Plymouth in 'safe hands' after future planners receive awards
Plymouth's future appears to be in safe hands as the next generation of planners have proved.
The Council's planning services ran a competition for school pupils to come up with an imaginative design proposal for North Cross near the railway station.
Currently a roundabout for pedestrians and cyclists between the city centre and the station, the competition was aimed to get young people plotting and planning; taking into account everything a real planner would have to consider – the typography of the site, potential uses, how it fits in with public transport and the wider city.
The winners of the competition will be presented with an award by Councillor Brian Vincent, whose portfolio includes planning.
He said: "The ideas these young people have come up with are amazing. We've just held a fortnight of consultation events in our 'What's the Future' pop-up shop – which aimed to get people thinking about how they want their city to look and feel in years to come.
"I am delighted to see the next generation of planners, architects and designers get stuck in and if these suggestions are anything to go by, we should be in safe hands."
There were a number of prizes, but the overall two joint first winners were:
- The Stoke Damerel Community College team for their 'bold thinking' proposal which included moving the train station. The group of experts who looked at the proposal particularly liked the suggestion of a landmark station building with a maritime influence.
- Plymouth High School for Girls was praised for their presentation and use of multi-media to explain ideas where connectivity was a key consideration, together with a good range of land-uses, including offices which would support the local economy.
