Botchergate revival plan will be 'active document' says senior councillor
Last updated at 14:59, Thursday, 05 July 2012
Carlisle City Council has pledged that the latest plans to revive Botchergate will be implemented and not left to gather dust on a shelf at the Civic Centre.
The council published a Draft Botchergate Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan last year.
The document calls for the restoration of neglected Victorian buildings and the demolition of unsightly and 1970s structures in St Nicholas Street.
And it suggests that Christ Church Gardens and the St Nicholas Street/London Road junction could be revamped to become attractive features.
The council held a six-week public consultation on the plan earlier this year.
It is due to be adopted by the full council on July 17.
Deputy leader Colin Glover told the ruling executive on Monday: “This is long overdue.
“We had 43 written responses to the consultation. It was clear that there is a will to reverse many, many years of decline in that area,.
“The document presents a clear vision for property owners and developers."
Long-term, Mr Glover hopes, the county council will look pedestrianisation of the northern end of Botchergate.
He added: “This management plan won’t be put on a shelf to gather dust. It’s an active document.”
The consultation brought calls for the council to use legal powers to force landlords to improve unsightly buildings and, in extreme cases, demolish them.
One asked for a ban on more takeaway food outlets and for the replacement of “tacky” shop fronts.
Botchergate was made a conservation area in 1994.
The northern end saw something of a revival in the following decade with the opening of a cinema, new pubs and bars and, in 2004, English Gate Plaza.
Now the focus has switched to the southern end with McKnight & Son’s restoration of Stanley Hall.
There is a planning application to turn the former Sherwood Hotel, at the corner of Tait Street, into apartments.
And Cumbria County Council has announced that it intends to build a new HQ on William Street car park, off Botchergate, accommodating up to 1,000 staff.
First published at 11:24, Thursday, 05 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
Start from the bottom and work up - with a bull dozer. Botchergate is an absolute disgrace and something that most Carlisle residents are totally ashamed of.
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Active Document ?
Aspirational Document more like.It means nothing, it has no teeth and will achieve nothing. I wish this new administration would deal with thing inside of their control. I fear we are going to see more borrowing for White Elephants that leave nothing but an invoice at the end.Posted by PaulM on 9 July 2012 at 16:51