What are we doing?
This key shopping area is getting a massive makeover to make it look better, more modern and to create places for people to enjoy.
The dated eighties landscaping has now gone and in its place will be:
- islands of greenery
- more places to sit and rest
- 25 new semi mature trees planted in addition to the 4 existing trees
- ornamental ‘rain garden’ planting
- sustainable urban drainage
- new granite paving to upgrade the quality of materials, make the area more attractive, less tired and reduce the likelihood of trips and falls
- new street lighting taken off buildings to make it easier to maintain
- decorative lighting to create a wow factor after-dark
- an additional two CCTV cameras to improve coverage
- an events space at the junction of Old Town Street and New George Street with power and water for small events and performances.
- better links between Drake Circus and The Barcode.
Why are we doing this?
The old landscaping looked tired and dated. We want to revive our city centre, to make it a more attractive place for people to linger, catch up with friends as well as go shopping.
A key element of the scheme has been installing the ‘Sustainable Urban Drainage’ system (SUDs) to protect one of our key city centre streets from flooding.
This entailed creating large holes in the ground that were reinforced and layered with material to act like a giant plant pot. It holds rainwater which can be used to irrigate the new plants and trees.
A new storm water sewer has also been created and excess water from the rain gardens can feed into the new system, taking rainwater away from the combined sewer and helping to guard against future flooding.
The scheme plays an important role in the city’s flood management strategy and its Climate Emergency Action Plan as the three rain garden tanks are capable of holding back 75.5 cubic metres of storm water.
What's happened so far?
Work began on site in November 2021 with ground investigation, drainage, service diversions and site clearance. This was completed in April 2022. Morgan Sindall began the next phases in August 2022, but encountered significant problems digging beneath a city centre that was hastily rebuilt after the war. Voids, Blitz rubble, filled-in cellars and a maze of utilities slowed the scheme down considerably for a time.
However there has now been significant progress with phase one outside the House of Fraser store open to the public.
There are now three rain gardens, with trees and planting. The footway levels are designed to slightly slope inwards from the buildings, so that rainwater can run off the new paving and into the rain gardens. The gardens capture and slow the water which then percolates down into storage areas installed underneath.
Granite seating walls have been installed but are not all finished. We are waiting delivery of higher quality English oak seats which will soon replace the current temporary ones.
What’s next?
Following completion of deep-dig works, the hoardings around the site on Old Town Street have gone so that people can get a better view of what’s going on.
Both gardens have now been built and holes dug for trees between gardens. The garden trees have been planted. Ducting for street lighting and other utilities has also been installed.
The contractors are currently constructing the new footways on the west side of Old Town Street and work will start on the east side footways in May. Businesses will remain open during normal working hours while we work around them.
The area outside the former Debenham’s store now has gardens with soil ready for low level planting and trees and the footpath in front of the shop has now been closed to allow paving work.
How much is this costing?
The scheme was originally budgeted at £7m when it was first proposed seven years ago, but like other construction projects has been affected by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which has led to increases in the material costs and supply chain issues. Delays and unexpected discoveries underground also meant costs gradually went up.
In October 2023 a further £6,077,134 contract was awarded to Morgan Sindall, bringing the cost to £16,752,850. The scheme includes external grant funding from Transforming Cities Fund £12,711,643, Local Economic Partnership £700,000 and Historic England’s Heritage Action Zone £374,488. The Council is contributing £2,966,718.