the north eastern section of the road. Some residential uses are evident above ground floor level in the High Street and surrounding streets, whilst Victoria Estate to the north provides the Town Centre with an element of urban living.

Top: South western section of High St, Centre: Castlegate Shopping Centre, Bottom: Intersection of Dovecot St and High St


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Scale Building scale throughout the Town Centre is gen-erally 2 to 3 storeys with elements of 4 storeys. Debenhams on the western side of the High Street demonstrates its landmark status at 5 storeys. Ele-ments of 1960s and 1970s architecture within the Town Centre including the former Swallow Hotel to the south of the High Street, providing 6 and 7 storeys. Building scale in some of the areas on ei-ther side of the High Street has generally retained the original plot pattern, with narrow frontages and accommodation extending to the rear, known as ‘burgage plots’. The south end of the High Street, however, is largely dominated by the mass of the Castlegate Shopping Centre. Although the building’s architec-ture was of its time when constructed and its height is representative of that generally seen on the High Street, the sheer scale is overwhelming and provides a façade that is very hard to relate to at pedestrian scale. If this type of development had come forward today, the frontage would vary in heights and widths to create better variation, inter-est and character reflective of traditional forms on the High Street.

Top: Debenhams 5-storey landmark building, Centre: traditional building scale at southern end of High St,

Bottom: Georgian scale on Church Road

Uniform scale of the Castlegate Shopping Centre


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Frontages Positive frontages are seen along the High Street, with many buildings listed as fine examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture; however, be-hind this central area the townscape becomes frag-mented with negative frontages such as service yards, poor quality built form and car parking re-sulting in poor visual connections between the Town Centre and its surrounding area. The major-ity of the High Street and surrounding area are varied in date and much of the existing 18th cen-tury building stock has been altered. There are a mix of property types and therefore a mix of façade treatments. Most of the properties are local red brick. Some facades are rendered whilst some of the grander properties in the High Street are faced in ashlar stone work. The standard of architectural detail and craftsmanship is high. Some buildings have poor quality shop frontages. First floor and above however, provide a positive contribution to the streetscape. Later buildings follow the normal architectural tra-ditions and there are a number of modern build-ings, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. These tend to be flat-roofed and boxy in nature, at odds with the prevalent historic character; however, they have quickly dated, and along with the poor main-tenance generally, they now fail to have a positive impact and damage the fabric of the built environ-ment.

1960’s architects drawings

Examples of decorative detail at upper level along the High St


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Many of the prominent landmarks and points of interest within Stockton Town Centre play an im-portant role in the legibility of the spaces within it. Legibility is the quality of space being welcoming, understood easily by its users and easy for visitors in which to orientate themselves. The Town Centre has many landmarks and points of interest varying in styles, architectural periods and aesthetic quality. There are primary landmarks such as the Town Hall built in 1735, the Parish Church (1712), the Shambles Market Hall (1823) and the Globe Theatre (1935), which each provide good quality architecture with great physical pres-ence within the High Street.

Landmarks & Visual Structure There are secondary elements of built form such as Maxwell’s Corner at the end of the High Street and the Aeolian Motion wind sculpture on Bishop Lane that are key in establishing node points. One other major landmark building within the Town Centre is the former Swallow Hotel. Although the building is low aesthetical value, the building still provides a visual point of reference from both the High Street and surrounding area. The majority of the vantage points with river views in the central area are afforded from the Riverside at raised points such as the bridges, crossings and elevated sections such as Calverts Lane.

Clockwise from top left: Aeolian Motion, Parish Church, Dodshons Fountain, Shambles Market Hall, Maxwell’s Corner


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The Town Centre is somewhat marred by swathes of clutter, put there largely to meet national traffic engineering guidelines associated with the signifi-cant bus movements in the centre. The result is a streetscape that contains barriers to free pedestrian movement and disfigures the surrounding architec-ture. However, there has been the introduction of modern street furniture in specific areas of the Town Centre, such as the Cultural Quarter, that are attractive and add visual interest, as well as having a functional purpose. It is important that this ap-proach is continued in a coordinated fashion. Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre has a fantastic ad-vantage above other centres, with the riverside area just a short walk away, however, pedestrian access to, and views of, the River are severely lim-ited from the High Street. Pedestrian links are cur-rently provided via footbridge over Riverside Road, a major physical barrier between the centre and the riverside. There are significant level changes between the High Street and the riverside which pose a chal-lenge when trying to improve links, however much of this level change provides a natural amphithea-tre during the Stockton International Riverside Fes-tival. There are opportunities to build on the suc-cess of this to increase the use for a year round programme of events.

Traditionally transportation within High Streets was seen as the most important and visible use. The unrestricted movement of people and goods within a town or city is essential to commerce and vitality. People on their horse drawn carts brought their products to the High Street to sell or ex-change creating a vibrant hub of activity. However over the last century a change in trend has come about largely due to the impact of the car. For Stockton that meant the creation of formal car-riageways resulting in a reduction in the amount of pedestrian space available. Alongside the provision of car parking, the High Street became dominated by traffic. However during the 1970’s many urban theorists stressed the importance of good quality space and the need to encourage interaction between people to provide a better social state. Pedestrianisation therefore became the new concept in providing vast amounts of space within towns and cities. This approach still exists today, however, it has shown that the implementation of such a concept in some towns has failed due to the town needing to func-tion traditionally with unrestricted movement of people and goods as detailed above. The public space within Stockton Town Centre plays host to a variety of uses, including shopping, markets, international events and public transport facilities. Whilst the streetscape provides the Town Centre with a multi-functional space, it is looking ‘tired’ and there is a distinct lack of greenery and soft landscaping. There is an increasing need to raise the environmental quality of the centre to attract new tenants and visitors to the town. The High Street plays an important role in provid-ing an interchange for bus transportation, how-ever, in places it has a negative physical impact on pedestrians, their environment and their movement between the two shopping centres.

Circulation & Public Spaces

Green Dragon Yard


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Movement & Parking Horse drawn carts were the first types of transpor-tation to pass through the market place primarily on market days and by 1881, shortly after the mar-ket place was re-branded as the ‘High Street’, steam trams were introduced followed by electric trams in 1897. This prioritised the area within the High Street running north to south on the eastern side of the Town Hall, as the main transportation route. Although the space was now segregated because of this use, the tram lines provided mini-mal disruption to the surface materials and there-fore still provided users with a perception that the space was still pedestrian priority. The trams were replaced by buses in 1931, and by the time the car was further introduced, areas of the High Street were ‘officially’ segregated and roads were constructed either side of the Town Hall. This isolated a piece of land down the centre, which when not in use on market days, was used for car parking. Although pedestrianisation was a growing trend from the 1970’s, the concept had not arrived in Stockton until the mid 90’s, when a vast amount of space was given back to the pedestrian. As a result of this intervention, only one road runs the length of the High Street, reflecting the old tram route to the eastern side of the Town Hall. This route can only be used by buses and taxis (during limited times) with no public vehicular penetration into the High Street, meaning that Town Centre users and visitors who arrive by car cannot see the centre, limiting interaction with it to those arriving on foot or by bus. This detracts from the visitor experience and lowers expectation of the Town Centre.

The Town Centre is bounded by busy roads that divert traffic around the Town Centre, providing a definitive physical boundary, with the intersections for each of these routes providing gateways into the Town Centre. These gateways, however, are poorly presented, dominating the townscape and do not create a sense of arrival. Currently, just over 2600 car parking spaces are provided around the Town Centre by two private multi-storey car parks at either end of the High Street at Castlegate and Wellington Square, and a further 19 Council-owned car parks, many occupy-ing small central gap sites which offer opportuni-ties for positive future development.

