The facts
Location: Sudell Cross, Blackburn
Client: Blackburn with Darwen Borough
Council
Start / completion dates: October 2003 - April
2007
Project construction value: £1.2m
Services provided: Urban Design & Landscape
Design
Contact: Martin King, T: 01254 273299, E: martin.king@capita.co.uk
The project
Capita Symonds’ Urban Designers and
Traffic Engineers combined to develop a strategic plan for there
generation of the public realm within the Sudell Cross area of
Blackburn.
Sudell Cross contains perhaps the only
remaining entire collection of nineteenth Century buildings which
form a single urban space in the town centre.
Within the context of the town centre setting
Sudell Cross acts as a fulcrum and linking space in the urban
fabric. The linkages create coherence to the town helping to make
the spaces and routes legible.
The site is now absorbing a new layer of
change which will provide the opportunity for greater pedestrian
use and a reduced emphasis on vehicles. Opportunities exist to
encourage the restoration of buildings and the chance of greater
flexibility and vitality in their use.
Design parameters have been developed to form
a simple, quality space for pedestrians and vehicles. The
reintroduction of a central landmark was suggested to help link
Sudell Cross with adjacent spaces and streets, restoring its
position in the urban setting.