Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the item, the purpose of which was to present the revised plans for the redesign of the Salisbury Market Place.

 

In October 2011, the Area Board had assumed responsibility for being the lead body for the redesign and redevelopment of the Salisbury Market Place. Following a period of consultation with the public, local businesses and market traders, and the formation of a Working Group, a revised draft plan of the Market Place was now being presented to the Area Board for consideration.

 

Having considered the feedback from the consultation, the revised requirements had been incorporated into the draft plans:

 

·         Retain all the trees, replace some ‘missing’ trees and any that died in the future

·         Maintain two distinct spaces: “Market Square and Guildhall Square”

·         Do not move the War Memorial

·         Resurface the squares

·         Retain the diagonal path

·         Flexible use of the Market Square

·         Stone clad the toilets and substation plinth

·         Separate the proposed disabled persons toilet from the proposed refuse store

·         Provide additional disabled car parking on street and by expanding New Canal Street parking.

·         Reduce height of proposed lighting masts along The Avenue

·         Add heritage art

·         Drainage repairs and maintenance

·         Maintenance of Squares.

 

The Chairman then provided more detailed information about specific proposals for the Market Place, as follows:

 

Disabled parking proposals:

 

·         Delete 8 Blue Badge holder spaces from the ‘Guildhall Square’

·         Look to provide 23 spaces overall

·         7 spaces along Blue Boar Row

·         1 space on Silver Street

·         2 spaces on Minster Street

·         Estimated 9 spaces on New Canal (in addition to 4 existing spaces - subject to technical analysis and appraisal)

·         Review on street parking to investigate further disabled parking provision

·         Put in place drop-kerbs and improve the surface leading to the Market Place.

 

Surfacing proposals:

 

It was proposed that granite setts would be used as the surfacing over the main areas of the Market Place.

 

·         Larger setts would be used within main areas

·         Smaller setts and resin bonded gravel around trees

·         Darker mix to distinguish the Market Square & The Avenue

·         Lighter mix to distinguish the Guildhall Square

·         Excellent surface finish, specification and workmanship

·         Diagonal path defined by pattern of setts

·         Resources allocated and materials stockpiled to maintain Squares.

 

Trees proposals:

 

·           All healthy trees to be retained

·           Extra trees added, dead trees replaced

·           Resin bonded gravel tree surrounds.

 

General lighting proposals:

 

·         Lamp standards located around the perimeter of the main spaces

·         Up-lighting from the ground would not be incorporated because of wear and tear

·         Grid of electrical points for use by market traders and events

·         Investigate provision of public Wi-Fi in the Squares.

 

Seating proposals:

 

·         Double-sided seating

·         Avenue facing Market Square

·         Queen Street facing Guildhall Square.

 

Disabled toilet proposals:

 

·         Located on The Avenue near the statue

·         Stone clad small building

·         Separated from refuse store

·         Simple pitched roof added.

 

Art proposals:

 

·         Historic replica stocks as a tourist attraction

·         Heritage trail – plaques informing the public about historic events in the Market Place and from Salisbury’s past. In time to spread around the city – input into this would be sought

·         Raised city map on substation plinth.

 

Next steps

The Chairman reported that, if approved, the Market Place designs would be forwarded to the Cabinet to agree funding and deliver the project. Some aspects, such as the heritage trail, would require further public consultation.

 

The Chairman opened up the floor for questions and comments on the proposals. The following summarises the main points that were raised:

 

Parking/disabled parking

 

·         A petition had been signed by 1,600 last year requesting the disabled parking to be retained in the Market Square.

·         Under parking legislation, disabled parking must be provided within a 50m radius of central services.

·         Provision of disabled parking on the side of a busy road, as proposed on Blue Boar Row, was not ideal.

·         The spaces needed to be large enough to allow ease of loading and unloading passengers, and it was requested that the number of proposed spaces be reduced to allow for this.

·         Removing parking provision in the Market Square could have a negative effect on local businesses, particularly in the evenings when eateries could be affected.

·         Proposals to create disabled parking bays on Blue Boar Row would affect the market traders who used this area to unload on market days.

·         Two parking spaces for the rural coaches would be retained in the Market Square.

·         Bicycle parking provision was yet to be determined. The Cycling Opportunities Group requested to be consulted on this.

·         Queen Street was considered an underused resource that could be utilised for disabled parking and bicycle parking.

·         Clarification would be sought on how Wiltshire Council intended to prevent abuse of the disabled parking bays.

·         It was intended to relocate the motorcycle bays that were proposed to be removed from the Market Place and New Canal Street.

 

Surfacing

 

·         Larger granite setts would be used in the main areas, but they couldn’t be too large or they would be likely to crack from impact and the cost to set them deeper was very high.

·         Smaller setts would be used on the peripheral areas to allow for potential movement from the trees.

·         The sample-surface of granite setts had not been laid to a satisfactory quality and it was requested that a sample of the proposed, larger setts should be laid.

·         It was vitally important that the proposed setts were laid well due to the area being used for marches by the Armed Forces.

·         Users of the Market Place, such as the Fair, had been fully consulted and electricity supplies underneath the surface of the Market Place would be provided.

 

Bins

 

·         The bins were currently located in various areas around the Market Square.

·         It was proposed to create a new bin store in the Market Square next to the proposed disabled toilets.

·         The Queen Street side of the Guildhall as a potential location for the bin store had been dismissed due to it being further away from the toilets and because it was under the main windows of the Guildhall which was not ideal.

·         There were no plans for Wiltshire Council to cease its commercial refuse collection.

·         The bin store could not be located underground due to the costs involved as it would need to have a concrete well, as well as hydraulics and metal works.

 

Trees

 

·         It was hoped to create a feeling a space as an integral part of the proposals for the Market Place.

·         Trees would be retained and more added, but it was not intended to create a full line of trees in front of Debenhams as this would not give a clear line of sight and would make the square feel ‘closed in’.

·         One tree had been removed due to having honey fungus. The existing, healthy trees should not be affected by this.

 

Seating

 

·         The proposed positing of benches and seating was indicative and more consultation would be undertaken to finalise these plans.

 

Art

 

·         The proposal to create a heritage trail throughout the City was supported.

·         It was suggested that the weight bridge on New Canal Street could be reintroduced as part of such a trail.

·         It was also suggested that modern themes for the heritage trail should be incorporated, such as the Olympics.

 

The Chairman concluded the discussions and announced that it was hoped to have further information available at the September meeting of the Area Board.

 

There was still a lot of detail to be considered and it was imperative that further consultation and public notice were carried out in order to get the proposals right.

 

The Chairman asked for a show of hands of those who felt that the revised plans for the Market Place were reflective of the outcomes of the consultation. Approximately 29 people agreed, and approximately 14 people disagreed.

 

The Chairman also asked for a show of hands of those who felt that the Area Board should proceed with the revised designs for the Market Place. Approximately 42 people were in favour, and approximately 10 people were against.

 

Decision

The Area Board approved the revised plans for the redesign of the Salisbury Market Place, subject to:

 

      i.        A review of the feasibility of disabled parking provision in Queen Street

    ii.        Completion of a satisfactory sample of the granite setts

   iii.        Consultation to be carried out on the detail of benches and the heritage trail and any other relevant areas.