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CHELTENHAMCIVICSOCIETY
CivicDayStreetPrideReport
August,2018
TheStreetAuditwasorganisedbymembersoftheCivicSociety:TessBeck,MaxineMelling(CCSChair),PeterSayers(Trustee)andSimoneSeward.ThisreportispublishedundertheauspicesoftheCheltenhamCivicSocietyandwaswrittenbythestreetauditteam.
Acknowledgements
WewouldliketothanktheBusinessImprovementDistrictforprovidingfundstohelpwiththeadministrationofthedayandforprovidingthreestafftohelponthedayoftheaudit.TheMP’sofficewasveryhelpfulinprovidingguidanceandsupportandCheltenhamMPAlexChalkattendedonthedayandtookpartintheaudititself.CheltenhamBoroughCouncil(CBC)PlanningDepartment,andespeciallyChrisMorris,providedadviceandguidance.TheCBCCouncilLeader,SteveJordan,participatedintheauditandhelpedwithsomequestionsfromvolunteers.InadditiontheCBCICTOfficeprovidedmapsoftheHighStreetandrefreshmentvoucherswereprovidedbySohoCoffee,CambrayPlace.WewouldalsoliketothankBerniceThompsonandSarahWestatCWEPwholetususetheGroveStreetCommunityResourceCentreasourbasefortheday,freeofcharge.
Mostofall,thanksgotoallthevolunteerswhoprovidedtime,energyandenthusiasmincarryingouttheaudit–followingtheinstructionsgiventoanimpressiveextent!
A. INTRODUCTION
OnJune16th2018theCheltenhamCivicSocietycelebratedCivicDay(anannualeventwhencommunitiescelebrateandsupporttheirlocalcommunity)bytakingpartintheStreetPridecampaign.StreetPrideissupportedbyEnglishHeritageandisrunundertheauspicesofCivicVoice,thenationalumbrellaorganisationthatsupportscivicsocieties.Thecampaignaimsto“maketheplaceswhereeveryonelivesmoreattractive,enjoyableanddistinctive[by]reducingstreetclutter”.
HavingconsultedwithitsmembersandwithkeygroupsincludingtheBusinessImprovementDistrict(BID),CheltenhamBoroughCouncil(CBC)andtheCheltenhamWestEndPartnership(CWEP)wedecidedtofocusCheltenham’sStreetPrideactivityonthelengthoftheHighStreet–fromtheHoneybournelinebridgetoCollegeRoad.Thisfallswithinthetown’sCentralConservationArea.It’sworthnotingthattheCheltenhamDevelopmentFrameworkidentifiedanumberofchallengestotheprotectionofourconservationareas,includingon-streetparking,streetparaphernalia,poorstreetfurnitureandequipmentonbuildings.Theaimoftheauditcarriedouton16thJunewastolistandphotographallsuchstreetclutterinordertohighlightissuesofparticularconcern.
Theauditwascarriedoutinfullconsultationwiththemainauthoritiesresponsiblefortheseissues(BID,CWEP,CBCandGloucestershireCountyCouncil).AlleffortsweremadetoensurethattheStreetPrideauditcomplementedandsupportedexistingeffortstoimprovetheenvironment,
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possiblyprovidingadditionalinformationtothoseseekingevidencetoinformtheirownworkandcertainlyaimingtobringpressuretobearwhereissuesofnotearenotbeingaddressed.
B. THEAUDIT
Thirtyvolunteerscarriedouttheaudit,focussingon10stretchesoftheHighStreet:
A.HoneybourneBridgetoPooleWayB.PooleWaytoMilsomStC.MilsomSttoStPaul'sStSouthD.StPaul'sStSouthtoWoodysFruit&VegE.Woodysfruit&VegtoBenningtonStF.BenningtonSttoPittvilleStreetG.PittvilleSttoRodneyRoadH.RodneyRoadtoGrosvenorTerraceI.GrosvenorTerracetoBarrattsMillLaneJ.BarrattsMillLanetoCollegeRoad
Thevolunteersworkedingroupsofthree,fillinginatemplatethatdescribedtheissueidentified,markingtheissueonamapandphotographingittohelpwithidentificationanddescription.Inordertokeepthingsasstraightforwardaspossiblegroupswereaskedtoidentifythelocation&purposeoftheitem(e.g.outsideBoots,awastepaperbin)andalsowhattheproblemwas&whatmightbedone(e.g.coveredingraffiti,needscleaning).
ThevolunteergroupscomprisedmembersoftheCivicSocietyandotherlocalpeoplewhohadheardaboutthecampaign.Inaddition,weweregratefultoBIDstaff,theLeaderoftheBoroughCouncilandCheltenham’sMPfortakingpartintheauditandbeingverysupportiveontheday.
