11.4 Quality of Public Spaces

We will manage the highway to improve the attractiveness and safety of the public realm.

The management of public places has social and safety implications. Well-designed streets and high-quality street furniture make life more pleasant in residential areas and contribute to the prosperity of commercial areas. They are particularly important to enable safe and convenient access on foot and by cycle for workers and visitors whilst providing access for essential vehicles. Equally, it is important to keep the footways and carriageways clean and street furniture in good repair to maintain a sense of pride in the community.

Open spaces provide a valuable public amenity and a refurbished open space can act as the catalyst to regeneration. Lancashire will work with District Councils as partners to improve the quality of streetscapes and public spaces to give a more pleasant and safe environment to residents and visitors. Street audits have already begun to identify changes to improve safety and the public realm. Street furniture and signing will be reviewed to avoid street clutter and improve traffic and pedestrian safety. In Preston, the One Voice Neighbourhood Management invited Living Streets to lead a Community Street Audit. The influence of traffic in residential areas will be reduced by traffic management, traffic calming and residents parking schemes. Lancashire has successfully completed a number of area-wide management schemes and will continue its programme to bring benefits to further communities, and particularly those in areas of deprivation.

The CIVITAS programme in Preston and South Ribble will promote sustainable transport and cleaner air. Works to create a City Centre Clear Zone, to improve the the University Zone and to restrict traffic in Hough Lane, Leyland will all bring improvements to the public realm and provide a more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists, and residents and visitors.

We have our own programme of environmental works and are working with the Northwest Regional Development Agency in a major initiative to reclaim derelict land through the REMADE project. This will complement the landscaping work of the District Councils to overcome problems of litter, antisocial behaviour and obstruction to footpaths. Discarded chewing gum is unsightly and expensive to remove from streets. In a pilot scheme for DEFRA, Preston City Council mounted a campaign to change behaviour, supported by stricter enforcement, which has now been extended to a national scheme.

We will study the emerging advice on public places and streetscapes and implement it in partnership with District Councils and local communities. A growing number of reports address the topic, including;

• Streets for All; Guidance for Practitioners; English Heritage, Women's Institute, DfT
• Save Our Streets for Children; English Heritage

• Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/05; Traditional Direction Signs; DfT, English Heritage, Countryside Agency, CPRE

• Living Places: Cleaner, Safer, Greener; ODPM
• Safer Places: The Planning System and Crime Prevention; ODPM
• Towards an Urban Renaissance; Urban Task Force
• Green Spaces, Better Places; Urban Green Spaces Task Force
• Designing Streets for People; ICE
• Paving the Way; CABE
• Street Scene; Audit Commission.

Back to Top