Redeveloping the CBD: A case study of Princesshay in Exeter
What did the Land Securites plan hope to achieve?
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Images top ©Express & Echo / bottom ©Land Securities
The regeneration plan:
Land Securities described the new and improved plans for the regeneration of Princesshay in a press release that proposed the following improvements to the area:
Landmark department store comprising 11,617 sq m (125,000 sq ft)
50 new shops, restaurants and cafes
In excess of 100 flats and apartments
Pedestrian priority and greater quality open space - with a larger European-style public square and enhanced St. Catherine's Square
Sensitive approach to archaeological deposits
Major improvements to basement servicing
New 300-space secure car park off Paris Street
Improved access and pedestrianisation
Better facilities for cyclists
Improved setting for the City Wall and Medieval Almshouses
New Tourist Information Centre
New Heritage Centre linked to the scheduled Underground Passages
Government agencies including English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) praised the new scheme for the imaginative urban design and quality of the architecture. In 2002 John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, gave the green light for the Council to go ahead with the scheme, and the public were informed in a newsletter
Work began in 2005 and the whole scheme was completed in 2007.
A level students and prospective town planners might wish to watch a video of John Rigby from Exeter City Council discussing the redevelopment from the perspective of the town planner.