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FOREWORD

As an island nation,our relationship to the border between land and sea isunique and deep rooted. Seaside towns share many similarities with their inland cousins, yet remain fundamentally different: climate, remoteness,ageing and transient populations, changing demands, balancing the needs of day-trippers with residents.

Despite a fall from Victorian grace, these much-loved locations have won a permanent place in the British psyche.Triumphs of imagination like theBrighton Pavilion or Blackpool’s iconic Tower demonstrate an ability to adapt to changing fortune and fashion.

Yet, perched on the edge of an eroding economic landscape, they have oftenstruggled to maintain their foothold. In decline, seaside towns have fallen prey to the whim of speculative, short-term development that compromisestheir original grandeur and continues a downward spiral.

Older resorts have suffered a lack of investment and political will,with a steadily decaying and inadequate infrastructure,whilst new arrivals arevulnerable to poor quality development.We see too many examples where design quality is sacrificed in a desperate bid to secure investment,reducing the chance of long term success.

The sight of a pleasing promenade often obscures the real town; schools,shops, housing and healthcare are needed here like anywhere else.However,there is a rising tide of excellence and, in this unashamedly positive publication,CABE and English Heritage demonstrate the contemporary strengths of English seaside towns.

Examples are used of towns that have regenerated themselves as year-roundplaces, balancing the needs of visitors and residents.The case studies revealcreative responses to modern demands: innovative offices; unique public space;essential public services; engaging visitor attractions.These kinds of projects help to ensure that our coastline remains a viable place to live,work and play for future generations.

A broad sweep from small contemporary to large historic projects is included.No single project could claim solely to have delivered regeneration,but each has contributed enormously, raising the game in places where design-led excellence had been unknown for perhaps a century.The publicationdemonstrates how,by going the extra mile and implementing design quality in response to present day requirements, seaside towns can continue to adapt to constantly shifting sands.

Sir Neil CossonsSir Stuart Lipton

Sir Stuart LiptonChairman, CABE

Sir Neil CossonsChairman, English Heritage

INTRODUCTION 4

SUMMARY OF KEY LESSONS 6

CRYSTAL PALACE BY THE SEA 10The sound of the sea: De La Warr bandstand

A NEW LOOK AT BOURNEMOUTH 12Bournemouth Square

FAR OVER THE SUMMER SEA 14Brighton:Van Alen Building

SEASIDE RESTORED 16Eastbourne, East Sussex: Seaside RoadHeritage Economic Regeneration Schemes

THE FOLKESTONE VIEW 18Folkestone, Kent: Saga’s HeadquartersA place by the sea: Chummy’s Seafood Stall

SEEDS FOR CHANGE 20Hunstanton, Norfolk: Boston Square Sensory ParkClacton Marine Gardens

TAMING CLACTON’S WILD WEST 22Jaywick Sands, Essex: Lotus Way

TURNING THE TIDE 24Morecambe, Lancashire:The Tern ProjectArt on the seafront

SURF’S UP! 26Newquay, Cornwall: Beach Hut Café and Extreme Academy

CULTURED PEARLS 28St Ives, Cornwall:Tate St IvesA cultural renaissance

THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL 30St Mawes, Cornwall: Hotel Tresanton

THE END OF THE PIER SHOW 32Southport, Merseyside: Southport Pier PavilionWalking on water

WHERE CLEAN WATERS FLOW 34Ventnor and Eastbourne:Wastewater treatment worksA farm by the sea?

WINDOWS ONTO WHITBY 36Whitby Abbey Heritage Centre

ON A WIDER CANVAS 38Drivers for Regeneration

FURTHER READING 40

CREDITS 40

CONTENTS

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CASE STUDIES

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INTRODUCTION

For much of the twentieth centurypiers and sandcastles, sticks of rock,windbreaks and donkey rides werethe images of summers when,according to memory, the sun alwaysshone. The commonly held view isthat, by the end of the century,manyseaside towns were in decline,suffering from a low-wage economy,high claimant unemployment andpoor private housing,often withextensive multiple occupation.Thishad a consequent effect upon thestate of the built environment and thepublic spaces that, in the past, havegiven these towns their particularcharm.The English Tourism Council’s2001 report ‘Sea Changes’ recordedthat ‘a number of resorts are nowfacing a range of social problems,such as high levels of unemployment,low income levels, poor levels ofeducation skills and training andhousing problems more associatedwith those in inner city areas’,whilerecent research undertaken bySheffield Hallam University indicatesthat, over the past 30 years, seasidetowns have been expanding faster than many of their inland equivalents.

Over the past ten years, a regularcycle of conferences and seminars has sought to address the state ofseaside economies.The residents

of seaside towns have become usedto Iiving with the promise of jamtomorrow.No one would pretendthat there are any quick and easysolutions.While some may still dreamof a return to halcyon days,most ofthose with responsibility for the futureof seaside towns recognise the urgentneed for change. For some this meansthe initiation of a process ofmasterplanning; for others areassessment of strengths and assets,and using these to meet the demandsand the opportunities of 21st centurylifestyles. Some talk of ‘de-resorting’to create a different kind of place inwhich people want to live and wherethere are jobs all year round.Othershave taken small steps in the hopethat this will begin a longer march to restoring pride in the past andconfidence in the future.

‘Sea Changes’ showed that, in thelast 25 years, total domestic tourismin England has hovered around 100million trips each year; this figuredoes not represent an overall growthbut neither shows a significantfall. English seaside tourism,on theother hand,has fallen significantly from32 million to 22 million trips.Thereport identified a number of factorsthat were key to the success or failureof the seaside town, including the built and natural environment,infrastructure and public facilitiesalongside core elements such asaccommodation and entertainment.‘It only requires one element of theproduct to be below standard toreduce the overall appeal of a resort.’

The report goes on to to considerthat ‘research and admission figuresshow that England’s architectural andhistoric heritage is a major factormaking England an attractivedestination…seaside resorts havemade an enormous contribution tothe cultural identity of England andcontain some of the finest examplesof our built heritage.’

This publication looks at a number of very different ways in which seasideresorts are developing, changing or

SOUTHPORT

FOLKESTONE

towns and cities.The seaside holiday grew in fashion.

By the beginning of the 20th centurymany of the country’s traditionalseaside resorts were already wellestablished.With the added impetusof the 1871 Bank Holiday Act, regularholiday trips – be they for a day or aweek – began to be part of theexpectation of all classes of society.The train and the charabanc broughtthousands of visitors to resorts thatwere anxious to offer the very latest in novelty, fashion and fun. In order toencourage visitors to return on aregular basis, regeneration became anintegral part of the seaside town’spersona. Seaside architecture, designand engineering, never afraid of beingbold, quirky and idiosyncratic,continued to dazzle right up to thebeginning of the Second World War.New hotels, car parks for theincreasing number of motor vehicles,lidos to catch the new fashion for sun-worship, entertainment by day and by night, all became part of themarketing of the summer holiday.By the 1930s more than 15 millionpeople were taking a week’s holiday at the seaside.The future of theseaside town seemed assured.

There were clouds on the horizon,however small. Even as early as the1830s the French coast had begun toattract wealthier holidaymakers from

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re-inventing themselves and at therole that new high quality buildingsand open spaces that make the mostof their seaside context can have in these changes.The examples itdescribes are only a few of manyimaginative initiatives to be foundaround England’s seaboard.Theyinclude the restoration of historicbuildings; inventive improvements to sea defences and seafront publicgardens; the creation of new homes,galleries and museums,hotels andrestaurants by the sea; evenwastewater outlets with flair.Whilethey may not all be at the cutting edge of contemporary architecture or design, they share a desire tocreate a new coastal destination thatis attractive to investors and businessand has an extended season beyondthe peak summer months - places that cater for a range of contemporary visitors.

The English love affair with the seaside has been a long one. For over 300 years the seaside played a central part in English summerholidays. In the 18th century thesearch for health had encouraged thedevelopment of the seaside resortwith its bracing water and invigoratingair.Throughout the 19th century,swifter transport, first by water, thenby rail and later by car,made seasidetowns more accessible from inland

across the channel, able to afford boththe time and the money to holiday on the continent. From the 1860s,the enterprising Thomas Cook took groups of tourists to Europe,combining transport andaccommodation arrangements in a single package.A century later,the mass package holiday offered to millions more the opportunity oftheir first experience of foreign travel,first to European sunshine and later to places that had once seemedunimaginably far away.

In 1968,holidays in seaside resorts still accounted for 75% of all mainholidays taken by Britons.By 1999however, seaside holidays accountedfor only 44% of all holiday trips with42.8 million people taking holidaysabroad and just over half that number,some 22 million, spending at least onenight at the British seaside.This steadylong-term decline inevitably has had a serious impact upon the seasideeconomies.Always victim to theproblems of seasonal employment,many resorts now lack the full benefitof the summer influx of visitors tounderpin their traditional economiccycle. Even resorts that might seem to be bucking the trend, includingBlackpool, Brighton andBournemouth, are listed in the top one third of the Office of theDeputy Prime Minister’s Indices of Deprivation.

In regeneration it is rarely possible to begin where you would like to.Sometimes it is best to start with theeasy actions. Sometimes it is a singleinitiative that sets renewal in motion;on other occasions it is the giant stepforward.This book includes examplesof both – from a seafood stall tomasterplanning on a grand scale,from single buildings to streetscapesto whole new communities.Whatthey share is an ambition to revitalisetowns – and a city – by the sea, torecreate the spirit of confidence andambition that in their heyday madeseaside resorts so successful.

BRIGHTON

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SUMMARY OF KEY LESSONS

PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUCCESSNone of the examples in this bookhas single-handedly reversed declineand all their protagonists wouldrecognise that successful regenerationdepends on a package of measuresincluding the transport infrastructure,the mix of visitor attractions, thedevelopment of a night-timeeconomy, coupled with a safe night-time environment, clean beaches andclean water, new businesses, real jobsand affordable local housing.Thisoften requires a public/privatepartnership in which local, andincreasingly regional, agencies planand work with the private sector toencourage growth and development,sometimes on an ambitious scale butoften on a single project that canprovide an incentive to otherdevelopments.

In Cornwall, increasingly England’stourism hotspot, it is this combinationof actions, investment andpartnerships that has helped toproduce what the Governor of theBank of England recently described as ‘an economic renaissance’.A keydriver in this success has been theEden Project where the visitornumbers have almost trebled theexpectations of the business plan and where 600 new jobs have beencreated. Eden has brought anestimated £160 million into the local

economy but while its achievementshave undoubtedly helped others, thevariety of the Cornish ‘tourism offer’has in turn helped Eden.Nor isCornish success rooted solely intourism – new academic initiativesincluding the Peninsula Medical School and business ventures likeTripos Receptor, the chemicalresearch company based in Bude,have helped to create new jobs andnew investment. Local authorities and the regional development agency have encouraged andsupported sustainable growth andplaced a collective emphasis on design quality.

PLACES TO LIVE AND WORKThe aim must be to produce effectiveregeneration for living communities.Places where people want to live andwork are likely to be places thatpeople want to visit. Rising houseprices can often squeeze out theindigenous population, especially theyoung, the very people upon whomthe regenerated town will depend forits sustainable future.The evidence is already clear in places like St Ives,Whitstable and Whitby. Propertyprices in Margate and Ramsgate havedoubled in two years with thepromise of high-speed rail links toLondon and of Snøhetta and Spence’s contemporary art gallery to commemorate JMW Turner’sconnections with Margate.Meanwhile, the newly openedNational Maritime Museum and theimminent Combined Universities inCornwall are set to do the same forFalmouth prices. Shops geared for themore lucrative tourist market cancrowd out local traders; prices in newrestaurants and coffee shops can bebeyond the reach of year-roundresidents.The answer lies not inpreventing progress but in ensuringthat, coupled with the development of an appropriately skilled workforce,it creates better paid, sustainable jobsand encourages the building ofaffordable homes and the

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BLACKPOOL

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perpetuation of towns and villagesthat people not only want to visit but where the residents also want,and can afford, to stay.

