Merry Christmas
To all: locally in the Dorset and particularly Poole area, to our clients and colleagues in London, Dubai and Qatar. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2012 has been a challenging year for ECA with a frantic frenzy of activity right up until the last. We look forward to working with you all in 2013. ECA...
RIBA talk at the Arts University College Bournemouth
We are delighted to have helped give a short talk to the architectural students at the Arts University College Bournemouth. Doug Withington (RIBA project Coordinator) talked about all aspects of what the RIBA can do for students nationally and what it does for the whole profession. We (Adam Covell from ECA and Sarah Mitchell from Bright Space Architects) were...
Poole Beaches Masterplan
We are extremely keen to see proposals for the future of the beaches at Poole. Currently Poole Borough Council are assessing the future of the beachfront as part of a supplementary planning document (SPD) due to go out to public consultation later this year. The document defines different characteristics for each of the beach areas (Sandbanks = dune landscape, Shore Road = social beach,...
World Town Planning Day: 8th November 2012
Did you know about World Town Planning Day? It was founded in Argentina in 1949 with the aim to advance public and professional interest in planning and create a special day to recognise and promote the role of planning in creating liveable communities. WTPD was revived in 1995 by the International Society of City and...
The Olympic legacy
ECA have enjoyed experiencing the London and Weymouth Olympic venues first hand at full throttle. They were able to comfortably handle many thousands of visitors without their feeling crushed or disorientated. The buildings were on the whole well designed – the Velodrome a particular favourite of ours. The parks spilled over with wild flowers, contained a plethora of complex hidden audio systems and appeared...
Neighbourhood Forum News: Poole Old Town and Hamworthy East
The first meeting of the proposed Poole Old Town and Hamworthy East Neigbourhood Forum was held on Thursday 5th July 2012. ECA are providing planning advice and supporting the formal establishment of this group and gave a presentation on the background to Neighbourhood Forums, which can be downloaded here LEGISLATION ETC There is much for...
Walled Garden at Upton Country Park
There was a great atmosphere at the formal opening of the rejuvenated Walled Garden at Upton Country Park on 30th June 2012, when the new lawn and intelligent water feature (interactive fountain) were put to the test. It was packed with people of all ages. Like Poole Park, Upton Country Park doesn’t have an overall...
Beach Hut sold for £170,000
Despite much doom and gloom in the property world, it appears beach huts are still a must-have. This beach hut is located in Mudeford, Christchurch – a beautiful spot but totally inaccessible. The hut has been done very well, making use of limited space and limited utilities.
Olympic Fever in Weymouth
Just when we were becoming cynical about ‘the Olympic Legacy’ we saw these fantastic new cafe pods on Weymouth Beach. Weymouth and Portland will be hosting the Olympic Sailing Competition this summer, but as Portland and the Sailing Centre itself are actually quite far away from Weymouth, it is sometimes difficult to see what benefits...
Seldown Park
Seldown Park, adjacent to Everyone Active Leisure Centre, is nearing completion. <http://www.leisureprojects.net/dolphin.htm> This is a conventional public realm enhancement project, but in the context of central Poole (surrounded by outdated car parks, bus station and dual carriageways) this provides a refreshing green space. What’s good: • replacement of monotonous, undefined, hard landscaping with grass •...
Twin Sails Bridge, Poole: opening soon
After three opening ceremonies and an enormous outpouring of civic pride, Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge is due to open soon. The bridge provides a second, modern harbour crossing for vehicles and pedestrians, whilst still enabling boats to enter the upper harbour. It will create significant regeneration opportunities: three planning applications are currently being considered by...
Gun Wharf Quays
ECA-P recently ventured to Portsmouth-based retail outlet, Gun Wharf Quays. Retail parks are not the favoured hangout for this company of architects and town planners. Retail parks are generally on the edge or out of town and kill town centres. They often make pretty unpleasant architectural environs, largely made up of tin sheds, fast food outlets and...
Durlston Castle
ECA recently visited the now restored Durslton Castle, near Swanage. It is located on the headland of the same name. The castle is not so much a fort as a 19th century folly/restaurant. It was built by rags-to-riches local chap George Burt and is a mixture of Scottish Baronial, medieval fort and Victoriana. The park contains a strange collection...
Twin Sails Bridge, Poole
The Twin Sails Bridge will be opening on 9th March 2012. ECA-P plan to take part in the opening event, either on a boat or on a bike. We are really interested to see whether this truly unique bridge (some say ‘Brunel-esky’ in its design solution) will give more priority to minority transport users, i.e....
Port of Poole Railway Lies Idle
We notice with regret that the railway branch linking the Port of Poole has been fenced off and sits idle. The line runs right the way into the heart of the port and up to the dockside. It is a fantastic piece of infrastructure of the ilk that many local authorities and planners would envy. It remains...
Community Representation
Martha Covell (ECA-P Director of Planning) spoke on behalf of Vision Group for Poole at the Committee meeting for West Quay Road, Poole, on 2 November 2011. She also provided some invaluable technical advice to the community representatives on how and why the officers’ recommendation for approval could be overturned. The Planning Committee voted 9-1...
Neighbourhood Plans – are you ready to go?
The Localism Bill, published in December 2010, sets out the framework and key principles for a prepared system of neighbourhood planning in England. It creates new planning tools to help empower communities to shape and manage development in their local areas. These include neighbourhood development plans and neighbourhood development orders (one type is called the...
The Architecture of Poole Quay
It is fantastic to see the Quay buzzing with people: an eclectic mix on this evening of bikers and sailors (!). Look a bit harder though and it is a shame that the vista of buildings in this view doesn’t do much for this superb location. Dolphin Quay, the building at the rear centre of...
The Square and Compass Pub, Worth Matravers
Its official – The Square and Compass Pub is the best pub in the world*. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon listening to the Water Tower Bucket Boys and drinking great beer, not to mention the view of course – Purbeck Hills and the rolling sea beyond. *As ranked by ECA, but don’t tell anyone....
Vision for Poole Group: will their voice be heard?
Vision for Poole Group (a local group bringing together the key amenity groups in Poole Borough) held a successful exhibition and open meeting on 13th July, which displayed Neptune Consultants Ltd revised proposals for West Quay Road. Held in Poole Old Town, it was attended by over 150 people. Various members of the community have...