Top: Dominance of buses along the High St, Bottom: Southern

approach to Town Centre at Bridge Rd


SWOC Analysis

■ Wide High Street ■ Vibrant street market ■ Rich historic fabric ■ Proximity to the river ■ Stockton International Riverside Festival

& year-round events programme ■ Pockets of space and built form that

give a sense of place ■ University town ■ Neighbouring leisure facilities ■ Proximity to A19(M) and A66(M) ■ Cultural facilities

■ Empty shop units & upper floors ■ High Street perceived to be too long

(Stretched retail) ■ Lack of general building maintenance ■ Unsympathetic modern infill development ■ No central attraction on non-market days ■ Perceived dominance of buses ■ Poor connection with fringe areas ■ No sense of arrival ■ 9-5 town with burgeoning evening economy ■ Number of ‘gap sites’

■ Provide central attraction to create an anchor ■ Define a sense of place within the High

Street ■ Enhance setting of listed buildings ■ Bring empty floor space back into use ■ Capitalise on riverside location and the

vantage views provided by the High Street’s elevated position

■ Capitalise on The Globe Theatre restoration ■ Reinforce connections with fringe and

neighbourhood areas ■ Encourage appropriate development

within ‘gap sites’ ■ Provide balance between pedestrian space

and car parking

■ Narrow linkages and physical barriers disconnect the Town Centre from the riverside and surrounding areas

■ Neglected condition of existing assets and unsympathetic infill development

■ Continued challenge to retail posed by the economic downturn

■ Physical nature of the High Street ■ Inherent conflicts of interest posed by

mixed use space catering for pedestri-ans, buses, taxis, markets and events

■ Bus dominated environment

The SWOC analysis is a summary of the urban design analysis set out in this Section, detailing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Town Centre at the present day. It also highlights the Opportunities that could be realised in the future and potential Constraints that may have to be overcome during the Town Centre’s re-generation.


Town Hall Clock

Principles & Framework

Environmental quality can influence how we interact and perceive the spaces and the buildings that surround us. A positive visual and accessible appearance can also establish how both the

user and visitor are welcomed to a place. Ten key urban design principles should be used throughout the development process to create successful and sustainable buildings and places

in the Town Centre.

Urban Design Principles

It is important to recognise that investment in good design can sustain and enhance economic, environmental and social values

of the Town Centre. Investing in the right team of experts to formulate your design also helps deliver longer lasting, more sustainable develop-ments for current and future users of the Town Centre. Developments

should use materials that are both attractive and sustainable, integrate with and reflect the local charac-ter, and are fit-for-purpose.

Developments should be designed with the assistance of, and meet the needs of,

the community that they are designed to serve. Early involvement of the end-users helps to foster a sense of ownership, which in turn can achieve a reduction in crime, and result in vital and viable buildings and spaces.

Developments should enhance the Town Centre’s historic character, responding to its architectural style, public realm and

land uses. Developments should create a clear impact of arrival and departure, achieved through landmark buildings, public art, boulevard

trees or even simply in the choice of materials.

Developments should provide a clear and welcoming image, and be easy to understand for all users. Visitors

should be able to orientate themselves and establish a clear direction, achieved through the use of effective signage. Public spaces should use creative and innovative design to address elements such as level changes, pedestrian movements and try to avoid an abundance of street furniture (e.g. columns, railings, signs) which would make the street scene appear cluttered.

Developments should be easy to get to, and easy to move through. Usage priority within

public spaces will need to raise the quality of the pedestrian experience and reduce the perception of vehicular dominance where possible.

01 Quality

02 Community

03 Identity

04 Legibility

05 Permeability

Developments should create visual and physical linkages to

their surroundings; the buildings, spaces and transport corridors adjacent to them. This will help to encourage movement to and through the development, where necessary. Developments should, where possible, encourage links with the Riverside to the east, and residential areas to the north and

D e v e l o p m e n t s should strive to achieve the most

efficient use of resources in construction and future operation, utilis-ing local materials, minimising energy consumption and waste pro-

duction, whilst exploiting opportunities for sustainable energy production.

The ever-growing concept of 24-hour city living can contribute to a safe and attractive Town Centre environment.

Night time entertainment developments such as café-bars and restau-rants should be safe for all users, diversifying the Town Centre offer outside the ‘9 till 5’ period, and implemented alongside effective lighting and CCTV.

Developments should contribute to the improvement of the economic vitality and viability of the Town Centre by rais-

ing the environmental quality of the central area and provide opportuni-ties for new economic activity. This in turn will contribute to an overall

improvement in the internal and external perception of the centre, raising the ability of the centre to attract new visitors, residents, retailers and investors.

Careful consideration needs to be given to the quality, availability and installation of materials. Develop-

ments should demonstrate a sustainable use of locally-sourced materials and that are easy to repair or replace if required. A clear maintenance strategy should be put in place to ensure the development continues to be attractive and serve its original purpose.

06 Connectivity

07 Sustainability

08 Security

09 Vitality

10 Longevity



Character Area Principles Central Stockton comprises a number of areas that reflect different historic uses, land use and physical characteristics. Gaining an understanding of the Town Centre and adjoining character areas will ensure that a clear identity emerges in each area and that there are clear connections between individual areas. Al-though there are many smaller character areas within the Town Centre it is felt that the general physical built environment and appearance is dem-onstrated by the following four broad character areas:

■ Norton Road;

■ Church Road;

■ High Street;

■ Southern Gateway; and

■ Riverside. Each of the character areas are assessed in line with outcomes of the urban design and SWOC analysis, in order to generate a set of character area principles and strategy for change. The character area principles are important for un-derstanding the Town Centre and provide a basis for the formulation of proposals for each area that allow fine-tuning to particular features and roles.

These principles are largely based on standard ur-ban design principles which will outline how we are to shape and conserve and enhance the envi-ronment of Stockton Town Centre. The principles for each area are considered in terms of:

■ Townscape Character

■ Scale & Massing

■ Ease of Movement

■ Legibility

■ Public Realm

Top: Church Road Character Area, Bottom: High Street Charac-

ter Area


Norton Road Norton Road is the northern approach into the Town Centre providing a key gateway for both ve-hicles and pedestrians. The area is predominantly a mix of commercial uses with existing and opportu-nities for residential uses at upper floors. Many small independent businesses operate from this part of the Town Centre including offices, doctors surgery, restaurant/takeaway and retail. The buildings are generally of a high quality nota-bly the listed Georgian terrace that delineates the initial approach. With gardens to the front and a strong architectural character this terrace should be celebrated.

Many original architectural features are still evident at upper floors of the buildings. Key architectural landmarks in the area include St Mary’s Church which marks the end point of the Town Centre and Maxwell’s corner which heralds the transition into the High Street The initial approach into the Town Centre is very much a pedestrian scale with properties no higher than 3 storeys in height with the former Manhat-tans pub an impressive building at 4 storeys and simple character of Georgian and Victorian proper-ties flanking the pavement and road.

There is a strong sense of enclosure from the sur-rounding buildings with little opportunity for views out of the area as you are drawn towards the High Street. There is little green space within Norton Road creating a hard environment. The Victoria estate to the east of Norton Road is a 1970’s housing estate of a very planned open ur-ban grain in contrast to the general grain fronting Norton Road. Although of a differing built form it provides residential accommodation within direct walking distance of the Town Centre. It is proposed to reinforce this area as a key gate-way into the town, improving the existing architec-tural landmarks and associated public spaces. Op-portunities exist for new areas of public realm us-ing green infrastructure as a key driver. The area offers substantial opportunity for ’Living Over the Shops’ or creation of an urban village to further increase the resident population within the Town Centre boundary to help revitalise the Town Centre economy.

