Hammerson's Centrale, Croydon: Turley Associates and Consultation

"Hammerson, the owner of Centrale is holding a two-day public exhibition offering visitors the opportunity to learn more about the scheme and provide feedback on the plans while they are still being developed."

See previous: "Dobbo makes impeccable efforts to consult (no hapless PR outfit in sight, as with Brent Cross)"

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Well, there IS a PR company involved, but there's no evidence that it is hapless:

"Turley Associates is a leading planning and urban design consultancy working in key development sectors across Britain. 

"We act across private and public sectors, bringing skills of spatial planning, regeneration, development promotion, place-making, and community involvement. 

Partnership, quality, and successful outcomes are our hallmarks:

• Respecting the past 
• Enhancing the present 
• Securing the future." [Bit cheesy, though]

Link to PDF on Turley Associates web site

Picture: WATERMARK WESTQUAY, SOUTHAMPTON,
HAMMERSON UK PROPERTIES LTD

"These are challenging times for our towns and cities. Many have shared in a renaissance that followed a tightening of retail planning policy, and have benefitted from a surge of investment in major mixed-use projects which have breathed life into our centres.

"Others have been less fortunate, with funding now at a premium and developments scaled back, prompted by a rapidly-changing retail climate.

"... The government is committed to protecting existing investment in our towns and cities by safeguarding centres which are the 'bedrock of our economic future'.

"The vitality and viability of town and city centres is key to sustaining them as attractive places at the heart of our communities. [Hopefully they are better at PR than they are at grammar.]

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Link to Turley Associates fact sheet on the Localism Act

"The legislation sets out clear statutory requirements for pre-application consultation to be carried out on certain development types and scales. Those promoting development must:

• publicise the proposed application to bring it to the attention of the people who live in, or have an interest in the affected area 
• consult with those people to gain their feedback 
• acknowledge and incorporate the response to the consultation within the resulting proposals and provide feedback. [Well, it's 'pas de point' for Hammerson at Brent Cross, then!]

"There is likely to be a role for those promoting development in the production of neighbourhood plans, given the likely resource requirements associated with their preparation. ... The development you promote could become part of the principal plan for that neighbourhood." [Hammerson is ten years ahead of you there, in the London Borough of (Broken) Barnet.]

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Evening Standard (2007 article):

"Croydon is the new ... Barcelona" 

"It is a place that gives concrete jungles a bad name, an urban nightmare famed for its tram system, and some of the ugliest architecture outside the old Soviet bloc.

"Now Croydon wants to turn itself into Barcelona, one of the coolest cities on the planet."

CROYDON 

History: Busy market town in the Middle Ages. The Germans bombed it, and they built lots of skyscrapers. 

Population: 430,000 people. Kate Moss is a native. 

Quote: "From London to Croydon is as ugly a bit of country as any in England." William Cobbett in 1830.

Famous for: Trams, tower blocks and the Croydon facelift (a tight ponytail). 

Attractions: Fairfield Halls, host to Seventies disco bands.

BARCELONA 

History: Founded by Hercules 400 years before Rome. 

Population: 1.6 million. Architect Antoni Gaudi and artist Joan Miro. 

Quote: "The creation continues incessantly through the media of man." Antoni Gaudi. 

Famous for: Stunning architecture and culture. 

Attractions: Gaudi's cathedral La Sagrada Familia and a host of world class museum and galleries, including the Picasso Museum and Miro Museum. Seven beaches and FC Barcelona.