MEASURING SUCCESSThere are no agreed measures forgauging the success of regeneration at the seaside.Clearly in many sensesurban regeneration by the coastshares many of the ambitions andobjectives for the renewal of townsinland but the traditional mix betweenresident and visitor and the stronglyseasonal nature of seaside tourismhas, to date at least, given the seaside economy a curiously lop-sided character.

Undoubtedly much depends uponthe objectives of the regeneratingresort. For some, the key aims willremain centred round the traditionaltourism economy – the number andnature of visitors; the length of theirstay and the volume of their spend;bed nights and available beds; hotelquality, business turnover and visitorsatisfaction.

For those resorts seeking to stretchthe season beyond the traditionalsummer months,measures of theaverage length of the season forhotels and visitor attractions and the

volume of self-catering and hotelaccommodation available all year are useful signs of success.

There is now a widespreadacknowledgement that the future of seaside towns depends upon a sustainable 12-month economy,providing better-paid employment.In some places this will depend on thecreation of a virtuous circle in whichan attractive year-round communitydraws in new business and providesnew jobs that in turn sustain anattractive year-round community.Here the measures will includebusiness start-ups, employmentfigures and the provision of affordable housing.

For some resorts new housing isthe priority; for others it is bringing lifeback into run-down areas.The historyof many resorts means that theyoften possess town-centre buildingsof considerable heritage value but in poor condition or no longer suitedto their original use.The number ofthese buildings improved or broughtinto contemporary use can be helpful measures of the success of regeneration.

In some localities, seaside townshave been the victims of their ownsuccess and rising house prices have

FOLKESTONE

WHITBY

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made it difficult for local residents toenter the housing market.At theextreme end of this phenomenon,small seaside towns have become‘second home cities’.Here the keymeasures will be average houseprices, the availability of affordablehousing and the frequency andnumber of housing starts.

Many seaside resorts face the socialproblems of any community in decline– low self-esteem,high crime rates,vandalism, and high levels of churnboth in jobs and in school attendance.Measures in relation to theseelements of community health will behelpful in monitoring the achievementof a regeneration programme.

THE SEASIDE ENVIRONMENTAlthough they have much in commonwith towns everywhere, seasidetowns exist in a harsh environmentand special consideration needs to begiven to the effects of wind and waves,flooding and erosion, salt, sunshine,humidity and sand. It is also a sensitiveenvironment;many seaside towns areclose to sites that provide protectionfor birds, fragile physical features andcoastal marine life.

English Nature has published aposition statement on the physicalmanagement of England’s shoreline,particularly in relation to coastaldefences and shoreline management

planning.Other government and non-government agencies including theEnvironment Agency, the RSPB andthe Countryside Commission alsotake an active interest in the coastal environment.

A report for the StandingConference on Problems Associatedwith the Coastline (SCOPAC),‘Preparing for the Impact of ClimateChange’, found that climate changecould result in rising sea levels,changes in wave directions andincreased rainfall, all factors thatwould have serious consequences for the seaside environment.

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC REALMMeanwhile, people can be thegreatest threat to fragile coastalhabitats: a 2002 survey by the MarineConservation Society found that,since 1994, litter on 229 UK beacheshad increased by 50% whilevandalism,damage caused byskateboarders tempted by the openspaces of the seafront, even theexcesses of hen and stag parties canimpact upon the urban landscape.To counter the damage to thephysical fabric and atmosphere,resorts have looked to raise thequality of open spaces.

A DELICATE BALANCEOne of the charms of English seasideresorts has been the broad base oftheir appeal.A trip to the seasideremains as much about winkles andjellied eels, a stick of rock even a kiss-me-quick hat as it does about lobsterthermidor, a caffe latte or fashionableboutiques.This is, however, no excusefor the garish shoddiness with whichlow-quality private investment hasscarred so many seafronts. For thoseresorts that wish to maintain theirseaside holiday persona the trick is in getting the balance right and in raising the quality withoutlosing the capricious charm that has long characterised the English seaside.

BRIGHTON

SOUTHPORT

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STRETCHING AMBITIONWhile this survey found a range ofnew ideas and new initiatives,manywere modest in scale.There is roomfor more, for bigger, for better and forthe inventive use of the large historicbuildings that are to be found in manyseaside resorts.There is a paucity ofhigh quality new retail in seasideresorts, little indeed to match thecharm and character of Brighton’sLanes or the elegance of Southport’sLord Street.There are few attemptsto exploit the health-giving qualities of the sea and the seaside in the waythat the French and others havedeveloped thalassotherapy centres.

Furthermore a number of seasidetowns appear to lack the confidenceto use their heritage as part of theirregeneration strategy.While theyappreciate the contribution made bythe historic environment, they canfrequently falter when it comes tolooking after it if there is the slightesthint of conflict with a more pressingsocial and economic agenda, even ifthe care and conservation of thehistoric environment might contributeto this outcome.

It is evident, too, that there is roomfor the better promotion andcelebration of the special nature of seaside towns.This includes theirgeography and heritage as well as the efforts that have beenmade to maintain their attraction for visitors. It is surprising how rarelysuccessful new investment is lauded even in resorts’ ownpromotional brochures.

GOOD QUALITY,GOOD VALUEThe economic benefits of design,set out in CABE’s Value of UrbanDesign, apply to all towns and cities wherever they are situated and are worth repeating here.Good urban design:

• adds economic, social andenvironmental value and does not necessarily cost more or take longer to deliver

• delivers high investment returns for developers and investors bymeeting a clear occupier demand that also helps to attract investors

• enhances workforce performanceand satisfaction and increasesoccupier prestige

• delivers economic benefits by opening up new investmentopportunities and delivering moresuccessful regeneration

• helps to deliver places accessible to and enjoyed by all

• benefits all stakeholders - investors,developers, designers,occupiers,public authorities and everyday users of developments.

RESTORING CONFIDENCEImaginative architectural conservationand design are only a part of theportfolio of initiatives needed forsuccessful regeneration but they lie atthe heart of rebuilding the confidenceof the seaside town, the sameconfidence that created Blackpool’sTower with its permanent circus arenaand stunning ballroom, that magicallystretched piers out over the sea, thatdesigned Brighton’s unique Royal

JAYWICK

BRIGHTON

Pavilion,Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilionor the Jubilee Lido by the sea inPenzance, and that constructedpalatial hotels like the Grand inScarborough and Brighton or themore modest but landmark Midlandon the seafront at Morecambe.

Already there are encouraging signsaround the English coastline that weare at the beginning of a new era of imagination.

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CRYSTAL PALACE BY THE SEAA SENSITIVE 21ST CENTURY MAKEOVER FOR A MODERNIST ICON

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THE SITE On the edge of the sea, in the quiettown of Bexhill-on-Sea, is one of asmall number of iconic 20th centurybuildings. In 1934, the 9th Earl of De La Warr, landowner and socialistmayor of Bexhill, commissioned theGerman/Russian partnership, ErichMendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff,to create a Modernist pavilion thatwould contain an entertainments hall,reading room, restaurant, conferencehall, lounge bar, sun parlour andsundecks.The light airy building,which managed to capture the feeling of a transatlantic liner and the spirit of an era of sun worship,has been described as ‘one of the few truly world-class buildings inBritain’.One of the first major welded steel-framed buildings inEngland, the De La Warr Pavilion is Grade I listed.

THE BRIEFThe passing years and the seasideenvironment had not dealt kindly tothe De La Warr and the 1991 brief forthe architect was to restore the fabricof this important building whileproviding the facilities demanded by the public at the beginning of a new century.

THE ARCHITECT’S APPROACHJohn McAslan & Partners won a 1991competition to refurbish the Pavilionand has stayed loyal to the projectever since.This has given the practicethe unique advantage ofunderstanding the building in minutedetail, even down to a study ofindividual door hinges.Therefurbishment has been undertaken in three stages – repairing part of theexternal fabric, suffering from decadesof exposure to wind and salt; thecreation of a new art gallery and therefurbishment of the 1000-seatauditorium.Work has now begun on a fourth, and ostensibly the mostdramatic, phase.This will involve thecompletion of the restoration of theexternal fabric, a re-modelledentrance hall, additional gallery space,a new bar, café and restaurant and two architectural additions to thePavilion itself, including a studio dedicated to arts education and life-long learning.

The challenge has been to providenew facilities, increase access and meet the demands of health andsafety legislation without competingwith the language of theMendelsohn/Chermayeff original.This has required a methodicalapproach to conservation,detailedresearch into Mendelsohn’s intentions,contemporary solutions and, in thecase of the new additions, carefulconcealment to protect the Pavilion’sgraceful lines.

PROJECTBexhill, East Sussex:De La Warr Pavilion

CLIENTRother District Council /De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust

CONTRACT VALUE£6 million

ARCHITECTJohn McAslan & Partners

View of the De La Warr Pavilionfrom the recentlycompleted bandstand

Sea-facing façade of the Pavilion

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HELPING REGENERATION During the 1920s,while other seasideresorts, including neighbouringEastbourne and Hastings,were actively aiming to attract tourists as a result of programmes of capitalinvestment,Bexhill Council hesitated,anxious not to disturb the genteelcharacter of the town.Early in 1933Earl De La Warr, aware of theimportance of tourism to Bexhill’sfuture economy,began to advocatethe idea of a new entertainmentcentre for Bexhill.

The De La Warr Pavilion was thusfrom the start an ambitious model,and perhaps also a lesson, for seasidetown regeneration. It is in this spiritthat the Pavilion’s new trusteemanagement board is approaching thefinal stages of the refurbishment. Itsaim is to ensure that the Pavilion will‘serve as a catalyst towards the widerambitions for Bexhill, as the

town becomes an important centre for cultural tourism and a focus forsustainable economic tourism’.The Pavilion’s management arguesthat the refurbishment programmewill safeguard 30 jobs and create 10 new ones, as well as helping tocontribute an estimated £3 million to the Bexhill economy.The broaderhope is that restoring the Pavilion,to create a venue for the 21st

century,will help to trigger otherdevelopments both in the immediatevicinity and the wider area.

The De La Warr Pavilion initiative is one of a small number ofdevelopments to be given priority by the Hastings & Bexhill Task Force,a programme supported by the South East England DevelopmentAgency and the local authorities.

THE SOUND OF THE SEAOn the terrace below the BexhillPavilion is a more modest but no less imaginative creation.Reflecting the design philosophy of his practice,Niall McLaughlin’s deceptively fragilenew bandstand was developedthrough an enterprising process ofcollaboration that included workingwith children from six local primaryschools.The result is a verycontemporary take on a seasidetradition (Saltburn-by-the-Sea hasrecently recreated its bandstand butin a more familiar style).

For a number of reasons,the creation of the De La Warrbandstand was a prolongedprocess but this not only helped to ensure a greater understanding of the exposed site but also,according to McLaughlin, allowedtime for ‘a search for deeperconnections between the bandstand and the Pavilion’.

The mobile bandstand,which is constructed from pre-fabricated stressed ply and fibreglass,won a RIBA Regional Award in 2002.