Thegroupsweregivenalistofissuesinordertohelpwithcommonterminologyonceresultswerecollated(seeappendix1).However,theywereencouragednottolimitthemselvestotheseissuesshouldtheyfeelsomethingwasimportantenoughtoreport.Inevitablypeopleinthegroupsputemphasisonslightlydifferentthings–thiswasnotascientificexercise.However,therewasreasonableconsistencyoverthenumberofissuesidentified(averaging25pergroup)andtherewasalsoconsistencyinissuesofparticularconcern–thesearereportedinsection3below.
Thecommentsandphotostakenwerealltranscribedandcollated–thesewillbesharedwithourpartnersinlocalauthorities,theBIDandCWEP.Weincludesomeexamplesinappendix2ofthisreportasanillustrationoftheissuesencountered.
Thedaywasverysuccessfulandthevolunteersaretobecommendedfortheiractiveengagementandclearpassionabouttheirlocaltown.Manyreportedbeingapproachedbylocalpeopleduringtheauditanditwasclearthatpeoplewereverysupportiveof“somethingbeingdone”aboutthestateofthepublicrealm.AsthiswasafirstfortheCivicSocietytherehasbeenaninevitablelearningcurve.Allvolunteerswereinvitedtocommentonhowthedaywasorganised.Thesecommentshavebeenusedtodevelopa“lessonslearned”documentwhichwillinformanyfuturerepetitionofthestreetaudit.ThereportwastakentotheCivicSocietyExecutiveCommitteeon20thAugustandallrecommendationswereendorsed,includingthecreationofaCCSStreetPridegrouptotakethereportforward.
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C. FINDINGS
Thepiechartatfig1showstheweightingofthemainissuesidentified.
fig1
Inordertoallowrecommendationstobemadeandactiontakentheissueshavebeengroupedunderthemainauthorityresponsiblefortakingthisforward.
1. GloucestershireCountyCouncil–pavements,roadsurfacesandstreetfurniture
Oneofthebiggestissues(30%)ofconcernundertheauspicesofGCCisthatofbrokenpavements,includingasphaltinfilltoYorkpavingandbrokencurbs.Commentsfromvolunteersincludedlooseandbrokenpavingstones,brokengutterslabs,unevensurfacesandinconsistencyintheuseofpavers,slabsandtarmac.TheseobservationscoveredthefulllengthoftheHighStreet,leadingtoanuglyoverallimpressionandtotriphazards.
Anumberoftheissuesofconcernidentifiedbythevolunteersrelatetostreetfurniture–beitdisrepairandgraffitiorgeneralclutter.Volunteersreportedpoorlymaintainedstreetbollardsandbollardsthatappeartoservenorealpurpose,alsodifferenttypesofstreetfurniturealmostfightingforspaceonthepavement.
RECOMMENDATION1:APublicRealmStrategyforCheltenhamisdevelopedandagreedwithGloucestershireCountyCouncilasamatterofurgency.ThisStrategycouldbeencompassedaspartoftheBoroughCouncil’sdevelopmentofatowncentrevision.
RECOMMENDATION2:GCChighwayscontractbeamendedatthenextopportunitytoincluderesponsibilityforthemaintenanceofstreetfurniture.
2. CWEPandtheBID–localbusinesspremises
Byfarthemostfrequentissueidentifiedintheaudit(39%)wasthatofthepoormaintenanceandappearanceoflocalbusinessfrontages.Thisrangedfromhangingcables,generalscruffinessandpoormaintenance(needtobepainted,brokenwindowledges,brokenwindowsetc).Inaddition,weedsandovergrowngreeneryaresittingingutteringorbythefrontofshops.
39%
30%
8%
23%BusinessFrontages39%
Pavements30%
LitterandFlytipping8%
Graffiti23%
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TheimpactthishasonthelengthoftheHighStreetcan’tbeunderestimated.SomepartsoftheHighStreetweresingledoutasparticularlypoor(e.g.thesectionbetweenMilsomStreetandStPaulsStreetSouth).However,businessfrontswerereportedbyeverygroupofvolunteersasanissueofconcern.
CWEPandtheBIDalreadyworkwithlocalbusinessestoseektoimprovetheenvironmentandtheseorganisationscoverallbuttwosectionsofthestreetaudit.
RECOMMENDATION3:CWEPandBIDpresentthestreetauditfindingstolocalbusinessesandagreehowimprovementsmightbemade.
RECOMMENDATION4:TheCheltenhamCivicSocietyinvestigateshowitmightinstituteanannualprizeforthemostimprovedorbestshopfront.
3. CheltenhamBoroughCouncil–litterandgraffiti.
Problemswithlitteraccountsfor8%ofthemainissuesidentified,rangingfromunsightlylitterbins,flytippingandgenerallitterandchewinggumonthepavements.Inaddition,wheeliebinsarebeingleftoutonthestreetspermanently,creatingobstaclestopedestriansandcreatinganuglyenvironment.Graffitiwasaparticularproblemontelecomboxes.