Former Manhattans pub

Typical architectural style of Victoria Estate

Georgian Terrace


Maxwell's Corner landmark building Traditional terrace on Norton Road 1970s housing along Maritime Road

Opportunities plan

Notation - - - Character Alea Boundary - Urban Design Strategy Boundary C) Character hea Gateway ~ Main Vehicular Linkages (······ ·· · New I Reinforced Pedesllian Linkages

0 l~ed Vehicular Access Proposed Architectual Lananark

- Development Opportunity ____J Reinforced PUblic Realm ***** l~ed Architectual Frontages

+0 KeyViews • • •• Key Architectual Lan<tnarks I Frontages __j Listed Building aa Proposed Boulevard Planting - Proposed Green Infrastructure Corridor


Church Road Much of the original townscape has been redevel-oped over time due to changes in land use, how-ever, there are still strong elements of the original Church Road townscape where the original street pattern is flanked by Georgian and early 20th cen-tury terracing along the North eastern edge of the road. The opposite side of the road presents an opportu-nity for redevelopment following the demolition of a former dairy; here it is recommended that any future development seeks to reinstate the tradi-tional building line along Church Road to compli-ment the original terracing opposite. This will re-create the strong streetscape character needed to reinforce the street as a key entrance to the Town Centre.

As you progress east along Church Road, the townscape opens up with built form set back to create a large civic space. The civic space was de-signed to accommodate large scale events that happen within the town through the year, how-ever although the space is bounded by the Munici-pal Buildings, the Central Library and the Splash leisure centre, on a day-to-day basis the space has become somewhat underutilised and is used pri-marily for pedestrians to pass through.

Opportunities exist for surrounding uses to be adapted to make better use of the space. For ex-ample, Splash leisure centre could utilise the space adjacent to it to provide an outdoor seating area as an extension to their current facility. This will en-courage people to stay within the space and pro-vide activity. The space could also be adapted to provide more permanent greenery or grass areas, this delivered with a reduced vehicular usage of the road will again encourage people to stay and enjoy the space. One valuable asset that the site doesn’t capitalise on is the raised vantage point it has of the river. Development opportunities exist to the southern edge of the character area and proposals should seek to provide active frontages whilst creating new architectural forms that will start to form a new riverside townscape along the North bank of the river. Appropriate scale and massing should be applied to any new development within the Church Road character area. Built form should respond to the traditional urban pattern and building heights of the street, supporting the Georgian detailing through complimentary and innovative architec-tural design.

Georgian terrace along Church Road

Civic space at Municipal Buildings


Opportunities plan

D ! Distance

N Notation - - - Character Area Boundary - Urban Design Strategy Boundary (') Character Area Gateway r-:=:- Main Vehicular Linkages

1100 Metres 1200 Metres

, Proposed Architectual Landmark lill Development Opportunity ----l Reinforced Public Realm ***** Improved Architectual Frontages

(········· New I Reinforced Pedestrian Linkages

1300 Metres

+{) KeyViews • • • • Key Architectual Landmarks I Frontages __J Listed Building 1111 Proposed Boulevard Planting


High Street Beyond Maxwell's corner the High Street opens out into a much grander scale than Norton Road and there is a distinct change of townscape character. Here you see the full splendour of the Georgian High Street, reputedly the widest in Britain. The omnipotent Parish Church and popular parish gar-dens heralds the arrival and sets the tone for the general high architectural quality that can be found throughout the Town Centre. Buildings are generally of a tall scale as you enter the High Street. The Art Deco Globe and adjacent Debenhams buildings are landmark buildings of high architectural quality, which should be en-hanced and celebrated. Wide and long; the num-ber of buildings on the High Street is significant with a magnitude of economic floorspace over several floors available offering significant opportu-nity for new business, residential and commercial uses. The Wellington Square and Castlegate Shopping Centres are key shopping destinations at polar ends of the High Street. The central High Street area is the former retail core of the Town Centre area but has suffered from economic decline and conse-quently there are many empty shops and upper floors fronting the High Street. Reinforcing this central space as an area of high quality public realm for social activities and creating linkages to the wider area would help to reconnect the dis-jointed space, create a central focus and help to improve vacancy rates. Inappropriate infill development has adversely im-pacted on the quality of townscape with several flat roof buildings at odds with the general surviv-ing Georgian character. Poor shop fronts, inappro-priate signage, lack of building maintenance and a general feeling of apathy is apparent on the High Street.

The High Street provides ample space for the well established market, but on non-market days, due to historic treatment and changes to this space, it gives the impression of emptiness and a perception that buses dominate the space. The centre has suffered from an over enthusiastic approach to public realm partial-pedestrianisation and resulting traffic calming measures with a pro-liferation of street furniture, unnecessary highway structures and general clutter dominants the space. There is a need to return this to an appropriate legible pedestrian scale to reinforce the townscape quality and the visitor experience of the High Street.

The Town Hall, Shambles and Market Cross are all central key structures that should be celebrated and their setting enhanced. Pedestrian linkages to surrounding areas such as the Riverside are severed by Riverside Road and Prince Regent Street. There are few opportunities for social activities (i.e.. Stand, Sit and Stay) within the central High Street area. A market town on a grand scale; Stockton High Street has somewhat lost its way, unsure as to what town centre offer it needs to provide, and subsequently the sense of place can appear dis-jointed. The High Street is a wonderful space full of opportunity. Reinforcing its character and address-ing the poorer elements of townscape would revi-talise and rejuvenate this central core of the Town Centre.

The historic Town Hall


Opportunities plan

Notation - - - Character Nea Boundary - Urban Design Strategy Boundary

c··) Character Nea Gateway ~ Main Vehicular Linkages { ......... New I Reinforced Pedestrian Linkages

,_._,; Proposed Architectual Landmark - Development Opportunity ......____] Reinforced Public Realm ***** Improved Architectual Frontages

..0 KeyViews • • • • Key Architectual Landmarks I Frontages __J Listed Building 1111 Proposed Boulevard Planting


Southern Gateway Historically Bridge Road provided the main direct access to the High Street leading from Victoria Bridge with the surrounding area dominated by rail and industry. Today the area is bounded by the Riverside and Church Yard Link Road arterial routes, maintaining close links with the A66 trunk road.

The area comprises a mixture of commercial uses, with The Thomas Sheraton Freehouse providing the only listed building in this area of the Town Centre. Yarm Lane provides evidence of its tradi-tional historic character; however this area of the Town Centre generally provides an understated entrance to the High Street with unsympathetic modern infill development surrounded by car park-ing or service areas. The north eastern section of the site is dominated by a 3 storey concrete car park adjoining the Castlegate Centre, which domi-nates the streetscape and is a huge contrast from the Victorian buildings facing it.

The key objective for this area is to reignite its sense of place, provide and improved use and cre-ate a gateway that the High Street requires at this end of the Town Centre. Opportunities for redevel-opment exist and should seek to create new archi-tectural landmarks with supporting elements of public realm. These public spaces should act as landing points, improving connections into the Town Centre and the High Street from Trinity Green and the riverside.

Looking north towards the development site

Unsympathetic and contrasting styles of development at Bridge Road


Opportunities plan

0 Crown Copyright and database right 20110 rdnance Survey 100023297

D I._D_is_tan_ce ______ ---'l._1o_o_M_ew_e_s --------'1_2o_o_M_ew_e_s _____ __,1300 Metres

N

Notation - - - Character kea Boundary - Urban Design Strategy Boundary

( .") Character kea Gateway ~ Main Vehicular Linkages ( ......... New I Reinforced Pedestrian Linkages

Q Improved Vehicular Access Proposed kchitectual Landmark Development Opportunity

____J Reinforced Public Realm ***** Improved Architectual Frontages

+0 KeyViews • • • • Key Architectual Landmarks I Frontages

Listed Building 1111 Proposed Boulevard Planting


The riverside character area has seen most change over the last two centuries due to the boom and bust of the industrial age. This area was once a hub of activity with the riverside providing the in-terchange for rail and water related uses, including ship building. Today following major redevelop-ment of the South Bank, the implementation of the Tees Barrage during the1990’s, and environ-mental improvements to the North Bank over the last decade, the riverside has become an attractive green corridor with good pedestrian and cycle links.

