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Alongside the poster campaign GHURC is running a competition for people to test their knowledge of how the city has changed. The competition will run on the GHURC website: www.gloucesterurc.co.uk and at Gloucester Museum on Brunswick Road. Three lucky winners will each receive a £100 shopping voucher, kindly donated by Gloucester’s three largest shopping malls: Gloucester Quays, Kings Walk and The Mall.
From the St Oswald’s retail park to the regeneration of Gloucester Docks and Gloucester Quays, over 1000 new jobs have been created alongside new homes, roads, buildings, bridge and a brand new college campus.
Chris Oldershaw, Chief Executive of the GHURC since 2005, said: “Successful city regeneration takes a long time. Residents, local businesses and investors must all be consulted and always have wide-ranging views. In addition we have the complexity of land ownership across the city and integral to the planning process, Gloucester’s unique architectural and social heritage must be celebrated and preserved. But good things are worth waiting for and we now have clear evidence of early successes which we are showcasing on these posters.”
“Despite the worst recession the country has seen since for more than 60 years, Gloucester maintained its momentum in 2009 paving the way for strong investor interest in 2010,” Chris said.
In 2009 work restarted on the development of more than 600 homes at St Oswald’s Park, including a ‘care village’. £11.2 million of Government investment was secured through the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) to complete improvements within the Dock estate and create vital pedestrian links between Gloucester Quays and the city centre. In addition more than £7 million has been secured to start the first phase of improvements at Blackfriars which includes a new concert hall and a language immersion centre. Negotiations to develop a 4-star hotel on the Barbican site at Blackfriars are on-going.
At King’s Quarter, negotiations are ongoing for a developer to regenerate Gloucester’s retail heart and following a lengthy public consultation at Greyfriars, plans to develop a mixed-use retail and residential scheme are progressing well.
“Inevitably, some projects will take longer in the current economic climate,” said Chris. “The purpose of this advertising campaign is to demonstrate how much Gloucester has changed in a relatively short time. Much of this success is down to a clear ten-year vision for Gloucester and strong commitment from all those involved in the regeneration including the Homes and Communities Agency, SWRDA, The County and City Councils, private investors and increasingly the local business community which is recognising the huge potential on their doorstep.”
Shortly GHURC will be embarking on its final five years and Chris says there is much still to do to achieve a successful regeneration.