The iconic Pavilion staircase

The new art gallery

Niall McLoughlin’sbandstand at Bexhill

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A NEW LOOK AT BOURNEMOUTHA NEW FOCUS TO THE CENTRE OF BOURNEMOUTHHAS ENCOURAGED SHOPPERS AND SHOPS

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THE SITEBournemouth’s busy town centre isdivided by the gardens that flank thenarrow river Bourne as it nears thesea. For many years the nodal pointthat joined the two halves of thetown’s shopping area was a busytraffic junction. During the summer,peak pedestrian flows across thesquare were about 4-5,000 peopleper hour.

THE BRIEFThrough this project BournemouthBorough Council aimed to create atraffic-free hub in the centre of townthat would allow easy movement ofpedestrians from one side of town tothe other, act as a central meetingpoint and create a new civic space.

THE SOLUTIONThe design solution was to constructa safe and comfortable environmentfor people and, at the same time,provide easy access to publictransport.A new relief road tooktraffic away from the square while theuse of adjacent roads was restrictedto buses and taxis. Pedestriansubways were removed and newlandscaping, aided by the square’sparkland setting, helped protect thesquare from the sight and sound ofthe surrounding roads.The newsquare has become a focal point at

the heart of the town, a placethrough which it is easy to move butwhich at the same time encouragesvisitors and shoppers to stop andrelax.Throughout the year the square acts as a forum for a variety of public events.

The new square, which measures13,500m2, contains a large mosaic byMaggy Howarth, featuring Neptuneand mermaids, in pebbles, slate andlimestone; a Millennium Flame and,on the north side, a café/cameraobscura, designed by TrinityArchitects.This two-storey circularbuilding contains a ground floor caféwith a south-facing outdoor seatingarea for 200. On the first floor,accessible by lift, the town andgardens are reflected onto a

viewing table by a camera obscura,housed within the rotating clock atthe top of the pagoda-shaped roof.

The overall design ofBournemouth Square was theresponsibility of Gillespie’s who were selected as a result of a designcompetition, following a successfulCapital Challenge funding bid in 1997.The square, which opened inFebruary 2000, won an RTPI Awardfor Planning Achievement in that yearand was commended by the CivicTrust in 2001.

PROJECTBournemouth Square

CLIENTBournemouth Borough Council

CONTRACT VALUE£1.9 million

ARCHITECT/DESIGNLandscaping: GillespiesCafé/camera obscura:Trinity Architecture

A bird’s eye view of the square from theobservation balloon

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AN IMPETUS TO REGENERATIONWhile the driving force for the newsquare was Bournemouth TownCouncil, the project has beenenthusiastically supported by thecommercial sector. Debenhams hasmade a major investment in itsadjacent Bournemouth store whilethe square has encouraged newarrivals such as Borders bookshop.The success of the square hasencouraged the Council to look atother parts of the town that havepotential as gateways or sites forregeneration.These include theTriangle on the northeast edge of thecentral shopping area where thereare now plans to create a new civicspace.This is already the site of thenew Bournemouth Library, designedby BDP, financed under the PrivateFinance Initiative and opened in thesummer of 2002.

These developments form part of a wider re-assessment ofBournemouth’s assets and potential.This has included a review of anumber of seafront buildings – theInternational Conference Centre,built in the early 1980s and now inneed of upgrading; the Grade II-listed,

1500-seat Pavilion Theatre, theWinter Gardens and BournemouthPier.As a result there is now a PFIproposal for the Pavilion and theconference centre and the operationof the Pier has been put out totender. More controversially, theWinter Gardens site will bedeveloped for housing.Away fromthe centre, there are plans to createan artificial reef for surfing at nearbyBoscombe, once a popular familyresort with a sandy beach and itsown pier. Meanwhile Bournemouth’simage has changed dramatically withthe large influx of students to theuniversity, art college and languageschools in Bournemouth and nearbyPoole.An estimated 83,000 studentsattend courses there each year. It isnot surprising that for many youngpeople,‘Bourno’ is now a majorcentre for clubbing.

In its own bid to attract students,the Arts Institute at Bournemouthmakes reference to ‘the fashionablenew-look square, [which] with itsmosaics and stylish camera obscuracentrepiece, gives an atmosphere ofcontinental chic, a perfect spot forpeople watching’. The camera obscura

and pavement café

The mosaic by Maggy Howarth

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FAR OVER THE SUMMER SEAA CONTEMPORARY DESIGN SOLUTIONTO FILLING A GAP IN AN HISTORIC SEAFRONT

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THE SITEThe developer Berkeley Homespurchased what was in essence abrown field site on Brighton’s MarineParade in 1998. Formerly occupied bya petrol station, the site had for a longtime been a gap in one of Brighton’sfinest seafront facades that includes a number of Regency houses byCharles Busby. Its high position on thecliff above Madeira Drive not onlyprovides panoramic views across theEnglish Channel but also made itnecessary to find an architecturalsolution that would match the building line when viewed from the beachfront.

THE BRIEFBerkeley Homes’brief was to createthe maximum number of two or three bedroom apartments,whilstensuring that all were as wide aspossible and all would have sea views.The apartments should havedirect access to and from anunderground car park.To the rear ofthe seafront building, two affordablehomes should be added to an existingblock of mews houses and four newhouses constructed.

THE SOLUTIONThe architect’s aim was to achieve an overtly modern building thatremained in keeping with thecharacter and historic shapes of itsneighbours without attempting any kind of pastiche.Key to thearchitectural solution was to find away to follow the shape of the site,to retain the building line between the premises on either side of the siteand, at the same time,provide therequired sea views from apartmentsat all levels.This was achieved bycreating three matching steppedblocks, together with a smaller block containing the entrance to the

building from Marine Parade and asmall concierge flat.The right angles ofthe blocks are softened on the southside by jutting curves of glass andwhite render which,when coupledwith the use of stainless steel and theglass-fronted balconies, have strongechoes of 1930s Modernism.

By designing the apartments to runnorth south, all 37 units on six floorshave sea views.All above ground levelhave balconies while the five three-bedroom duplexes on the top floor

PROJECTBrighton:Van Alen Building

CLIENTBerkeley Homes

CONTRACT VALUENot available

ARCHITECTPRC Fewster

The apartment set inits seafront context

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have access to roof terraces. In mostapartments the open plan living areasare on the seaward side while thebedrooms are to the rear, avoiding thenoise of the road.There is a lift to allfloors in each block.

Proposing a modern solution in anhistoric seafront location requiredconsiderable discussion with both thelocal authority and English Heritage.Plans for the building were consideredby the Royal Fine Art Commission.

The Van Alen Building, named afterWilliam van Alen, the architect ofNew York’s Chrysler Building,wascompleted in 2001.

BRIGHTON’S REGENERATIONThe Van Alen apartments were allsold within three hours of comingonto the market and in 2002 CityLofts sold off-plan 61 flats in theformer Brighton Argus printing worksin the lively North Laine conservationarea.The speed of both these salesreflects Brighton’s rising popularity as a place to live.Brighton and Hoveofficially became a city in January2000.This accolade markedrecognition of a process ofregeneration,which had set out torestore the resort’s fading charms.Led by the local authority, inpartnership with the private sector,the programme focused on a numberof development zones.These includedthe regeneration of the seafront andthe creation of a cultural quarter, therefurbishment of the Museum and theDome, and a new location for theCentral Library designed by BennettsAssociates. Frequent attempts torevive Bartholomew Square on theedge of the Lanes have beenrewarded by De Rijke MarshMorgan’s low but atmospheric MoshiMoshi Sushi restaurant, the first MoshiMoshi to be opened outside London.Under the Ocean Boulevard scheme,simple but effective streetscapeimprovements to the road that runsfrom the station down to the seareduced vacancy rates from 55% in1997 to 10% in 2001.Below the

seafront promenade, the restoredboardwalk and arches contain afishing museum,a smokehouse and a fish shop,while a pleasure boat runs from the beach in the summer.At the other end of the scale, thereare major plans in hand for theredevelopment of the Marina on theeast of the city, the site of the KingAlfred leisure centre in the west andthe 15-acre former Brighton stationgoods yard to be known as the NewEngland Quarter.

Meanwhile another landmarkseaside building languishes on theseafront,Wells Coates’ art decoEmbassy Court.This Grade II*building, an exemplar of functionalform,has been at the centre of a seriesof rescue attempts, as has EugeniusBirch’s 1866 West Pier.Both buildingswere included in English Heritage’sRegister of Buildings at Risk 2002.

Brighton’s Moshi Moshi restaurant

Detail of the apartmentblock showing glass-fronted balconies

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SEASIDE RESTOREDPARTNERSHIP AND RESTORATION HELP TO REGENERATE A STREET IN DECLINE

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THE SITESeaside Road runs almost parallel toEastbourne’s seafront Grand Parade.With its attractive mixture ofVictorian Italianate villas and terracesand Edwardian Dutch-gabled brickterraces, Seaside Road had providedan important focus for shopping andentertainment during the first half ofthe 20th century.The departmentstore at the junction of Seaside Roadand Terminus Road was occupied byone of a number of national retailersto trade there and Seaside Roadboasted a theatre, the 1883 RoyalHippodrome, still operating today, andtwo cinemas, the 1906 Tivoli and the1914 Manhattan.The opening of theArndale Centre in 1980 marked thebeginning of a slow decline for theroad, culminating in the closure of thedepartment store in 1998. Fallingincome made it difficult for owners toinvest in the upkeep of their premises.The residential accommodation,oftenEdwardian examples of live/workspace above retail premises,was inpoor condition.The 1991 censusshowed that 10% of residents lived inaccommodation that lacked basicamenities.An increasing number ofvacant premises and boarded-upbuildings hastened the deteriorationof the once attractive streetscape.By1999,23% of properties were vacant.

In July 2000,Eastbourne BoroughCouncil launched its Seaside RoadRegeneration Strategy.

THE BRIEFThe aim of the Strategy was ‘toaddress the physical, social andeconomic problems of Seaside Road and set targets and timescalesfor the regeneration of the area’.

THE SOLUTIONSSeaside Road had been made aConservation Area in 1990 andfunding had already been found for restoration work focused onindividual buildings. In 1993,EnglishHeritage and the Council set up ashop-front restoration programmeand in 1997 this was encompassedwithin a Conservation AreaPartnership Scheme (funded by theHeritage Lottery Fund) that enabled a £500,000 three-year programme of further restoration.

The creation of the RegenerationStrategy gave a new focus to theBorough Council’s plans and enabledthe development of fundingprogrammes and the private sectorpartnerships that would be necessary

PROJECTEastbourne, East Sussex:Seaside Road,

CLIENTEastbourne Borough Council and private owners

CONTRACT VALUE£21 million

The department storeat the junction ofSeaside Road andTerminus Road

The former Manhattan cinema

Edwardian Dutch-gabled brick terracesabove Seaside Road’sretail premises

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to achieve the strategy’s aims.TheCouncil formed an officer workinggroup that brought together leadofficers from environmental health,regeneration, housing, highways andplanning enforcement who continueto meet monthly to coordinatedevelopment and fundingprogrammes. In 2001 the SeasideRoad programme was awarded agrant under English Heritage’sHeritage Economic RegenerationScheme (HERS) which over threeyears is contributing half the cost of a further £370,000 regenerationprogramme.

Multiple ownership - there areover 100 owners of property inSeaside Road - has on occasion madeprogress slow but,while the Boroughhas made it clear that it is prepared to use its powers of enforcementincluding compulsory purchase toachieve its aims, it has sought todevelop a series of partnerships withthe private sector.The Council’s abilityto offer funding incentives, includingEmpty Property Grants, has clearlyhelped this process.