Some original wharf buildings still remain with various uses in place and complimented with a water sports facility, they support the riverside as a destination. However partly due to the nature of the topogra-phy, the High Street ‘turns its back’ on the river, with the large building mass of the Castlegate Shopping Centre being a primary contributor. To drive forward the Town Centre as a riverside town, major improvements are required to the pedestrian linkages between the High Street and the riverside including at-grade crossings across Riverside Road, and potential extended opening hours access from the Millennium Bridge through the Castlegate Cen-tre.

Riverside

The southern section of the character area is cur-rently dominated by large industrial style sheds which house leisure uses including a bingo hall and casino. The built form is surrounded by vast areas of car parking providing an unattractive approach to the Town Centre. Opportunities exist to ‘green’ this part of the character area, through tree plant-ing and potentially in the long term creation of built form along the southern edge of the site to form a strong townscape character on the ap-proach the Town Centre. Opportunities also exist to provide new iconic de-velopment on the land freed by the realigned inter-change at Bridge Road and Riverside Road to rein-force this area a key riverside destination and en-trance to the Town Centre. Any such development should seek to create a distinct riverside identity, improve the setting of the historic buildings, and tie into any future development along the southern edge of the character area, taking into account appropriate scale and massing that is reflective of the potential future uses within this area which could primarily be office, residential and leisure uses.

Stockton Riverside

Stockton Weekender

Chandlers Wharf


Opportunities plan

@Crown Copyright and database right 20110rdnanoe Survey 100023297

~ I

·~I 6 1 Distance 1100 Metres

N

Notation - - - Character Nea Boundary - Urban Design Strategy Boundary

(") Character Nea Gateway ~ Main Vehicular Linkages (··· •• •••• New I Reinforced Pedestrian Linkages

1200 Metres 1300 Metres 1400 Metres

0 Improved Vehicular Access .,~ Proposed Architectual Landmark

- Development Opportunity __j Reinforced Public Realm ***** Improved Architectual Frontages

+() Key Views • • • • Key Architectual Landmarks I Frontages __j Listed Building 1111 Proposed Boulevard Planting


6 N .... , . ·-··

• ;I --~

... . ' •

'

••••••••• Conservation Area

Listed Buildings ~ -

Zone of Repair

f Revitalisation Zoneo


Urban Form Strategy for Repair & Revitalisation Large parts of Stockton, mainly the central area and to the west, retain their historic character with the majority of the eastern side of the Town Centre becoming more fragmented partly due to a lost riverside industry. The urban grain analysis of Stockton indicates that the Town Centre provides a uniform building line distinctive of its historic character. Much of this part of the Town Centre is designated as conserva-tion area due to historic significance and attractive market town character and contains the majority of the Town Centre’s listed buildings. A number of traditional yards still survive further highlighting this traditional building pattern. In this area the priority is to repair this character, and its is essential that further site clearance for more short-term uses is discouraged. New appro-priate and long-term sustainable development within existing gap sites will be supported and will create a good foundation for the future preserva-tion of the conservation area. Any future develop-ment within the conservation area should seek to respect the historic fabric, including the urban structure and building form, taking into account appropriate scale and massing, building lines and general site layout. It is clear that the east of the Town Centre has been heavily influenced by lost industry and the implementation of unsympathetic 1960’s and 1970’s development. These types of urban form demonstrate larger footprints that conflict with the Town Centre’s historic fabric, creating increased physical presence on the urban grain.

Here the role of new development is to go one step further than repair, with the emphasis on rein-venting an appropriate urban fabric that seeks to re-knit the eastern edge of the Town Centre back to its heart. Zone of Repair: This covers the majority of the con-servation area, the north-western edge of the Town Centre and the historic part of Chandlers Wharf on the rivers edge. Building form within this area tends to be of varying architectural style and although many of the historic frontages of the buildings remain intact, most only exist above street level. Cumulatively, the layout and original elements of the Town Centre combine to create a pleasant and attractive Town Centre of some archi-tectural and historic note. These areas fall within the zone of repair because the intention is that existing built form will be preserved and enhance with new development seeking to respect and re-pair the historic character of the area. Zone of Revitalisation: This covers the eastern and southern most areas of the Town Centre, incorpo-rating Victoria residential estate, Municipal Build-ings and Police Station, North Shore Gateway, Cas-tlegate Centre, riverside & the more modern areas of the Chandlers Wharf development. These areas fall within the zone of revitalisation because much of the urban form is beyond repair and have been identified strategically for regeneration. Master-plans for both the riverside sites (incorporating Southern Gateway, Chandlers Wharf and Riverside car park) and North Shore have been developed and further information on how these sites seek to reinvent the urban grain can be found within sec-tion 4.

Stockton’s rich historic fabric


Urban Structure The term urban structure refers to the pattern or framework of streets and spaces that connect lo-cally and more widely; and the way developments, routes and open spaces relate to one another. The urban structure provides a foundation for de-tailed design and its interrelationship with each of the elements plays an important role in place mak-ing. The single most important priority in Stockton is to ensure the continued protection and enhancement of the historic urban grain within the conservation area; and that new development responds to the character both within the conservation area and surrounding zones and attempt to reformulate lost urban grain through innovative built form solu-tions.

Top: Unsympathetic infill development, Bottom: Block

form of Castlegate Shopping Centre

1- •

LU ~~~ LU =· ex: ill!. • 1- .. ~

Vl •11 -=-


All new development should seek to connect to main routes, public transport and nearby spaces.

Developments should be devoid of ‘cul-de-sac’ type approaches and attempts should be made to integrate with the surrounding community. The site should be pedestrian friendly and provide posi-tive permeability.

Once the existing and proposed movement pattern has been established, streets can be formed and designated into use type, e.g. primary transport route, secondary route, shared space etc.

The street pattern then forms the basis for develop-ing perimeter blocks, which can ensure that all streets form a relatively uniformed built environ-ment. The street use type will help to determine the building form including landmark buildings.


1

2

3

4

5

Built Form The success of a development site can be deter-mined by its approach to building scale and mass and general site layout. Much of Stockton’s character is based on its his-toric building form and fine urban grain. The more recent Wellington Square development does dem-onstrate an appropriate approach to scale and massing with small plot sizes which create density, variety and character. Some areas to the North east of the Town Centre can be considered as being fragmented due to previous piecemeal redevelopment schemes that were delivered over time. A reduction in industry and associated land use on the north bank of the river over the last 100 years has resulted in dense terraced streets being replaced with 70’s flatted development and large scale buildings that don’t reflect the traditional building form Any future developments where possible should endeavor to repair or reinvent the urban grain where appropriate.

1. Buildings set back along primary streets to accommodate adequate public realm. 2. Active frontages on primary streets. 3. Building heights appropriate to surrounding character. 4. Building height increased on corners to provide landmark status where required. 5. Landmark building to ‘turn a corner’ onto secondary streets.

(source: The Urban Design Compendium)

New, but varied scale & massing of Wellington Square


Where appropriate development should seek to provide built form that is reflective of its contextual setting. Stockton’s historic fabric is generally built up of small and narrow plots with the building heights at around 3 storey's. This approach enables a richer mix of building types and encourages diversity of forms, uses and ten-ures. It generates more active frontages, and encourages a ‘human scale’ environment to the public realm.

