Background Research
– Updated 12 May 2022 –
Chorlton has been the subject of numerous strategies and plans. This Vision has drawn on their key themes and priorities for driving improvement in our district centre. The Vision statement has also been developed with the input of local community groups and residents.
The team behind the Vision carried out an outreach and engagement campaign in March 2022, attending a series of meetings and events and running a stall at Chorlton’s monthly market. The team talked to hundreds of residents, businesses and community groups to identify the issues that they felt mattered most. An extended network was reached through project and steering group partners and supporting print materials were distributed through the area. A colourful website outlined the draft Vision, its background and rationale, as well as acting as a conduit for online responses to a series of open questions. Accompanying social media promoted the project, with Facebook advertising purchased to raise additional awareness through the area.
Below are some of the background strategies, reports and consultation findings which helped inform the Vision.
On Chorlton…
A Neighbourhood Plan for Chorlton – Chorlton Voice (then Chorlton Civic Society) (2007)
Chorlton District Centre Action Plan 2010-2020 – Manchester City Council (2010)
Public Consultation on Chorlton Precinct – Manchester City Council (2017)
Vital and Viable Chorlton – The Institute of Place Management, MMU (2019)
Consultation for the Picture House project – Chorlton Community Land Trust (2019)
Residents’ Survey – Chorlton Bike Deliveries (2020)
Our Streets Chorlton – ongoing consultation and engagement (2021)
Climate Action Plans – Manchester City Council, in partnership with local residents. (2021)
On Manchester and Greater Manchester
Town Centre Recovery Report – Public Practice, National Retail Planning Forum and Planning Officers Society. Interesting findings and a case study on Withington Village.
Vital and Viable Manchester – Institute of Place Management (2020) Also Includes Harpurhey, Gorton, Withington and Northenden.
State of the City 2021 – Manchester City Council’s, reporting on progress made towards achieving the aims of The Manchester Strategy 2016-2025.
How are Local Centres in Greater Manchester recovering from Lockdown? – The Centre for Cities. An examination of retail and footfall data.
National and elsewhere…
Net Zero Places by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) North, talks to people in Liverpool and Anglesey and offers principles for policy change to make places cleaner, greener and more child-friendly. And it all starts with communities.
No Place Left Behind – Create Streets Foundation’s project worked to ensure that the Government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda delivers good policy and practice in regeneration of ‘left-behind’ places. Read their report summary here
Place Capital: The Shared Wealth that Drives Thriving Communities – a report by the Project for Public Spaces. The shared wealth (built and natural) of the public realm is increasingly becoming society’s most important means of generating sustainable economic growth for communities.
Revitalising Town Centres – a handbook for council leadership, created by the Local Government Association
The High Street Report– UK Government, 2018, outlining the findings of the High Streets Expert Panel on the future of Britain’s High Streets.
Future Spaces Foundation– founded by Ken Shuttleworth, of Make Architects, the FSA works to generate new thinking for better design of cities.