Already there is evidence ofsuccess. Behind the restored frontageof the Manhattan Cinema are elevenhousing association flats; Edwardianshop fronts have been recreated;in 2001 Southern Horizon Housingopened Haughton House, a newdevelopment of 18 flats and threeshop units while, across the road,a former furniture store has been

redeveloped into 15 flats by the Northern British HousingAssociation. From the autumn of2000 to the end of 2002,house pricesin and around Seaside Road haverisen on average by almost 57%,compared to a 42.5% increase in theHalifax House Price Index over thesame period.

Together with East Sussex CountyCouncil and English Heritage, theCouncil is now developing a majorstreet improvement and trafficmanagement scheme including one-way traffic flow,pavement widening,improved lighting and street furniture.

HELPING REGENERATIONThe Seaside Road strategy is one of a number of public and private sectorinitiatives for the regeneration ofEastbourne.Other projects includethe development of the SovereignHarbour marina with its watersidecafés, bars, restaurants, shops and3,000 new houses, 1500 of which are already built; the £10 millionrestoration of the Grand Hotel; plansfor the creation of a new £8.5 millionart gallery in a cultural quarter thatalready incorporates the CongressTheatre and the Winter Gardens,both Grade II listed. In January 2002the Council reviewed its 2001seafront strategy designed to make Eastbourne’s seafront ‘moreattractive to families as well asproviding many other attractions for visitors and residents’.

Many Seaside Roadshop fronts have beenre-furbished orrecreated

HERITAGE ECONOMICREGENERATION SCHEMESHERS were launched by EnglishHeritage in 1999.Delegated to localauthorities and match-funded by avariety of partners,HERS offergrants towards the cost of repairingbuildings, reinstating architecturaldetails and features and enhancingthe public realm.HERS schemeshave focused on commercial andmixed-use conservation areas,whichare important to the local economyand where employment-generatingactivities such as neighbourhoodbusinesses and corner shops providea focus for community life andprosperity. In seaside towns thisextends to the repair of hotels suchas the Royal Victoria Hotel in St.Leonards on Sea and terraces ofguesthouses in Lowestoft.Othermaritime buildings repaired in thisway include the new Norfolk NelsonMuseum in Great Yarmouth and theHalfpenny Pier and kiosk in Harwich.HERS provide an extremely flexibleand accessible regeneration fundingsource and generate funding from a variety of sources.A 2002 study of 21 HERS schemes shows that on average £10,000 of heritageinvestment levers £46,000 matchfunding from private and public sources.

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THE FOLKESTONE VIEWPUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERS COLLABORATE TO MAKEFOLKESTONE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK

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PROJECTAfter years of decline, a series of public and private initiatives has begun to revitalise the town’sfortunes; the projects range fromMichael Hopkins and Partners’Saga HQ to Bond Architects’Chummy’s Seafood Stall.

THE TOWNFolkestone was once a busy cross-channel port and a popularholiday resort.The decision to closethe car ferry in 2000 and the freightservice from 2001 ended, at leasttemporarily, Folkestone’s long historyas a ferry port and, no longermaintaining its popularity as a seaside resort, Folkestone found itself in steady decline.

SAGA’S HEADQUARTERSThe Saga group has been aFolkestone company since itsinception. Its £22 millionheadquarters built in 15 hectares ofparkland above the small village ofSandgate, just west of Folkestone,wascommissioned from Michael Hopkinsand Partners in 1996.The choice ofsite had been a controversial one andagreement to allow the constructionrequired considerable consultationwith the local community and theplanning authorities.

THE ARCHITECTS’ RESPONSEHopkins’ approach was to create two buildings – a glass-fronted officebuilding on six floors and a separatetented Pavilion.With stunning viewsacross the Channel to the Frenchcoast, the large office building

manages to take advantage of its sitewhilst avoiding overpowering thevillage below. It is framed by two glasstowers that provide access by foot to the upper floors, surmounted by revolving ventilation units thatachieve low-cost ventilation in thebusy open plan offices.The secondbuilding, to the west, is an airy hall witha vaulted roof of tensioned fabric.Serving as a reception point forvisitors, a home for the staff crèche,canteen, shop and training centre, thePavilion acts as the communal centreof the Saga campus, representing thepublic face of Saga and the company’scommitment to its community.Opened in 1998, the Pavilion hasbecome an important and popularvenue for local events and Sagaensures that there are no charges to the community groups using the facilities.

WORKING TOGETHERSaga employs some 750 people in itsnew headquarters, part of a totalcompany workforce in Folkestone of2,200.Attracting and retaining highquality staff are among the company’skey concerns.Central to maintainingimprovements to Saga’s job stabilityindex is making Folkestone anattractive place to live.This requiresnot only affordable housing and good schools but also a pleasantenvironment for shopping,entertainment and leisure.A numberof public/private partnerships havebeen developed to raise the quality of life in the town.Shepway DistrictCouncil, Kent County Council andprivate businesses have workedtogether to develop regenerationprogrammes.Among the mostimportant are proposals to establish a creative quarter based around theOld High Street and the sadlyneglected Tontine Street,whichsurround a vacant piece of landknown as Payers Park. Payers Parkwould be home to a new arts college,providing a focus and a driver for therevitalisation of the surrounding area.

Saga’s six-floor,glass-fronted officebuilding framed by two glass towers

The tented pavilion

A PLACE BY THE SEAChummy’s Seafood Stall is set inFolkestone’s waterfront area at thefoot of the town.Part of a widerscheme led by Kent County Counciland Shepway District Council toregenerate the area, this modestdesign shows that small can be bothbeautiful and effective.Tony Pye, theowner of two harbourside seafoodstalls, held a competition,won byNorfolk-based Bond Architects, tocreate a single contemporary stallthat would reflect the wider changesbeing led by the local authorities’regeneration team.The site stands on the south-western side of theharbour, looking on to the newlydesigned pedestrian area.The briefwas simple – to create a temporaryseafood stall for £45,000.

This modest project is an excellentexample of what can be achieved,even with a relatively small budget,with an insistence on good design.Funded by the Arts Council’s Arts 4 Everyone scheme, the architecturalcompetition, coupled with the localauthority’s wider £1.5 millionprogramme of harbour-sideregeneration, helped to ensure a high quality and imaginative solutionto the reinvention of an attractive butrun-down corner of Folkestone.

As a result of this initiative,other localbusinesses have been improving theirpremises (one has even clad hiscaravan in cedar).According to theCounty Council there has been anoticeable increase both in the publicuse of this new civic space and in localeconomic activity.The waterfrontimprovement scheme was completedin the summer of 2001.

Over the past few years a numberof seaside resorts have developed areputation for offering good seafoodin attractive surroundings. Furtheraround the East Kent coast fromFolkestone, the component parts ofthe Whitstable Oyster Fishery Co.–its beach-side fish restaurant, the EastQuay Shellfish Bar and the seafrontHotel Continental – have all helpedto attract a new clientele to thisattractive coastal village.Meanwhile in Padstow,Rick Stein and otherrestaurateurs have helped to re-brand this North Cornwall port,withits working harbour and plethora ofrestaurants, as the culinary centre ofthe southwest.Over nearly 30 years,Stein’s own businesses have grownfrom The Seafood Restaurant to twohotels, a café and a seafood cookeryschool. Padstow,with a population of about 3,000, now attracts about a million visitors a year.

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REGENERATIONAlready there are early signs ofsuccess.On the harbour is Chummy’sseafood stall. Strange Cargo, a carnivaland celebratory arts company, isestablished in its offices and gallery in the Old High Street.The SoundLounge, a music venue,has recentlyopened in Tontine Street.TheMetropole Arts Centre provides afocus for the visual arts and acts as amotor for the creative quarter, theplans for a new sculpture park on The Leas and the burgeoningFolkestone Literary Festival.Newconference facilities in Leas Cliff Hallwill provide for up to 1500 delegates.A new shopping centre is planned for Bouverie Place.The new

Folkestone Enterprise Centre inShearway Business Park has 66 officeunits and workshops,occupied bysmall and new businesses.On theedge of the proposed creativequarter, Kent County Council iscompleting a major renovation of the 1888 Folkestone Library andMuseum with the help of funding andsupport from the Single RegenerationBudget, the Arts Council’s LotteryFund, the New Opportunities Fund,and the District Council.This includesa new foyer designed by David Adjayeand an entrance screen by Chris Ofili,winner of the 1999 Turner Prize. Importantly there is also strong media support for Folkestone’s renaissance.

Chummy’s Seafood Stall:a modest project showing just what can be achieved on a small budget

FUTURE ISSUESAs always, successful regenerationdepends upon a series of factors.Not least in the case of Folkestone,and East Kent as a whole, is the need to improve the transportinfrastructure.While road access toLondon is good, travel around EastKent, vital for a workforce drawn from across the sub-region, is lesssatisfactory.Train links are poor –journeys to London, a distance ofabout 70 miles, are scheduled to takeabout 90 minutes and can be muchlonger.The prospect of the opening of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link to commuter traffic will provide amajor boost to Folkestone and theEast Kent towns.

THE ARCHITECTS’ RESPONSECentral to the architects’ approachwas consultation with potential users,including special needs groups, localauthority members and officers.An extensive analysis of the half-hectare site – its geology, history andlandscape context – formed the basisof discussions with local people.Thearchitects deliberately kept an openmind and allowed these meetings toshape and refine the plans.This helpeddevelop a sense of communityinvolvement and, subsequently, localownership of the new park.

SHAPING THE SITEThe scheme divided the park intothree main areas, reflecting thegeology and soils of Hunstanton.Atthe highest part of the site a ‘cliff top’area mirrors Hunstanton’s chalkmeadow grassland while the areanearest to the sea represents theshingle beach; in between a lawn inthe form of waves reflects the unique

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SEEDS FOR CHANGEA NEW GARDEN PROVIDES INSPIRATION FORREGENERATION IN A CONSERVATION AREA

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THE SITEAlthough forming a prominent part of the Hunstanton ConservationArea, the centre of Boston Squarehad fallen into a sad state of neglect,being used as a car park. Its conditionreflected the dilapidation of some ofthe large Victorian properties,whichform the three-sided square thatlooks west to The Wash.

THE BRIEFThe architects’ brief was to create astimulating garden environment, givingspecial emphasis to the needs of theelderly and people with disabilities.It was set within the Government’sCapital Challenge initiative and theCouncil’s Local Agenda 21 objectivesfor sustainability.The brief drewattention to the site’s natural slopetowards the sea, existing trees, andproximity to the seafront, public walksand residential area. Emphasis wasplaced on public consultation and the inclusion of works of art.

PROJECTHunstanton, Norfolk:Boston Square Sensory Park

CLIENTBorough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk

CONTRACT VALUE£0.3 million

ARCHITECTJeremy Stacey Architects

The works of artextend the tactilenature of the garden

Sculpted walls made of gabions of flint

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strata of chalk and carrstone of thelocal cliffs.The site has been sculptedby terraces, platforms and walls madeof gabions of flint.The design hasincorporated most of the existingtrees, including two Holm oaks thatframe the view from the paved ‘arrivalcourt’, allowing disabled visitors toalight safely from their vehicles. Pathsaround and across the park provideeasy access for visitors with impairedmobility or in wheelchairs, as well asfor parents with small children.

PLANTING FOR THE SEASIDETwo factors governed the choice ofplants for the park.Most importantly,the planting had to be suitable for theseaside site. Secondly, the plantingshould stimulate the senses – touch,sound, sight and smell.Wherepossible, plants native to the areawere used, especially in the shinglegarden.Elsewhere grasses, evergreenshrubs, low maintenance perennialsand bulbs give the garden year-round interest.

ART IN THE PARKIn partnership with the artistElizabeth-Jane Grose, the architectscommissioned a number of art worksthat have been incorporated into thegarden design.These include aninteractive water installation and a‘human sundial’where the viewer acts as the gnomon and, for visuallyimpaired visitors, electronic sensorscause bells to ring out the time.Garden furniture has been speciallycreated for the site,makingsubsequent additions of standardlocal authority waste bins seemsomewhat out of place.