Big boxed sheds surrounded by car parking is unacceptable. Using the guidance previously shown on the principles of urban structure and perimeter blocks, developments should seek to wrap around the site to form edges that create the potential for active and more importantly sales frontage. This layout provides op-portunities to hide unsightly car parking and servicing to the centre of the site whilst creating an urban grain reflective of its context.


- .... • w N ;Ill ..... --

I ' ~ ·-·· , I '-,I ... ~ '~ il

Cq~ .,

~JJnr • I =1----· .. . I ... -- .. -.

••I L •

Secondary Streets

Minor Streets

I .----


Streetscape Hierarchy Streets make up the greater part of the pubic realm and the treatment and quality of our streets can con-tribute significantly to the built environment. This includes how people feel when in the space and how best we use the space. To ensure that place quality can be instilled in our streets, we need to build the foundations through basic principles. Streets should not be designed just to accommodate vehicular movements. It is impor-tant that designers place a high priority on inclusive design, acknowledging that the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users are equal and in most cases above that of car users.

Public Spaces

The plan opposite illustrates each of the proposed streetscape typologies within the Town Centre public realm. The streets have been divided up into the four categories based on their role within the public realm, their relationship with connectivity through the built environment, and how they fit within the Town Centre street hierarchy. The diagrams on the following pages demonstrate the general principles in the approach of street struc-ture and how the pedestrian space relates to the highway and incorporating other streetscape ele-ments such as events space, tree planting and car parking.

Public Spaces street typology relates to the areas of public realm that include Dovecot Street and the High Street incorporating Central Square, Market Square, and Infinity View Plaza. These spaces are predominantly pedestrian usage only however they need to be designed in such away to carry vehicles associated with the market, events and emergency access. Generally design principles include the provision of sufficient space at the frontage of buildings for potential street cafes and pedestrian circulation before you encounter street fur-niture elements or tree planting that define the extent of the central multi-functional space.

2mmin 2mmin cafe zone circulation street

space furniture zone

4mminimum! eire ulation !

space between! market stalls

,_ ___ main pedestrian space----<

zone space

5m Street cafe zone


Primary Streets

Primary street typology relates to the vehicular dominated areas of the High Street’s public realm. This in-cludes the northern and southern loops which incorporate short stay parking and bus stops. Although they may be vehicular dominated they still sit within the High Street context and therefore the treatment should still reflect that of a mixed use space, providing generous areas of paving, creating opportunities for tree planting and reducing the effects of potential street clutter. It is essential that this street type is not dominated by the requirement car parking opportunities and that street trees are implemented where appropriate to create structure and soften the built environment.

O’Connell Street, Dublin: Use of architectural shaped tree plant-

ing to define an important space within the street.

Sheffield: Street trees, street furniture and street lighting arranged

in-line with each other to provide a clear and clutter free public

space.

3m min 5m 5eating& carriageway 5m 5eating& 3m min footway 5treet tree zone, (width varfe5) 5treet tree zone, footway

Incorporating Incorporating angled parking angled parking


Secondary & Minor Streets

Secondary street typology relates to the main arterial routes that connect to the central heart of the Town Centre. These streets need to accommodate high volumes of Town Centre traffic and the guidance therefore shows how to achieve this whilst incorporating the quality of design and materials to support the pedestrian experience within these areas. Secondary streets should again seek to incorporate both on-street parking and street trees. However secon-dary streets in Stockton Town Centre tend to be narrow in character and therefore designers are encouraged to use appropriate tree species taking into account the life-time size of the tree and its future impact on the streetscape. Although a lower ranking streetscape within the Town Centre street hierarchy, minor streetscapes still play an important role in the way users connect to neighbouring and higher ranking streets. It is essential that these streets are not left behind and be subject to standard engineering approaches. More detailed streetscape guidance in relation to material types and approaches are provided in Section 5: Streetscape Guidance. Detailed national guidance on the design of streets can be found within Manual for Streets and Manual for Streets 2.

2m min 3m seating footway & street

tree zone, incorporating

parking

carriageway (width varies)

2m min footway

Intervention


19 20

21

16

17 18

15

13

11

8

10

9

6 7

12

5

1

3

2

4

14

... .... L •


Illustrative Masterplan

1. Riverside / Bridge Road Junction Improvements - the realign-

ment of Riverside Road to link with the A135 (South Stockton Link) will improve the transport network.

2. Chandlers Wharf Redevelopment - opportunity for redevelop-

ment of the site could provide an attractive mixed-use riverside development.

3. Southern Gateway - opportunity for mixed use landmark de-velopment on the existing site plus land freed by the road

realignment to mark the southern entrance to the Town Cen-

tre.

4. Taxi Waiting Area - potential provision of additional waiting

area to offset the rationalisation of the High Street rank to

accommodate the Southern High Street improvements.

5. Castlegate Breakthrough - the intersection of Millennium

Bridge and Castlegate Shopping Centre could be redeveloped to create a stronger physical and visual link between the Town

Centre and Teesdale.

6. South High Street - the southern section of the High Street from Shambles Market Hall southwards to be utilised to create

on-street car parking & rationalised taxi stands.

7. Former Bingo Hall Development Site - opportunities to rede-velop the rear of south side of the High Street would help

support the retail offer and Town Centre living.

8. West Row & Dovecot Street - the area between the southern

end of the High Street and Prince Regent Street, centred

around West Row, retains the historic burgage plot layout that once covered the town and contains many of the town’s listed

buildings. This area is the focus for the English Heritage Part-

nership Scheme, Stockton Heritage in Partnership (SHiP) to repair and restore the historic features of the buildings and

public realm.

9. Market Square - the area to the south of the Town Hall to-

wards the Shambles Market Hall provides the optimum loca-

tion for a new market place, allowing the market to be more concentrated and orderly.

10. Central High Street - the area to the north of the Town Hall at

the intersection with Dovecot Street provides the perfect set-ting for a new high quality public square; a multi purpose

space to encourage visitors to stay and take in the atmos-phere, or watch a performance. This supports a £3.3m Heri-

tage Lottery Fund Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) which

seeks to provide improvements to buildings both internally and externally to enable vacant floor space to be brought back

11. Cultural Quarter - the Cultural Quarter is home to a hub of

cultural activities. Public realm enhancements have already raised the profile of the Quarter, to be enhanced by further

plans for improvements to the historic buildings through

the delivery of the THI scheme.

12. Riverside Events Space - the Riverside could be developed to

form an amphitheatre and events space.

13. Infinity View Plaza - the area provides a key link between

the Town Centre and Riverside. Lindsay House and Bishop

Street Car Park are to be redeveloped to enhance the visual and physical links to the Riverside.

14. Land Bridge - opportunity to create a physical pedestrian

link over the A1305 Riverside Road to better link the Town Centre and Riverside.

15. North High Street - the northern section of the High Street from Bishop Street northwards to be utilised to create on-

street car parking enhanced by boulevard planting.

16. Eastern Gateway - opportunities to create a sense of arrival should be maximised with landmark developments at the

entrance to the Gateway when the southern side of Church

Road is re-developed as part of the delivery of North Shore.

17. Church Road Boulevard - public realm enhancements and

boulevard planting will increase the sense of arrival, in-crease opportunities for parking, and enhance the historic

setting of Church Road.

18. Globe Redevelopment - the redevelopment of the Globe as a performance venue will be supported with public realm

improvements.

19. Norton Road Urban Village - selected redevelopment within the site could complement the existing historic fabric and

frontages, and strengthen the area in terms of business offer. Improved permeability through the site and onto

fringe areas of the Town Centre would raise perceived pe-

destrian security and sense of place.

20. Victoria Urban Village - redevelopment of existing Council

housing stock will seek to provide a dense high quality

mixed use urban village.

21. Victoria Linear Park - as part of the proposed urban village a

major green corridor, in the form of a linear park, could seek to extend the leisure offer of splash and create green

linkages from the area into the Town Centre.