RECOMMENDATION5:CBCdevelopsastrategyforgraffiti–includingresponsibilityandpolicing.
RECOMMENDATION6:Litterpickgroupsareformedfromvolunteerswholiveandworkintheareasconcerned.
4. Conclusion
Theorganisinggroupbelievesthatthiswasasuccessfuldayand–asafirststreetauditfortheCheltenhamCivicSociety–providedsomeusefullearning.Wethinkthereisbenefittobegainedincarryingoutthestreetauditannually,usingCivicDayastheimpetus.However,anannualeventisnotsufficientinitselfandthereisagreementamongstthegroupthatanewStreetPridesubgroupoftheCivicSocietyshouldbeformedinordertomaintaincontactwiththenewgroupofvolunteers,monitorprogresswiththerecommendationsinthisreportandactasacatalystforchange.
Oneofthestrengthsofthedaywastheactiveinvolvementofkeygroupsandindividualsinthetown.TheStreetPridegroupwillbewellplacedtosupportco-operationbetweeninterestedparties.Itwasapityonthedaythatwardcouncillorsandcountycouncillorswerenotabletoparticipatefully.Thegroupcanensurethatsufficientwarningisgiventotheseindividualsandthattheyarekeptwellinformedofthefindingsofthisreportandfutureinvestigations.
Anyactivityofthisnatureisonlyassuccessfulasthevisibleoutcomesarisingfromtherecommendationsmade.Itisthereforeintendedthatthisreportwillbeusedasthebasisfordiscussionswithkeygroups,includingtheMPforCheltenham,CBC,GCCHighways,theCWEPandtheBID.InadditiontheCivicSocietywillreportdirecttoitsmembersandwillpublishthisreportonitsownwebsiteaswellasmonitoringprogressthroughitsCivicPridegroup.
RECOMMENDATION7:AStreetPridesubgroupiscreatedbytheCivicSocietyandthestreetauditisrepeatedeachyear.
RECOMMENDATION8:Encouragetheparticipationofwardcouncillorsandcountycouncillorsinfuturestreetaudits(withmoreadvanceplanning),asthiswouldhelpsupportfollowupaction.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation Responsible1 APublicRealmStrategyforCheltenhamisdevelopedandagreedwith
GloucestershireCountyCouncilasamatterorurgency.
CBC
2 TheGCChighwayscontractisamendedatthenextopportunitytoincluderesponsibilityforthemaintenanceofstreetfurniture.
GCCHighways
3 CWEPandBIDpresentthestreetauditfindingstolocalbusinessesandagreehowimprovementsmightbemade.
CWEP,BID
4 CheltenhamCivicSocietyinvestigateshowitmightinstituteanannualprizeforthemostimprovedorbestshopfront.
CCS
5 CBCdevelopsastrategyforgraffiti–includingresponsibilityandpolicing.
CBC
6 Litterpickgroupsareformedfromvolunteerswholiveandworkintheareasconcerned.
CBC
7 AStreetPridegroupiscreatedbytheCivicSocietyandthestreetauditisrepeatedeachyear.Thisreportandthedatafromthe2018auditwillbeusedasthebasedataforprogressmonitoringandreporting.
CCS
8 Encouragetheparticipationofwardcouncillorsandcountycouncillorsinfuturestreetaudits(withmoreadvanceplanning),asthiswouldhelpsupportfollowupaction.
CCS
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Appendix1
A A-boards B Benches Bill boards Bollards Building site hoardings Buildings; condition, graffiti. Street level is important but look up as well. Bus shelters Bus stops C Cabinets: usually junction boxes for telecoms/ cable companies (if there is a number
stencilled on the box, make a note) CCTV posts (not private CCTV cameras mounted on buildings) Cycle racks D Direction/ finger posts E Empty shops Event advertising F Flytipping L Litter bins Litter, includes fallen leaves, bird mess and bird seed M Manhole covers (make a note of any intials, e.g. STW, SWEB, BT) Maps (on street pedestrian maps) P Paintwork Parking meters, (make a note of the number on the meter) Pavements: uneven surface, dirt, chewing gum Phone Boxes and booths (make a note of the phone number inside the box) Planters Post box Public art R Railings Road markings, e.g. yellow lines, zebra crossings Road surface Road works or other on-street maintenance work. S Signage Street Lights (make a note of the number on the pole) Street name signs T Telegraph poles (make a note of the number on the pole) Temporary traffic signs Traffic lights, also belisha beacons (make a note of the number on the pole) Traffic signs, e.g. Give Way, Parking restrictions Trees
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Appendix2
Graffitiandpoorlymaintainedcabinet
BusinessFrontage
Litter-Flytippingexample Pavement-triphazardandtarmacinfill