HELPING REGENERATIONThe garden opened in 2000 andsubsequently won an award for itscontribution to conservation andimprovement in the countryside.Theaim was to give new life to the centreof a square that had been allowed todecline. Enthusiastically supported bythe district authority and the towncouncil, the park has proved popular

with local residents and visitors.Importantly the presence of the new park has begun to help toregenerate the square itself. Significantimprovements have been made tothe two sentry houses that borderthe square on the seaward side.

CLACTON MARINE GARDENSClacton’s seafront gardens date from1921.One of 34 gardens in coastaltowns included in English Heritage’sRegister of Parks and Gardens, theyare set on a cliff top site stretchingwest from the Venetian Bridge whichcrosses Pier Gap, a cutting leadingdown to Clacton’s 1871 pier.Recognising that Clacton’s tourismmarket was changing,TendringDistrict Council’s tourism andeconomic developmentdepartments reviewed a key stretchof seafront, visited by an estimated2.5 million people each year. It wasagreed to focus on improving MarineGardens that, by the late 1990s, hadbecome tired and overgrown.Theauthority successfully obtained a£416,000 grant from the HeritageLottery Fund towards a £554,000project which included repairs to the Venetian Bridge.

The new gardens, designed by theLandscape Partnership, retain manyof the original features, but thedesigners added a Mediterranean,and a Sensory Garden. Lightingimprovements made the area saferat night, and access for disabledpeople was improved to all parts of the garden.A designated cyclepath and play area were includedwith new interpretation panelsproviding information on planting.

Following the improvements,visitor numbers have increased andthere are signs of new developmentsalong the seafront road.

The materials used and the strong three-dimensionalforms reinforce thepark’s sensory quality

Boston Square, a three-sided space with viewsto The Wash

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TAMING CLACTON’S WILD WESTA HOUSING ASSOCIATION HELPS TO IMPROVEA VERY SPECIAL SEASIDE COMMUNITY

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THE SITEWest of Clacton,overlooking anattractive stretch of sandy beach,is a highly idiosyncratic seasidecommunity of large beach hutssqueezed onto a plotland estatecreated in 1929 by the developer Jack Stigman.A motor-racingenthusiast, Stigman based the layoutof the Brooklands Estate on thedesign of a Bentley radiator grille andnamed the roads after popular makesof car,Riley,Talbot and Morris.Thevery basic buildings that were erectedon the site were owned mainly byLondoners and occupied under strict

rules, including no overnight stays.Despite lacking even the mostrudimentary facilities, in the yearsafter the war, the Jaywick Sandscommunity became a morepermanent one.The devastatingfloods of 1953 cost 35 lives at thethen unprotected resort.Attempts by the local authority in the 1970s to purchase and then demolish theestate failed and, though basicservices were then provided, thequality of Jaywick Sands housingremained low. In 1997 the Guinness

Trust became involved in aregeneration programme involvingboth Tendring District Council and thelocal community in what was by thena Rural Priority Area, through whichJaywick Sands had already achieved a sea-front community centre, anEnterprise Centre and street lighting.

THE BRIEFThe brief was to design and build 40 new family homes including two- to three-bedroom houses and two-bedroom bungalows for the elderly and people with disabilities.

THE ARCHITECTS’ RESPONSEPollard Thomas & Edwards havecreated a group of red cedar-cladhouses using prefabricated walls,floors and roofs, reflecting the timber-clad nature of many of the originalestate properties.The homes facesouth towards the sea on a sitebehind the original Brooklands Estate,formerly occupied by a Butlins holidaycamp.Design has taken carefulaccount of the prevailing weatherconditions and the maritime locationand aims to create properties that

PROJECTJaywick Sands, Essex:Lotus Way

CLIENTGuinness Trust

CONTRACT VALUE£2.5 million

ARCHITECTPollard Thomas & Edwards

A group of 10 of the 40 new homes

Part of the existingJaywick Sandscommunity,overlooking the sea

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require low external maintenance.Use was made of passive solar gainand shading and the buildings arehighly insulated to reduce runningcosts.The new homes are builtaround a small square,planted withfruit trees.A wetland nature habitatwas created to deal with storm-waterand natural species found on the sitewere relocated.

HELPING REGENERATIONThe original idea was that the 40new homes, financed in part from asuccessful bid to the Capital Challengefund for housing,would be used to re-house the occupants of the 40 worstproperties on the estate.The vacatedpremises would be demolished andnew homes built or open spacescreated in the cramped estate. In theevent,many of these residents provedunwilling to leave their homes.Nevertheless all 40 properties arenow occupied by Jaywick Sandshouseholders.There are plans todevelop the second part of the site.

Although unemployment levels

remain high and vandalism on theolder parts of the estate continues to be a problem, improvements arebeing made to existing properties and house prices are now risingrapidly. Lotus Way, a newlyconstructed road that runs throughthe site of the new properties, hasalready made a considerabledifference to the whole estate andwas adopted early in 2003.Hithertothe maintenance of all roads in theBrooklands estate has been theresponsibility of Jaywick SandsFreeholders Association.

At a beachfront site on the edge of the estate, a private developer isnow building three new blocks ofapartments, a total of 18 flats withbalconies facing the sea.Thepromotional website quotes both the new road and the creation of 40 homes at the rear of the existing village.

Lotus Way has won an RIBA Housing Design Award and a Civic Trust Rural Housing Award.

The exterior of thenew houses reflectsthe appearance ofmany of the originalestate properties

Detail

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TURNING THE TIDEPUBLIC ART GIVES A NEW FOCUS TO MORECAMBE’S SEAFRONT

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THE SITELike many seaside resortsMorecambe’s popularity had declinedsince the 1970s when competitionand a lack of investment in an ageinginfrastructure and historical assetsbegan to take their toll. PossessingBritain’s largest continuous inter-tidalcoastline,Morecambe Bay, a Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest, is rich withmigrant bird-life with an RSPB reservecovering 2500 hectares.At the sametime Morecambe’s exposed positionhas meant that, over the years, a seriesof storms severely damaged theseafront. Following a storm in 1990,Morecambe achieved funding toimprove coastal defences and forderelict land clearance.Theopportunity was taken to use thisnecessary work to give Morecambean identity and create an attractionbased around Morecambe’s natural setting.

PROJECTMorecambe, Lancashire:The Tern Project

CLIENTLancaster City Council

CONTRACT VALUE:£21 million (coastal defences)£1.37 million (public art programme)

THE AIMSThe development project had two aims:

• to create new breakwaters to provide headland protection,to repair or replace parts of theexisting seawall and to introduceartificial sand nourishment tosections of the foreshore

• to introduce features of the bird-lifeinto the new coastal defences andPromenade.The objective was tomake these high quality, attractive,educational, durable and fun

THE APPROACHThe Tern Project, as the public artprogramme is named, involved aproject team made up of engineers,landscape architects, planners, artists,sculptors and education officers from the RSPB.

Morecambe’s sea-frontfaçade from the point-of-view of the popularsculpture of Eric Morecambe

ART ON THE SEAFRONTAnother much-praised example,this time of artists collaborating with architects, is Bridlington’s southpromenade where Bruce McLean,Chris Tipping and Mel Goodingworked with Bauman Lyons tocreate a public space that, togetherwith the new Headland Café, hashelped to lift visitor numbers to thisEast Yorkshire town.Although it isbeginning to show signs ofpremature ageing, the effects of sunand salt, the Bridlington promenadecomplete with new beach huts andshowers is a fine example of alengthy promenade held together by good design and bucketfuls of wit and style.

Like the constantly changing seaitself, seaside art can be ephemerallike David Ward’s light-work ‘Pier and Ocean’ at Lowestoft or Esther Rowlandson’s light decks for Brighton.

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A team of artists, led by GordonYoung,was appointed.Perhaps themost successful of the new works,A Flock of Words, is the result of acollaboration between Gordon Youngand the London-based designcompany,why not associates.There are five more works on the StoneJetty, all that remains of the 1853harbour that now forms a central partof the new sea defences.More artdraws the visitor along the seafront,past the new RNLI Lifeboat Station.Lighting by Jonathan Spier has addedto the Promenade’s attractions.

The most popular of the new work is the lively sculpture of EricMorecambe (by Graham Ibbeson)surrounded by a typographicalmemory of the entertainer, again by Gordon Young and why notassociates, overseen by somedelightfully chubby seagulls by Shona Klinoch.Morecambe was anenthusiastic supporter of the RSPBand the sculpture portrays him as anornithologist, binoculars around hisneck. Following the Queen’s unveilingof this statue in 1999, tourismenquiries doubled and this much-photographed sculpture has becomea leitmotif of much of Morecambe’spromotional material.

The project has not been withoutits challenges and at times both artistsand engineers have been on steeplearning curves.Not least of thedifficulties has been to find a way of meeting the technical demands

of artists while at the same time being able to deal with the potential damage from the harsh seaside environment.

Funding for the sea front work came from the Ministry ofAgriculture, Fisheries and Food,the Single Regeneration Budget, localauthorities and the private sector.The art programme was supportedby the Arts Council’s Lottery Fundand North West Arts Board.

IMPACT ON REGENERATIONThe Tern Project has been focused on the seafront and on the roadleading to the new shopping andentertainment precinct containing a supermarket, four-screen cinema,the Festival Hall Market and a bowling alley.

Overall the project hasundoubtedly been a popular successand helped to ensure that threemillion day visitors still visitMorecambe each year, although onlya tenth of this number stay overnight.Critics have commented that, inresorts where the sole emphasis hasbeen placed on the seafront, too littleattention is given to adjacent roadsand buildings.Morecambe is noexception and attention will soonneed to be turned to the townbehind the seafront.Moreover thedevelopments along the new seadefences have served to emphasisethe sorry state of Oliver Hill’simportant 1933 Midland Hotel,with

Shona Klinoch’s seagulls

The Flock of Words

sculptures by Eric Gill and a mural by Eric Ravilious, and the Grade II*Victoria Pavilion (1896) by Mangnalland Littlewood.

There are promising signs that theMidland will be restored.Only timewill tell whether on this occasion this Grade II* building will at last be recovered from its current dilapidated state and brought back to its former glory.

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SURF’S UP!PUBLIC / PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS HELPTO REINVENT A SEASIDE TOWN

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THE SITENewquay is the largest of the seasidetowns on the North Cornish coast,a traditional bucket and spade resort.Although it still has about 4.3 millionvisitors a year and achieves 7 millionbed-nights annually, it has shared withothers a period of under-investment.Many hotels are showing their ageand there has been a consequent fallin the number of visitors, a declinemade more painful by the relativelyshort summer season.

Since the 1920s,Newquay’s sandybeaches have been a magnet forsurfers and the town claims to havebeen the birthplace of European

surfing.The development of thewetsuit has turned this into a year-round activity enabling surfers to takeadvantage of different weatherconditions.The attraction of the surfbeaches for swimmers,walkers andspectators – even storm watchers –has now been recognised as a majorasset for Newquay, encouraging thetown to rebrand itself as the surfcapital of Britain.

Watergate Bay sits at the east endof Newquay.The 65-room WatergateBay Hotel is at its most easterly point,close to a car park and easy access tothe two-and-a-half-mile long beach,which is privately owned.At the footof the access road are the adrenaline-pumping Extreme Academy and theBeach Hut Café, developed on thesite of a small takeaway café andbeach shop.

THE BRIEFThe brief for the Beach Hut Café andExtreme Academy was an unusualone:‘to create a ski resort on aCornish beach’.