Derived from the urban design analysis and character area principles, the illustrative masterplan indicates how future development in the town centre may occur. The plan provides a simple concept of how both short and long term re-generation may happen in relation to scale and massing, and includes details regarding the investment in the Town’s public realm and heritage assets, redevelopment of unattractive buildings, and development on empty land.

---..........- ----------


Central High Street The two main key interventions within Central High Street are the creation of a high quality public realm cen-tre piece and the preservation and investment in Stockton’s central historic assets. The key design aim behind the public realm improvements is to create a high quality public space that provides a central focus for the High Street 7 days a week, whist improving the setting of listed Town Hall.

Spatial analysis Principle objectives

Appropriate surface materials and construction to support flexible events

New public square incorporating elements such as water, grass & trees.

Potential to introduce level changes to define the space or create a sense of enclosure

Public realm to reflect historic street pattern and building forms

Materials to be in keeping with conservation area and to reflect vernacular.

Building frontages to be improved through THI programme.

Sketch Concept

To ensure that Stockton Town Centre moves forward a set of key interventions have been identified for deliv-ery in the short to medium term. The following pages provide a brief introduction into the potential of these sites and provides a taste of what could be achieved. These key interventions will transform the image of Stockton Town Centre, support the growth and development of the leisure economy and put in place the building blocks for an expanding retail and business sector.


This central square will provide an intense hub of activity both during the day and into the evening which supports and reinforces the linkages be-tween the two main shopping centres, the Cultural Quarter and the Arc. Centred around a potential interactive water fea-ture within a sunken area to the north of the Town Hall, terraced areas of steps and seating could pro-vide an informal and flexible space for Town Centre users to enjoy. Although the primary function of this space is to create a year-round focus, it is en-visaged that it will form an essential part of a series of flexible spaces within the Town Centre that will support the Council’s events programme including the Stockton International Riverside Festival.

Concept for Central Square looking south towards the Town Hall

Buildings identified for investment under the THI scheme

The rich historic fabric of Stockton’s Town Centre is in the process of being restored through the Stock-ton Heritage in Partnership (SHiP) scheme and a further £3.3m will be invested through a Town-scape Heritage Initiative (THI). The THI scheme will focus on 12 properties of historic importance. In-vestment will see vacant floor space being brought back into use and building & shop frontages im-proved which will see physical changes to the cen-tral core of the High Street to complement the de-livery of the high quality public space. Building on this investment the Council has estab-lished a business and retail loan finance scheme, designed to support business growth by helping businesses to invest in improving their premises; in particular their signage, shop fronts and internal layouts.


West High Street


The ongoing SHiP scheme has provided grant aid to landowners who sought to improve the external appearance of their buildings. Improvements in-cluded elements such as new roofs, new windows, restoration of façade treatments and new gutter-ing.

As part of the SHiP programme, public realm im-provements were identified for West Row and its surrounding yards. Situated within the heart of Stockton’s remaining historic fabric the ultimate vision for West Row is to only allow service traffic during peak times.

Sketch Concept

Outline THI Public Realm Improvements.

lnctNsed pedatnan cwculabon space & oppottlJnities lor street trees & seaung

Shared wrth camageway 3m Streel cafe zone denoled through matenal type and an feature street tum1ture

Flexible pedestn.nosed 1rN lflCO<poratJng removable tree planle<S & emergency access route


Concept for Dovecot Street looking West towards Wellington Square

127 / 128 High Street before and after investment through the SHiP programme.

The short term aspirations for the area are to im-prove surface treatments where required, co-ordinate street furniture and, most importantly, improve public realm connections to the High Street via the three yards and alleyways. This will be done through the implementation of improved paving, signage, feature and functional lighting. As well as significant investment in the town’s cen-tral historic building assets, the THI scheme will also provide investment in public realm improve-ments to Dovecot Street, which is the space that ties both the SHiP and THI investment areas to-gether. Dovecot Street also provides a gateway to the High Street from the west and as it enters the Town Centre is becomes an extension of central High Street. It is therefore intended to treat the public realm with the same high quality of design and materials. It does however have its own unique quality due to the surrounding built form that funnels you away from the High Street towards the Arc and sur-rounding residential area. The design theme for this area is to keep things simple, provide opportu-nities to sit and enjoy the space whilst maintaining passive space for the users of the street.


Infinity View Plaza As part of a wider regeneration strategy to create better links to the riverside, Infinity View seeks to create high impact visual and physical connections between the riverside and the High Street. The name suggests the potential view you may achieve from its elevated platform on the High Street towards the river and beyond.

The first phase of this intervention is to redevelop the site that Lindsay House currently occupies. Removal of this unattractive 1970’s building will provide the opportunity to open up views, create a high quality plaza that will connect the High Street to the riverside and provide additional High Street parking in the short to medium term.


Sketch Concept

Improved pedestrian link from Parish Gardens to the Riverside.

Long term aspiration to create a building of architectural significance.

Potential to introduce café bars and restaurants at street level with residential above.

Improved pedestrian link to the river will also provide space for events.


Concept visualisation of Infinity View Plaza

The second phase and long term aspiration could potentially involve new development on both the Lindsay House and Bishop Street car park sites, providing opportunities for ground floor cafes/bars and restaurants with a residential offer above, po-tentially providing an extension to the Cultural Quarter. One of the key visions set out in both this and pre-vious Town Centre studies is the need to reinforce or create linkages to the riverside. This will allow the town to re-connect with the river and take ad-vantage of its location as a riverside town. This new public space would also become one of the core spaces within the town centre which will support the Stockton International Riverside Festi-val as well as travelling markets and events. It is envisaged that this wide corridor of public space could include new street trees to compliment po-tential future use of the space and create a green link from the town centre to the riverside and vice versa.

Existing view towards the High St along Bishop St


North High Street The Globe Theatre is undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment and is due to re-open as a 2500 capacity touring music and live entertain-ment venue. Supporting the redevelopment of The Globe, it is envisaged that adjacent properties will be brought back into use to enhance the evening and leisure offer within the Town Centre.

Building on the refurbishment of The Globe, the public realm in this area will provide an attractive but functional environment to support the future use of The Globe as an entertainment venue.


Sketch Concept

Appropriate surface materials and construction to support flexible usage

Introduction of green infrastructure currently lacking in the High Street.

Rationalisation of bus infrastructure, pedestrian cross links improved.


Artist impression of The Globe at night.

Wider improvements to the northern end of the High Street will seek to provide opportunities for short stay car parking. This will provide the much needed penetration and footfall that the High Street currently lacks, allowing visitors to use the High Street in a more flexible way. Public Realm improvements will incorporate new surfacing, street trees, lighting and will see a marked reduction in street clutter to allow for eas-ier pedestrian movements and general permeability throughout.

Potential street greening

The Globe pre-refurbishment


Part of the Eastern Gateway includes the Town Centre section of the flagship North Shore riverside regeneration scheme. During the 1990’s and early 2000’s reclamation and infrastructure works took place on the site, along with master planning, and latterly, the construction of the Infinity Bridge.

Eastern Gateway Proposals for this section of the North Shore scheme seek to create urban structure with perime-ter blocks incorporating public space and pedes-trian linkages to the wider Town Centre.


Muse’s Masterplan for the Eastern Town Centre / North Shore Gateway

Sketch Concept


It is envisaged that the site as a whole, once com-pleted, will transform this area of Stockton’s river-side and have great economic benefits for Stockton Town Centre, creating a new vibrant place to live, work and play. The vision for Church Road is to utilise the linear route into the Town Centre and implement street tree planting to provide a green boulevard connec-tion to and from the North Shore site.

