Theme Three: Confronting Eyesores – Grasping The Nettle
It is well recognised that the City centre has some long-standing eyesores that detract from the quality of the environment around them, impacts that can be very substantial and far reaching. These are long-standing blights and buildings that the public of Durham have wished to change. Many have been the subject of proposals and discussions for a long time which means that if this Durham City Vision fails to deal with them properly in the near future, its whole validity will be undermined.
Private investment could deliver solutions to these issues and will be encouraged. However, solutions may rely on leverage through public ownership and the threat of compulsory purchase to deal with those parts of the built fabric that detract from the quality of the City centre as a whole and prevent it achieving its potential. These locations are:
- The Ice Rink
- The Bus Station and North Road
- Millburngate House
- The general environment of The Gates
- Leazes Road
There are proposals for each of these locations, but civic leadership will be needed to drive new ideas for redevelopment and re-use and to galvanise private sector action, in some cases backed by public sector investment to spearhead the transformation of each place.