THE SOLUTIONThe Beach Hut bistro and bar formthe focus for the seaside sportscentre.The two-storey timber buildingwith its slate pitched roof is in twoadjoining parts.The 80-seat bistro andkitchen occupy the upper floor of thelarger section with views out acrossthe beach and the surf.The buildingcontains an office and a meetingroom,capable of hosting small

PROJECTNewquay, Cornwall:Beach Hut Café and Extreme Academy

CLIENTExtreme Academy

CONTRACT VALUE£0.5 million

ARCHITECTAndrew Dart

The design of the newextreme sports centresits comfortably in itsseaside setting

Kite surfing, just one ofthe adrenalin-pumpingsports available tolearn on the beach

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seminars.There are two woodenbalconies on the side of the bar andbistro for summer use and a smallterrace joins the two parts of thebuilding at first floor level.A woodenstaircase leads down from the barterrace to the beach. In the adjacentsmaller section is an extreme sportsshop, changing rooms and tuitioncentre,offering coaching in surfing,windsurfing, land yachting, kitesurfing,wave skiing, buggying and mountain boarding.

In keeping with its setting andlifestyle, the building has a casual,almost rough and ready character,even more so internally where colour-stained wood has been used toresemble driftwood washed up ontothe beach below.Like the balconies,the full run of windows with theirpainted frames takes full advantageof the location.

HELPING REGENERATIONThe Beach Hut is a symbol of the re-invention of Newquay.The highlyappropriate nature of its design hasundoubtedly captured the imaginationof its clientele and the business nowemploys 65 staff during the peaksummer season and ten throughoutthe year. Its 1999 business planforecast an annual turnover of£190,000.By 2002 this figure hadalready reached £1.1 million. In 2000the Academy won a Business Awardfor Entrepreneurship in the Devonand Cornwall Millennium Awards.The 2001 World Pro Kite SurfingChampionships took place onWatergate Beach and in 2002 it was the venue for the first EuropeanKitesurfing Championship.

27 of Newquay’s hotels are nowopen all year round, a clear sign of theway in which the Newquay seasonhas stretched beyond the summermonths.The Headland Hotel hasrecently opened a number of self-catering cottages and apartments.New restaurants have opened onHarbour Beach and Tolcarne Beach.Cornwall County Highways are

undertaking a major scheme toimprove traffic management in thecentre of town and there areproposals for a new bus station.

With the active support of theSouth West Regional DevelopmentAgency and Restormel DistrictCouncil, the town has established aworking party that brings togetherthe public and private sector to workcollectively for the regeneration ofNewquay.Recognising the crucialimportance of partnership for thefuture of the resort, the primary aimof this Core Group is to get Newquayto speak with a clear voice.An earlyaction will be to commission a land-use masterplan.

Surfing is already estimated to beworth £40 million a year to theresort,witnessed by the number ofsurf shops that fill the town. It is nowestimated that 60% of businesses inNewquay benefit from the surfingindustry. Surfing’s attraction not onlyto the traditional young surfer but alsoto a new breed of wealthier and olderenthusiasts has given Newquay abigger market.The success ofRyanair’s low-cost daily flights from

Stansted to Newquay has made thesurf beaches easily reachable fromLondon and the southeast. Flights areoperating at 70% capacity and Ryanairreached its first-year target of 100,000passengers six weeks ahead ofschedule.The company has increasedthe frequency of its flights and isconsidering introducing new routes.

The wooden balconyrunning along the sideof the building offersfantastic views of thesea and beach activities

The increasinglycharacteristic image

of Newquay

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CULTURED PEARLSTHE PIONEER OF CULTURAL REGENERATIONSET A CONTEMPORARY DESIGN STANDARD

1O

THE SITEThe site of the derelict St Ivesgasworks was steeply sloping andbadly contaminated but as the site fora Tate Gallery in St Ives commanded a superb position,overlooking thesweep of Porthmeor Beach.

THE BRIEFThe brief stated that ‘the buildingshould be stimulating, imaginative and excellent. It should be equallyattractive to the arts enthusiast and to the family on holiday’, and that the design of the gallery should be

‘a building of architectural significance’.The brief also set out requirementsfor design and environmentalconditions that would enable loansfrom the Tate Gallery’s collections.

THE ARCHITECTS’ APPROACHEvans and Shalev were appointed asthe result of an RIBA competition.The two architects knew St Ives well;this was reflected in the design inwhich the curves of the Loggia andthe rotunda recall the formergasometer while the honey-colouredstone echoes the sand of the beachbelow. In addition to the five galleriesthe building also includes aneducation room,a bookshop

and a rooftop café. Funding camefrom local authorities, Europe and the private sector, including £125,000raised locally.The gallery opened in June 1993.

HELPING REGENERATIONTate St Ives was perhaps the pioneerof a new cycle of seaside townregeneration and set a high standardin terms of ambition and design.Although there was some localopposition, the local authorities andmany local businesses were quick tosee the potential economic benefits

that the new gallery could bring.Early estimates were for 75,000

visitors a year. In the event, first-yearattendances reached 200,000.ByJanuary 2000, there had been morethan 1.2 million visits to the gallery,78% from outside Cornwall and anestimated 15% from overseas.Havingoriginally estimated a permanent staffof six, supported by part-time staffand volunteers,Tate St Ives nowemploys 69 full- and part-time staff,while a number of external jobs havebeen created in providing services tothe gallery. Inevitably this success hasplaced a strain on a building designedfor fewer visitors and a smallernumber of staff.

PROJECTSt Ives, Cornwall:Tate St Ives

CLIENTCornwall County Council/TateGallery

CONTRACT VALUE£3.4 million (including land purchase)

ARCHITECTEvans & Shalev

Installation by Jim Lambie

The proximity of thegallery to the beachreinforces its appeal to arts enthusiast andfamily visitor alike

A CULTURAL RENAISSANCEFalmouth houses the NationalMaritime Museum Cornwall, a highlypraised new museum designed byLong & Kentish.This £28 millionlandmark building has begun to havean effect on the regeneration of itsformer industrial site, forming oneside of a new Museum Square thatwill house shops, cafés,offices, acinema and apartments.Attendancesduring the opening ten weeksreached 112,000, almost three timesthe forecast estimate. 50 new jobshave been created and the museum is supported by 150 volunteers.

In Poole, the 1970s Lighthouse ArtsCentre has been given an £8.5 millionface-lift by Alan Short Associates,opening up the public spaces, andusing glass, steel, colour and light tocreate a contemporary atmosphere.Poole is also home to the StudyGallery, a £2.4 million white cube byHorden Cherry Lee Architects forBournemouth and Poole CollegeServices.Half of this three-storeybuilding is occupied by a 12-metreglass atrium while the other halfhouses the College’s contemporaryart collection, a range of education

.

facilities and support services.Both buildings provide a culturalcomponent to Poole’s waterfrontregeneration that will include a graceful bridge designed by Wilkinson Eyre.

In Margate ambitious plans areafoot to create a new contemporaryart gallery to commemorate JMWTurner’s connections with this EastKent resort, long suffering fromeconomic decline.The Anglo-Norwegian partnership of Snøhettaand Spence’s new gallery, alongside a Grade II-listed stone pier,will form a crucial part in the regeneration ofMargate’s Georgian old town and the wider economic renaissance of East Kent.

29

To some extent these pressures havebeen shared with the town withincreased demands on publictransport, traffic movement andparking. For most, these disadvantageshave been outweighed by the benefits.St Ives portrays all the signs of success– year-round activity and employment,new restaurants and cafés, a growingnumber of galleries, craft and jewelleryshops and rising house prices.

In 1994/95 Cornwall CountyCouncil undertook five economicimpact studies on the effect of theTate both in St Ives itself and across Cornwall.

These showed that the Gallery hadalready had a significant impact in thetown and some impact across the

whole of Cornwall.About 70% ofbusinesses surveyed believed that theopening of the Tate had benefitedtheir own trade.85% believed that the Gallery had benefited the town.The West Cornwall Tourist Boardsurvey in the same series showed that58% of the visitors to the Tate gave avisit to the gallery as their main reasonfor coming to Cornwall.

Council officers estimated that lessthan a year after the Gallery’s opening,the Tate had increased sales in St Ivesbusinesses by 5%, representing anincrease in employment of up to 15 fulltime equivalents.At the end of 1998,hoteliers told The Guardianof an estimated 20% increase in business.

The Flotilla:the gallery exhibits achanging programme

of boats from theMueum’s collection

The new NationalMaritime Museumin Cornwall

The Tidal Zone:the museum’sunderwater gallery

The characteristicquality of St Ives light,from the café window

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THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL…DESIGN AND INDIVIDUAL DRIVE COMBINETO RESTORE A FADING HOTEL

11

THE SITEHotel Tresanton is set on a steep hillabove the coastal road that snakesaround St Mawes harbour.The building,which incorporates asmall building from the 1760s and thesite of a house destroyed by fire in theearly 1950s, is built on several levelscut into the hillside and has extensiveviews over the bay.Well known andpopular in the 1950s and 60s, the 18-room hotel was a former yacht club.By the mid-90s,Tresanton had fallenon hard times.Open only in thesummer, it had suffered a sharpdecline in visitor numbers andemployed only a small number ofstaff.The hotel was purchased by Olga Polizzi,Design Director forRocco Forte Hotels, in 1997. StMawes has a year-round populationof about 2,000,more than doubling in the summer months.

THE BRIEF The owner-designer set herself thetask of turning a run-down familyhotel into a comfortablecontemporary hotel with 26 rooms,all with en suite bathrooms and sea views, capable of operatingthroughout the year.The aim was to revive a casual but elegantatmosphere in keeping with its seaside location.

THE DESIGNER’S APPROACHWith the help of a local architect,Peter Bailey, and using a local builder,Polizzi set about modernising thehotel.Major work involved formingnew corridors by removing the backof the existing hotel building.Thismeant that the existing corridors thathad divided bedrooms could beincorporated into the bedrooms,giving each a lobby and en suitebathroom.The former staffaccommodation situated at the top of the site was turned into a furtherseries of bedrooms.Two two-bedroom family suites were created,each having its own terrace.Therestaurant overlooks the sea with aterrace for summer dining and thehotel now also has an adaptablecinema and conference facility.Notsurprisingly, high quality design hasbeen a strong element of the hotel’s

refurbishment and the result is an individual hotel that reflects its maritime setting.

The marine environment hasrequired the use of building materialsand paints that can withstand winterwinds, as well as the sun. Even so, thefacade of the hotel requires repaintingon an annual basis.The plasticwindows that scar the face of so many seaside town refurbishmentshave been carefully avoided.

PROJECTSt Mawes, Cornwall:Hotel Tresanton

CLIENTOlga Polizzi

CONTRACT VALUE£2 million

DESIGNEROlga Polizzi

The hotel in context

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HELPING REGENERATIONExploiting a niche market,Tresanton is now open the whole year round.Comparatively expensive forCornwall, it is nevertheless achieving85% occupancy throughout the yearwith the majority of guests comingfrom London and the southeast.

The hotel employs over 50 peopleall year round with this number risingto over 60 in summer months.Anumber of staff are recruited fromoutside Cornwall but many are localand include former students fromCornwall College.The hotel alsomakes a point of providing places forCornish trainees and employing anumber of people with learningdifficulties.While Hotel Tresanton isindependent of Rocco Forte Hotels,it has been able to take occasionaladvantage of their trainingprogrammes,which can offer aparticular perspective normallyunavailable to staff in smaller hotels.

