SUNN 2011 Meetings and Dutch Study Tour

SUNN’s regular day-long field meetings and guided walks continued in 2011 with meetings in Manchester (Ancoats and New Islington) 28 June 2011, London (Grand Union Village) 27 September 2011 and Netherlands Study Tour (Vathorst, Houten and Almere Poort) 6-7 October 2011.

Some of the lessons learnt from each meeting were as follows:

Grand Union Village, London highlighted particular interest in how a village was managed, and the role and funding of the CDT. Major concerns were raised over how the resident mix had changed since the development was planned, mainly an unexpectedly large number of ‘buy-to-let’ rented flats, and problems with parking provision, which seem to afflict every new development within SUNN. There were also issues over how developments should relate to the surrounding open space, and how character can be developed and maintained when densities are quite high.

New Islington, Manchester provided a meeting with a main focus on environmental sustainability, balanced communities, and cutting edge public realm initiatives. The lessons on ‘what works’ include: Effective partnership working between the landowner, master developer and other public agencies including the HCA, New East Manchester Ltd and Great Places; A masterplan that makes the most of existing and new canals, thus reflecting the area’s history, with a new park acting as a buffer between the housing and an existing, unattractive retail park; Reuse and recycling of both buildings and materials; A design code which secures higher standards than would normally have been achieved. Some things which did not work so well included: Some new technologies, such as private wire networks; Complex household energy bills/service charges; The financial case for water technologies, such as grey water recycling.

Vathorst, Houten and Almere Poort, Netherlands were three quite different places, one involved the extension of a historic city (like Cambridge or York), another was a new suburb a few miles from a major city (like Dickens Heath or Telford), and the third was the final part of a major new town (like Milton Keynes). They exemplify the way new neighbourhoods are being designed to be truly sustainable and happen to be close together. Though the Netherlands is smaller and more cohesive than the UK there are also many similarities, including most people living in relatively dense towns and cities that are close to each other. The cities face the challenges of living in a global economy which is running out of natural resources, with people who come from different backgrounds. It was clear that the Netherlands is much less class-conscious, and that most people behave in a more collective or less individualistic way, for example preferring to cycle rather than show-off their cars. Research has shown that children are much happier, and there are much lower levels of social malaise such as teenage pregnancy or drug dependency.