January 2, 2006—Early in 2005, Britain’s Channel 4 asked the public to vote for the buildings they want to see demolished. These nominations have formed the basis of Demolition , a four-part series presented by Kevin McCloud, which investigates how Britain came to be studded with eyesores and considers what can be done to avoid creating new ones.
The issues raised in the program are of central importance to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and help to fuel the debate surrounding the quality of places that we live, work and play, says the commission. CABE believes that well-designed homes, streets, parks, work-places, schools and hospitals are the fundamental right of everyone.
Cumbernauld shopping centre in Glasgow has been voted the worst eyesore in Britain. Birmingham is highlighted in the program as an example of the retail-led renaissance taking place in our core towns and cities – bringing economic life and vibrancy back to places struggling in the wake of deindustrialization.
CABE believes Planning Policy Guidance 6 (PPG6) is one of the most successful planning policies since the Second World War in focusing back the vast majority of new retail developments to towns and city centers.
The challenge now is to translate the lessons learnt from successes such as Birmingham to places like Cumbernauld. CABE hopes the days of ‘retail boxes’ thrown down in the middle of cleared city and town centre sites are numbered.
For more information, visit the CABE Web site.