In addition to providing some localemployment,Hotel Tresantonpurchases most of its produce fromlocal suppliers. It spends about£70,000 annually on meat through alocal butcher and a similar amount onlocally caught fish. Small shops in thetown are now open all year roundand other local hotels and pubs areundergoing refurbishment.Houseprices are rising rapidly.

Both Hotel Tresanton and St Mawes benefit from the widerregeneration of Cornwall. Improvedroads and low-cost flights intoNewquay airport have made westCornwall more accessible.The hugelysuccessful Eden Project has provideda major boost to Cornish tourism,already helped by the Tate at St Ivesand now with the addition of theNational Maritime Museum at Falmouth.

Regeneration projects frequentlydepend upon a project champion fortheir success. Sometimes this might bea local authority, a housing association,on other occasions it might be anindividual like the 9th Earl De La Warrin Bexhill or Olga Polizzi in St Mawes.

St Mawes harbour

View out to sea:the relationship of the

hotel to its marineenvironment is key

The hotel is built onseveral levels on a sitethat incorporates anexisting building

THE SITESouthport Pier opened in 1860.It remains the country’s secondlongest pier, stretching for more thana kilometre.Although the pier hadbeen listed as Grade II in 1976,14years later the local authority appliedfor its demolition, a proposal that wasonly narrowly defeated. In 1998 it was closed for safety reasons.Twoyears earlier, Sefton Council and thelocal Chamber of Commerce andIndustry formed the Southport Pier Trust and,by 1999,hadsuccessfully raised funding from theHeritage Lottery Fund and from theEuropean Merseyside Objective 1Programme to begin a two-phase restoration programme.

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THE END OF THE PIER SHOWA BOLD NEW DESIGN AT THE END OF SOUTHPORT’S PIERCOMPLEMENTS THE TOWN’S SEAFRONT REGENERATION

12

THE BRIEFThe brief set for architects enteringthe 1997 competition was a simpleone – to create a pavilion for year-round use at the end of SouthportPier, housing ‘a café/restaurant,a multi-function interpretation area and a reception/shop’.

THE ARCHITECT’S SOLUTIONShedkm,a Liverpool-based firm,set out to create a contemporarybuilding that would complement theVictorian pier.Rather than place thepavilion on the pier itself theyproposed a new building,moored likea ship alongside the pier head, givingthe added advantage of aconstruction that would moveindependently of the pier in roughweather.The result is a delicate steel,glass and aluminium pavilion with aswooping roof, standing on a concreteslab on two rows of piles.An ‘air floor’provides heating out of season andthe circulation of cool air in thesummer.The cantilevered roof on the pier-side will provide shelter for the three-car tram when it runs once more along the newly restored tram-track.

PROJECTSouthport, Merseyside:Southport Pier Pavilion

CLIENTSefton Borough Council

CONTRACT VALUE£0.5 million

ARCHITECTShedkm Liverpool

Made of steel, glass andaluminium, the pavilion,complete withswooping roof, standson a concrete slab on two rows of piles

At more than onekilometre long,Southport Pier is England’ssecond longest

Hospital, built in 1862,has beenconverted into the Marine Gateapartments by Blackthorn Homes.

The proposed Southport EcoVisitor-Centre on the Esplanade willbe the transfer point for the town’spark-and-ride programme.This newbuilding aims to be ‘a practicaldemonstration of sustainableconstruction and renewable energy’and will include an integral 30-metrehigh wind turbine to generateelectricity for the building, solar andphotovoltaic panels to assist withheating, and water collectiontechnology. It will incorporate aclassroom for up to 60 children and an exhibition area promoting the themes of energy, transport and tourism.

WALKING ON WATERPiers have long been a feature of theBritish seaside resort, first as a way ofenabling visitors to reach shore dry-footed, and then to allowpromenaders the health-givingexperience of walking out across thesea.By the last quarter of the 19thcentury, piers became the must-havefor resorts eager to increase visitornumbers. By 1900 almost 100 piersstretched out from the British coast.Damage from fire, storm and neglect,the high costs of maintenance andthe breaching of many piers duringthe 1939/45 war have reduced thatnumber to 55, and some of those,like Brighton’s once magnificent WestPier, are fighting for survival.However, the attraction of the pierremains strong and many resorts(including Clevedon, Saltburn,Southend, and Swanage) havesought to restore their piers, oftenwith help from the Heritage LotteryFund.The ‘first new pier of the newmillennium’, in Southwold,opened tothe public in 2001.

HELPING REGENERATIONSouthport’s longevity as a seasideresort owes much to the town’scapacity to change and develop.Planning mistakes hindered thisdevelopment but a series of newinitiatives has helped to place thetown in the UK’s top ten short breakand conference resorts, attractingvisitors throughout the year for itsaccess to its six golf courses andincreasingly to the nature reserves to the north.

The history of Southport Pier isalmost a lesson in regeneration initself. Frequent fires, storm damageand threats of demolition have longdogged its existence.The restorationof the pier and the creation of its newpavilion have been accompanied by afive-year programme to strengthenthe town’s sea defences.The new £8.6million Marine Drive sea wall hasprovided protection from tidalflooding for the central seafront,enabling the development of newleisure and entertainment facilities,close to the sea. Sadly the new £23million Ocean Plaza shopping centreturns its back on the sea, despite itswaterfront position.

Fortunately the floodwall thatprotects Marine Drive has itself beengraced with new seating and lightingand some strong examples of publicart,much of it with a marine theme.The works on the seafront are part ofa wider programme, co-ordinated byPartnership Art, now Eaton WaygoodAssociates.This includes a toweringsculpture of ‘Professor’Gadsby, a one-legged diver who used to entertainthe crowds by diving into the sea from the end of the pier.

Linking the seafront will be the new Marine Parade Bridge for whichBabtie are the structural engineersand Nicoll Russell Studios, thearchitects.This £5.7 million project,which is due to be completed in 2004,will much improve the transport links between the town centre and the seafront. Further along thePromenade, the former Promenade

33

The pavilion’sconstruction meansthat, in rough weather, it movesindependently of the Pier itself

In the distance,‘Professor’ Gadsby,partof a programme of artalong the seafront

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WHERE CLEAN WATERS FLOWIMAGINATIVE APPROACHES TO LESSAPPEALING ASPECTS OF URBAN LIFE

13

THE SITESThe European Bathing WaterDirective sets down minimum andmandatory standards for the qualityof seawater around European coasts.Both these sites form part ofSouthern Water’s programme toimprove the quality of seawateraround the southeast coast.Much ofthis work involves engineering workbelow ground but inevitably thesesites,on the edge of the sea,demanded sensitive and imaginativesolutions to the necessary aboveground structures.The Eastbournewastewater treatment plant is locatedon Langney Point on Prince WilliamParade, a prime seafront locationclose to the Sovereign Harbourmarina, the Ventnor pumping stationat Lion Point.This is a prominent site

at the foot of the steep road thattwists its way around the VictorianCascade Gardens and the pointwhere the Royal Victoria Pier,demolished in 1993,once reachedthe shore.The site offered stability inan area of coastline famously prone to landslip.

THE BRIEF The Eastbourne brief to the architectwas to create a works superstructurethat would suit its local environmentwhile at Ventnor the design of surfaceworks for a large sewage tank andpumping station had to turn afunctional facility into an attractive,useable feature for tourists andvisitors and offer some of theopportunities that used to beprovided by the pier.

ARCHITECTS’ SOLUTIONSThe wastewater treatment works atEastbourne had to be built over alarge underground box, the size of a football pitch, containing the maintreatment processes.Above ground,a building was required to house thecontrol room,electrical distributionand a sludge processing plant.Theagreed solution was a red-brickbuilding designed to resemble aNapoleonic fort, complementing the1804 redoubt at Seahouses, part ofthe chain of Martello towers built todefy Napoleonic invasion. Externalfacilities include car parks and publictoilets, a tearoom and extension tothe town’s promenade.A design-and-build contract resulted indisappointment over some of thedetailing and the original plans toallow public access onto the fort havenot been realised for health and safetyreasons.Work was completed in1996.Of the total cost, almost 90%was spent on the work underground.

The Ventnor building conceals botha pumping station, carrying treatedand stormwater three kilometres intothe sea, and a storage pump tankholding up to two million litres ofstormwater, preventing it spilling ontothe beach in heavy rain.The architectsset out to create a building that wouldbe a major feature in this visuallysensitive Victorian resort.The

PROJECTVentnor and Eastbourne Waste Water Outlets

CLIENTSouthern Water

CONTRACT VALUEVentnor £14 million Eastbourne £42 million

ARCHITECTVentnor: Rainey/Petrie/JohnsEastbourne: Philip Parker,Eastbourne Borough Council

Top:Eastbourne Bottom:Ventnor

…and Ventnor

Eastbourne WasteWater Outlet viewed from the beach…

35

bandstand above the control buildingacts as a covered viewing platform,giving panoramic views of Ventnor Bayand St Catherine’s Point.Much of thestructure is reinforced concrete butthe building is a mixture of stone,render and marine detailing to reflectits seaside location with strong echoesof the former pier.A series of inlaidtiles indicate distances from Ventnorto other towns and cities around theworld.The surrounding setting allowsaccess to Ventnor’s popular sand andshingle beach.

HELPING REGENERATIONBefore the building of the LangneyPoint treatment plant in Eastbourne,wastewater was released into the seathrough a short outfall pipe.Theworks now treat 74 million litres of waste each day before releasingtreated water 3.2 kilometres out tosea.Clean seawater is an essentialpart of a successful seaside resort buttreatment works have not alwaysproved to be an attractive part of the landscape.Both these buildingsrepresent an imaginative approach to what are important but potentiallyless appealing aspects of urban life.

The Eastbourne ‘redoubt’wasoriginally built at the edge of town,since its completion in 1996, there has been considerable housingdevelopment nearby.This has beenachieved without concern orcomplaint. Indeed the building hasbecome a tourist attraction in its own right.The surrounding area is,however, poorly maintained, a pointnoted in the Borough Council’s newseaside strategy.

Below the Ventnor bandstand,a new fair-weather haven is beingconstructed for the use ofcommercial and recreational craft as part of the Eastern Esplanadedevelopment.The Isle of WightCouncil has drawn up a brief forfurther mixed-use development,possibly including a restaurant,seafood preparation and shop,a chandlery and a sailing club.

A FARM BY THE SEA?Just north of Scarborough on the Heritage Coast, close to theCleveland Way long-distancefootpath stands a typical Yorkshirefarmstead.This new grouping of buildings, designed by York-based,Brierley Groom & Associates,includes farmhouse,barns and silos, all ingeniously disguising a large wastewater treatment works.The Scalby Lodge farm works werecompleted in 2002 at a cost of £27 million as part of YorkshireWater’s £120 million CoastCareprogramme.This programme has been supported by two pressure groups for clean seawater,Surfers Against Sewage and the Sons of Neptune, as well as theMarine Conservation Society.

The red brick buildingat Eastbourne houses the control room and a sludgeprocessing plant

Ventnor conceals a pumping stationcarrying treated andstorm water threekilometres into thesea, and a storage tankholding up to twomillion litres of storm water

36

WINDOWS ONTO WHITBYA STRIKING NEW ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTIONBREATHES LIFE BACK INTO 18TH CENTURY DERELICTION

14

THE SITEThe medieval Whitby Abbey standson the southern headland above thepopular harbour town of Whitby.Theabbey ruins were handed into thecare of the Ministry of Works in 1936and are now the responsibility ofEnglish Heritage.The creation of anew visitor centre formed part of theWhitby Abbey Headland Project,a programme of archaeologicalresearch, evaluation and excavationwork, undertaken by English Heritageduring the 1990s.After considering a number of potential options for anew centre on the site, including anew building, it was proposed that itshould be created within the nearbyBanqueting House,built between1669-72 by Sir Hugh Cholmley as anembellishment to the Cholmley familyhome.The building lost its roof in astorm in 1790 and has stood emptyever since.The project,which includeda new ticket office and car park on thesouth side of the Abbey as well as a

major reassessment of the site and its environs,was a joint initiative ofEnglish Heritage, ScarboroughBorough Council and the presentowners of the House, the StricklandEstate.Major funding came from theEuropean Regional DevelopmentFund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

THE BRIEFTo create a visitor centre which wouldlink the visitor experience to thewhole of the Abbey site, from Saxontimes through the 17th century to the present day.