Concept proposal for Church Road looking towards North Shore

Muse’s Concept proposals for the gateway

The scheme will also provide opportunities for short stay car parking outside 16 Church Road and from Gloucester House down to North Shore gyra-tory. An optional long term project may seek to rearrange the paving at the civic plaza to open up further on street short stay car parking opportuni-ties outside Splash leisure centre and Municipal buildings.


The River Tees is one of Stockton’s best natural assets with an array of riverside usage including businesses, restaurants and leisure facilities. It is essential that any future interventions support and encourage economic growth along the riverside.

The Riverside Sites Development Framework (April 2007) document sought to formulate a vision for the riverside and identify development proposals to unlock the potential of the riverside through the

Riverside

Conceptual lighting proposals for the riverside.

review of, amongst others the Southern Gateway (based around Tower Street and Wharf Street), and Castlegate Quays (Chandlers Wharf), and the Town Centre (the Cultural Quarter and Riverside Road car park). The Framework sets out a series of main planning principles for the whole site with a focus on maximizing the development regeneration po-tential, achieving better linkages between the river-side, Cultural Quarter and the High Street, and the introduction of increased mixed usage, including residential, commercial and leisure uses in a form that enhances the integration of riverside activities.

The first intervention to support this strategy in-cludes a dramatic lighting scheme delivered by Stockton Borough Council, whereby the rivers iconic bridges and river bank will be transformed with a series of colourful light installations be-tween the Princess of Wales Bridge and the Millen-nium Bridge.


Recent lighting trials on the Millennium Bridge.

The permanent lighting features, which change colour and pattern, will play an important role in supporting the town’s vast programme of popular riverside events and will seek to encourage visitors to use the river all year round, potentially support-ing the riversides evening economy.

It is important that future works along the riverside in Stockton take a lead from this lighting strategy and incorporate lighting and other animation solu-tions within their schemes. This will encourage night time usage which will in turn boost the over-all evening economy along the riverside and in par-ticular at Chandlers Wharf.

Streetscape Guidance


Public Realm Code & Themes Public realm can be a street, square or a park that is accessible whether publicly or privately owned, 24 hours a day for everyone to see, use and enjoy. The quality of these spaces can influence how we interact and perceive the spaces and the buildings that contain it. The visual and accessible appearance of these spaces can also establish how both the user and visitor are welcomed to a place. Building on the town’s rich heritage it is proposed to provide radical but contextual improvements to the public realm in Stockton Town Centre which deliv-ered in conjunction with other Town Centre invest-ment, will provide a distinct sense of place and in-creased footfall throughout the year.

Cathedral Gardens, Manchester: An example of a simple but

quality designed public space.

In creating such a successful and sustainable place, key public realm principles will need to be promoted in conjunction with developing any future public realm improvements. Attractive - The choice of materials used needs to be both attractive and sustainable. They need to inte-grate and reflect local character whilst at the same time providing a fit-for-purpose, maintainable street-scape treatment. Uncluttered - A creative and innovative design think-ing into how the street scene works will need to be applied. This includes element in the street such as level changes and signalled junctions to reduce the use of columns, railings and signage. Adaptability - The public realm should be as flexible as possible to provide for a wide range of uses. The potential for removable street furniture can provide access to spaces that enable the High Street to ac-commodate Stockton’s year round programme of events. Movement - Improvements to the public realm should encourage easy flowing pedestrian move-ment. Future designs should take into account exist-ing and proposed desire lines and remove any unnec-essary physical barriers that currently restrict people getting from A to B. Lighting - Both functional and aesthetical lighting should be used to encourage the positive use of spaces within the town centre at night. Creative lighting design and projection schemes can provide and reinforce distinct character areas. Public Art - The appropriate use of public art could be implemented to support the character of a space. Themes or historic references can be introduced both on a small scale into street furniture or on a large scale such as a fixed iconic sculpture.


Left: Recent public realm investment in Stockton’s Cultural

Quarter, Top: Sheffield Peace Gardens, Bottom: Oldbury Civic Fountain.

The diagrams on the following pages indicate the typical principles behind the detail design of the various streetscapes, including general layout, ma-terial types and street furniture themes. The subsequent palette of materials is not an ex-haustive list and is just a demonstration of what type of themes and quality is expected to be pro-vided within any future improvements to the Town Centre’s public realm. It is expected that all new developments are to fol-low this design code & themes to ensure that a consistent approach is taken to the application of materials within the streetscape.


Public Space

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Building frontage.

Minimum 6m pedestrian circulation space between shop frontage and mixed use areas. This allows for 4m maximum depth for street café and 2m passive space.

Mixed use areas constructed to vehicular standards to facilitate the markets and other events.

Natural Stone feature banding to delineate different uses.

Street furniture aligned to minimise street clutter and maximise the use of the space.

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Bespoke seating to be comfortable and func-tional whilst contributing to the themes set within the public space.

Street lighting should be provided on build-ings where possible and appropriate. Where this is not possible, contemporary and func-tional pedestrian scale lighting should be provided. Lighting column design needs to be attractive both during the day and night and incorporate arm facilities for banners.

Semi mature avenue tree planting incorpo-rating uplighting to provide opportunities for shading and to visually ‘green’ the public space.

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Pedestrian footway treatment to be natural stone paving.

General carriageway treatment to be tar-macadam.

Granite kerbs and channels demonstrate the distinctiveness of the primary street.

Granite feature banding to delineate the transition between tarmacadam and granite carriageway surfacing.

Granite blockwork carriageway treatment to be used within pedestrian focused spaces.

Primary Streets

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Semi mature avenue tree planting incorpo-rating uplighting to provide opportunities for shading and to visually ‘green’ the public space.

Street lighting should be provided on build-ings where possible and appropriate. Where this is not possible contemporary and func-tional street lighting to mirror lighting used within pedestrian spaces should be used to denote the streetscape as a primary route. Lighting column design needs to be attrac-tive both during the day and night and night and incorporate arm facilities for banners.

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Secondary Streets

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Pedestrian footway treatment to be natural stone paving or concrete alternative.

General carriageway treatment to be tarmac-adam.

Natural stone or conservation kerbs and granite channel setts define the streetscape type, feature banding to be used at transi-tion between surfacing types.

Where footway widths are minimal, angled cycle stands are to be implemented.

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Appropriate scale tree planting incorporating uplighting to provide opportunities for shad-ing and to visually ‘green’ the public space.

Street lighting should be provided on build-ings where possible and appropriate. Where this is not possible, standard contemporary street lighting should be used incorporating arm facilities for banners and flower baskets.

Parking meters should be located in line with other street furniture or where appropriate, to the back of the footway.

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Pedestrian footway treatment to be concrete paving.

General carriageway treatment to be tarmac-adam.

Conservation kerb to match granite kerbs.

Appropriate scale tree planting incorporating uplighting to provide opportunities for shad-ing and to visually ‘green’ the public space.

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Minor Streets

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Standard black bollards only to be used where appropriate and set 450mm from back of kerb.

Street lighting should be provided on build-ings where possible and appropriate. Where this is not possible, standard street lighting should be used incorporating arm facilities for flower baskets.