THE ARCHITECTS’ SOLUTIONStanton Williams were appointed in1998 to design a new building withinthe shell of the ruined CholmleyHouse.Their elegant response is asteel and glass frame that sits behindthe 17th century façade, carefullyavoiding disturbance to buriedarchaeology and to the fabric of theexisting building.Much has been done

PROJECTWhitby Abbey Visitor Centre

CLIENTEnglish Heritage

CONTRACT VALUE£2.847 million

ARCHITECTStanton Williams

The sophisticatedrelationship betweenthe new interventionand the historic Whitby Abbey

37

to retain the feeling of the originalbuilding and the initial approachacross the restored 17th centurycobbled gardens, discovered in goodcondition during excavation ofcenturies of soil, gives few hints as tothe true nature of what lies ahead.

The centre,which is on two floors,connected by both staircase and lifts,has successfully incorporated highquality contemporary design,engineering and style into its historicframe.Blocked windows in the northand west walls have been opened togive historically important views overthe Abbey and the town of Whitbybelow.To the south a new glass andtimber curtain completes thedamaged original elevation.York stoneand oak floors are edged by glasspanels on the first floor and theprecise detailing includes furnitureespecially designed by StantonWilliams.The visitor is introduced to the history of Whitby Abbey andaspects of the town’s own historythrough a variety of interpretativemethods, including museum objects(some on loan from the Whitby

Museum),panels, video, and touchscreens, designed by the York-basedPastForward.The building alsoincludes a ticket and information deskand shop.A glass-sided steel bridgefrom an unblocked first floor doorwayprovides easy disabled access ontothe Abbey site.A new tearoom hasbeen opened in Abbey House,which stands behind the centre.

The centre opened in the summerof 2002 and has won a RIBA WhiteRose Award and the RICS YorkshireAward for Tourism.

REGENERATIONWhitby has successfully played its twostrong cards, geography and history.Its position at the base of a narrowgully at the mouth of the River Eskgives it a natural beauty and much,though by no means all, of the townretains its historic character.There hasbeen a considerable increase in visitornumbers to the harbour because ofits connections with Captain JamesCook.Thousands of visitors crowdedinto the town to see the replica ofCook’s Endeavour when she visited

Whitby on several occasions,mostrecently in 2003.The Captain CookMemorial Museum, in a harbour-sidehouse where Cook lived as anapprentice, has recently opened anew extension. Shops selling Whitbyjet, once a symbol of Victorianmourning, abound as do celebrationsof the pioneer photographer FrankSutcliffe, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and a more modern literary connectionwith AS Byatt’s Possession, recentlyfilmed in its Whitby location.Houseprices, that more ominous sign ofsuccessful regeneration, have beenrising rapidly.

The Whitby Abbey Visitor Centre,which stands at the top of thelegendary Church Stairs, the 199steps that take the visitor up from the town, is a reflection of the newWhitby. It is clear evidence of howgood contemporary architecture can exist in harmony with the old and what good design can achieve in regeneration - in sharp comparisonto the car parks and supermarket onthe banks of the Esk below.

The quality of design,materials andconstruction is a keycontribution to thesuccess of the project

The approach across the restoredcobbled gardens

ON A WIDER CANVASDRIVERS FOR REGENERATION

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Many of the case studies consideredhere are individual initiatives. In anumber of major resorts, however,matters are unfolding on a largerscale.Though there is no denying theimpact of single building projects,successful regeneration is likely toflow more readily from a structuredapproach.This section outlines fourmain approaches:

1 a process of masterplanning

2 a series of zoned plans to providefocus for future development

3 working with designers to createideas for future resorts

4 adopting policies and practices to promote design quality

BLACKPOOLAn estimated 85% of Blackpool’seconomy is dependent on tourismbut like many other resorts the townhas been caught in a spiral of decline,fuelled by lack of investment.A highlevel of employment is seasonal and

unemployment rises from 6% to 14%in the winter months with consequentsocial problems.

Blackpool had already begun aredevelopment of its southerlypromenade with new seawalls andsome striking public art. Its newapproach to its future is, however,on a grander scale – a majorreassessment of the future of thetown.The immediate objective is toproduce ‘A Vision of the SuccessfulVisitor Experience’, a spatialdevelopment plan and a series ofindividual masterplans for areas wherecomprehensive development orredevelopment is proposed, focussingfirst on the four kilometres of seafrontbetween Blackpool’s south and northpiers.The key to future success mustbe public and private partnership andcooperation,with competition basedprimarily on quality and not on price.

Blackpool’s local plan is a bold andambitious target and an element ofthe resort’s aspirations depends uponthe creation of new casinos or,moreparticularly, resort casino hotels.Blackpool hopes that the liberalisationof gaming legislation,proposed in the2001 Report of the Gambling ReviewBody,will provide ‘a stimulus to majorredevelopment of the resort’s urbanfabric, as has occurred in Las Vegas and Atlantic City’.

The resort is not howeverconcentrating solely on gambling.There is much emphasis on Blackpoolas a family attraction, a conferencecentre and a festival city, capitalising on the town’s fame for its illuminatedtrams by making Blackpool a ‘Capital of Light’,with schemes to do more to celebrate Blackpool’s richarchitectural heritage and to upgrade the tired tram system.

BRIGHTON & HOVEDesign is a key feature of Brighton &Hove’s Local Plan:‘all new buildings willbe expected to demonstrate a highstandard of design and to make a positive contribution to the visualquality of the environment…unless

BRIGHTON

VENTNOR

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a development proposal is within anarea featuring a distinctive historicstyle of architecture, replication ofexisting styles and pastiche designs will be discouraged.’

The city’s desire to becharacterised as a place of ambition,energy and culture determined that it should be seen a city that would not tolerate the mundane.

Rather than develop a masterplan,Brighton & Hove’s approach toplanning has been to focus on anumber of development zones in thebelief that this has allowed a greaterdegree of flexibility in the longer-termplanning process.To ensure co-ordination,officers from allappropriate departments worktogether on individual projectssteered by a designated lead officer for each project.

SCARBOROUGHPossibly the country’s oldest seasideresort, Scarborough is one of the firstsix towns to be part of YorkshireForwards’ imaginative and innovativeUrban Renaissance programme.Community ownership ofregeneration dreams and plans is atthe heart of the Yorkshire Forwardprogramme structured aroundcommunity audit and consultation.The publication of A Vision forScarborough, set out a ‘ten towns’vision, celebrating the strengths ofScarborough as a springboard for itsrelaunch.A Town Team now meetsmonthly to drive the process forwardand all 35 members have signedScarborough’s Renaissance Charterwhich sets out commitments tochange and plans to achieve it.

There is widespreadacknowledgement that Scarboroughmust change.The Renaissanceprogramme with its focus onimproving the public realm isbeginning to bolster self-confidenceand to encourage the recognition thatto make Scarborough a better placeto live and work, and thus to visit,Scarborough must first help itself.

HASTINGS AND BEXHILLIn Hastings and Bexhill, the South East England Development Agency(SEEDA) commissioned a masterplanthat would represent a 30-year visionfor the two towns; a vision statementTowards a Masterplan was published.The goal of this plan is ‘to co-ordinatethe growth of attractive, connectedand prosperous communities anddistricts by improving transportinfrastructure and initiatingappropriate development around quality public space’.

In the summer of 2002 Hastingswas designated by EnglishPartnerships to be the last of sevenMillennium Community projectsselected to demonstrate newapproaches to 21st Century livingfrom which others can learn.

The national programme aims todeliver somewhere between 5,000and 6,000 dwellings over the courseof a seven to 10-year period.MBM’sdraft masterplan looks to the creationof ‘new vibrant sustainableneighbourhoods on under-used landaround existing and new stations withmore frequent train services’.

The target is to build more than1,000 new homes together with a new country park, commercial,community and leisure facilities.The Hastings and Bexhill Task Force,charged with the responsibility ofprogressing the regeneration of thetwo conurbations, aims to make thisMillennium Community a UKshowcase for the best in domestic design.

NEWQUAY

SOUTHPORT

BRIGHTON

SHIFTING SANDSRESEARCHED AND WRITTEN BY:Timothy MasonEDITORS:Annie Atkins & Kate TrantCONSULTANT:Barry Shaw, Kent Architecture CentrePHOTOGRAPHY:Mark Ellis & Ashley Bingham at ICD LtdSTEERING GROUP:Nicholas Antram English HeritageAllan Brodie English HeritageJenny Carlile English HeritageJohn Dent English Tourism CouncilElizabeth Robertson VisitBritainAnnie Atkins CABE

We are grateful to all the people who helped and supported the creation of this publication.

English Heritage is the Government’s statutory adviser on all aspects of the historic environment.

English Heritage23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ETT: 020 7973 3000 F: 020 7973 3001www.english-heritage.org.uk

CABE, the Commission for Architecture and theBuilt Environment, is the nation’s champion forbetter places: places which work better, feel better,are better.

CABETower Building, 11 York RoadLondon SE1 7NXT: 020 7960 2400 F: 020 7960 2444www.cabe.org.uk

Although every care has been taken in preparingthis publication, no responsibility or liability will beaccepted by CABE or English Heritage or theiremployees, agents and advisers for its accuracy or completeness.

Further copies of this publication are available from:English HeritageCustomer Services DepartmentPO Box 569Swindon,Wiltshire SN2 2YPT: 0870 333 1181F: 01793 414 926

Product Code: 50792© English Heritage/CABE 2003Designed by: www.draught.co.ukPrinted by Wolsey Press Limited

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FURTHER READINGSea Changes:Creating world-class resorts in EnglandEnglish Tourism Council, 2001 ISBN 0 86143 240 1

Francis Golding Building in Context:New Development in historic areasEnglish Heritage/CABE,2001

Heritage Dividend 2002English Heritage, 2002

The Register of Parks and Gardens: An introductionEnglish Heritage, 1998

Lynn F Pearson Piers and Other Seaside ArchitectureShire Publications, 2002 ISBN 0 7478 0539 3

Stephen Braggs and Diane Harris Sun,Fun and Crowds:Seaside holidays between the wars Tempus, 2000 ISBN 0 7254 1891 2

John K Walton The British seaside:Holidays and resorts in the twentieth centuryManchester University Press, 2000ISBN 0 7190 5169 X (hardback) ISBN 0 7190 5170 3 (paperback)

Joseph Connolly Beside the SeasideMitchell Beazley, 1999 ISBN 1 84000 164 X

A Design Statement for Cornwall:Achieving Quality in the Built EnvironmentCornwall County Council, 2002

The Value of Urban DesignThomas Telford, 2001 ISBN 0 7277 29811 0

State of nature:Maritime – getting onto an even keelEnglish Nature, 2002 ISBN 1 85716 647 4

Conservation Issues in Strategic PlansCountryside Commission/English Heritage/English Nature 1993ISBN 0 86170 383 9

Natura 2000: Indications of Good Practice for establishing management schemes on European marine sitesEN,SNH,EHS (DoE (NI)), JNC & SAMS 2001 ISBN 185716 577 2

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