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Surface Materials

Concrete Paving - Buff Concrete Paving - Natural Tarmacadam Conservation Kerb

Buff Yorkstone Paving Grey Granite Paving Porphyry Setts Granite Kerbs

■ Retain the historic form of streets by maintain-ing kerb lines, using dropped kerbs where nec-essary

■ Where footways are widened, demarcate the kerb line

■ Avoid small paving modules laid in arbitrary colours and patterns

■ Respect the subtle proportional relationship between the footways, the buildings and the carriageway

■ Invest in quality and simplicity ■ When assessing costs, use sustainable account-

ing methods and consider life cycle costing

Surface materials provide the foundation in defin-ing the character of the built environment. Paving and surfacing materials need to reflect local dis-tinctiveness and context whilst being practical and sustainable in terms of function, supply and life-time maintenance. General Principles ■ Natural, local materials are preferred to man-

made alternatives ■ Relate ground surfaces to their surrounding

streetscape context

Suggested Palette

Left to Right: Yorkstone, granite kerb & channel,

granite blocks, porphyry setts, granite steps


Street Furniture

Bespoke or historically influenced street furniture can help contribute to the distinctiveness of a place, create a sense of arrival and instil pride. It can be the signature, the delineation of a particular use, or a interactive element within the landscape. Street furniture should seek to incorporate histori-cal or cultural references but not be too literal. General Principles ■ Design street furniture as an integral part of

the street ■ Locating seating in places of interest / activity ■ Consider needs of visually impaired people

■ Street furniture should be simple, functional and robust

■ Eliminate the need for bollards through higher quality kerb definition and good design

■ Restrict signs to those which convey essential information

■ Signage should be designed as part of a family of street furniture

■ Remove superfluous and redundant signs ■ Locate signs on buildings or at the back edge

of pavements ■ Avoid placing signs on new posts which add to

clutter

Left to Right: Information sign, coordinated suite of

street furniture, bollard incorporating traffic signage.

Left to Right: Bespoke handrail detail reflecting local history, bench incorporating

artwork, contemporary finger post signage, coordinated traffic signage.


Lighting

Lighting forms an integral part of our streets and can signify or contribute to the character of public spaces. Whether it be for functional highway light-ing or for the aesthetic lighting of a heri-tage building, lighting elements need to be considered as part of the overall public realm design and not just an afterthought.

General Principles ■ Select lighting which reflects the function of the place ■ Consider street lighting in conjunction with other light

sources, including shop windows and floodlit buildings ■ Respect local designs where appropriate ■ Avoid light pollution especially within residential areas ■ Avoid clutter by mounting lights on buildings where

appropriate ■ Consider the daytime appearance of light fittings, asso-

ciated cabling and feeder pillars

Left to Right: Very effective step lighting, seat lighting, linear

floor lighting, banner incorporated lighting columns.

Left to Right: Architectural lighting, uplighting to

trees, integrated street lighting & traffic signal head.


Trees

General Principles ■ Species to be chosen carefully to suit the urban context ■ Tree species selection to be made at early design staged

in co-ordination with existing and/or proposed service runs

■ Consider shape and form in conjunction with pedestrian flows, surrounding buildings, street furniture and lighting

■ Locate trees in areas that don’t restrict highway visibility ■ Consider the overall height and future maintenance of

the specified tree ■ A full recommended list of tree and shrubs to use are

detailed within Supplementary Planning Document 2: Open Space, Recreation & Landscaping

Tree planting enhances the character of a street or public space. They create great visual appeal, offer a natural form of climate control for buildings and pro-vide shade for seated areas. Tree planting should form an integral part of the design stage and not be con-sidered as an after thought.

Left to Right: Architectural street trees, tree grille incorporated

within the design, tree surrounded in seasonal planting.

Left to Right: Tree planting coordinated with street furniture, urban forest, linear

planting to define routes, slim and tall growing trees for small urban spaces.


Public Art & Animation

The successful delivery of an animated public space can attract people into a town and provide the opportunity for people to stay, interact and engage. This can be achieved through subtle and encoded pieces to the literal and overt demonstration of local history. Either way public art and animation of the public space should be a foundation within the design process.

General Principles ■ Restrict use to high quality, well conceived items ■ Features can vary from large scale to temporary pieces ■ Features may be stand alone or incorporated into be-

spoke street furniture ■ Public art should be appropriate to the local context ■ Consider sighting and aesthetic life ■ Consider life-time maintenance ■ Use feature lighting to enhance appeal at night ■ Features should be as interactive or engaging as possible

Left to Right: Sculptural water feature, integrated

public art, interactive water feature.

Clockwise from top left: Architectural water feature,

light animated public art, large scale water feature.


Further reading

CABE & DETR (2000), By Design: Urban design in planning sys-

tem: towards better practice. Kent, Thomas Telford.

CABE (2006) Kensington High Street redesign sees 47 per cent decrease in accidents [Internet]. London, Commission for Archi-

tecture & the Built Environment. Available from: <http://

www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=1266&field=sitesearch&term=kensington%

20high%20street%20redesign&type=0> [Accessed 27/06/07].

CABE (2007), Living with risk: Promoting better public space

design. London, Commission for Architecture & the Built Envi-

ronment.

CABE & ODPM (2002), Paving the Way, how we achieve clean,

safe and attractive streets. Kent, Thomas Telford.

CABE (2007), Paved with gold: The real Value of good street design. London, Commission for Architecture & the Built Envi-

ronment.

CABE (2007), Spaceshaper: A user’s guide. London, Commission

for Architecture & the Built Environment.

CABE (2007), This way to better streets: Lessons from 10 suc-cessful streets. London, Commission for Architecture & the Built

Environment.

CABE (2006), Transforming our streets. London, Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment.

Department for Transport (2007) Manual for Streets

English Heritage (2005) Streets for All: North East

English Partnerships (2000) Urban Design Compendium 1

Gehl, J (1987) Life between buildings : using public space, translated by Jo Koch, New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Gehl, J. and Gemzøoe, L. (2000) New city spaces, Copenhagen :

The Danish Architectural Press.

Gehl, J. et al (2006) New city life, Denmark : The Danish Archi-

tectural Press.

Project for Public Spaces (2006) Allan Jacobs [Internet]. Avail-

able from: <http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/

placemakers/ajacobs> [Accessed 27/06/07].

Project for Public Spaces (2006) Christopher Alexander

[Internet]. Available from: <http://www.pps.org/info/

placemakingtools/placemakers/calexander> [Accessed 27/06/07].

Project for Public Spaces (2006) Jane Jacobs [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/

jjacobs> [Accessed 27/06/07].

Project for Public Spaces (2006) PPS Approach to Transportation

[Internet], Available from: <http://www.pps.org/transportation/info/transportation_approach> [Accessed 27/06/07].

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (2003) Kensington High

Street Improvements [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/EnvironmentalServices/general> [Accessed

15/08/07].

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (2011) Stockton Town Cen-

tre Prospectus

Transport 2000 (2007) Taming the traffic [Internet], London, T r a n s p o r t 2 0 0 0 . A v a i l a b l e f r o m : < h t t p : / /

www.newlifeformainroads.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=65>

[Accessed 16/07/07].

Transport 2000 (2004), Your route to a better High Street: How

to reclaim your main road from traffic. London, Transport 2000.

Background Papers

Nathaniel Litchfield & Partners(2009) Stockton Town Centre

Study.

Gillespies(2006) Stockton Riversides Sites Masterplan.

Drivers Jonas(2004) Stockton Town Centre Regeneration Study.

Reports to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Cabinet:

Stockton Town Centre Regeneration (08.12.11) Available from http://www.stockton.gov.uk/egenda

Stockton Town Centre Progress Report (14.07.11) Available from http://www.stockton.gov.uk/egenda

Stockton Town Centre Urban Design Guide (17.03.11) Available

from http://www.stockton.gov.uk/egenda

Stockton Central Area Update (05.08.10)

Stockton Town Centre & Riverside Sites Update(14.05.09)

Stockton Town Centre (25.10.07)

Stockton Town Centre & Riverside Sites Action Plan (31.08.07)

Stockton Town Centre & Riverside Sites Masterplan & Action Plan (30.11.06) Available from http://www.stockton.gov.uk/

egenda

Reference

Image Credits

CABE, G2 Photography, Gary Walsh, Matthew

Hooton, Mike Kipling, Peter Fink, Peter Mernagh.

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