1. What is Durham City Vision

Durham City Vision (DCV) is an informal partnership tasked with delivery of the physical regeneration of Durham City Centre, to establish Durham as an economic and cultural hub.

DCV seeks both to celebrate the best of the City's heritage and to facilitate regeneration, by removing eyesores and encouraging a high quality of new development to support regional wealth creation, protect and enhance its heritage

 

2. Why is it needed?

DCV was established to address the shortcomings in the City's offering, in terms of retail, leisure and cultural facilities and the quality of its public spaces, as it was well-documented that these were contributing to the poor economic performance in the City of Durham and in particular a shortage of employment opportunities.

Since 2007 the organisation has secured over £26 million of investment for the City centre.

 

3. Who runs Durham City Vision?

The organisation is made up of an operational team which delivers on-the-ground projects and a membership Board consisting of local leaders and regeneration specialists from Durham and across the North East which oversees their work.

Currently the Board includes:

North East Chamber of Commerce, Durham Chair -  John Mowbray (Chair) (Director of Corporate Affairs - Northumbrian Water)

Durham County Council - Ian Thompson (Vice-Chair)

Director of Regeneration & Economic Development One North East, Head of Capital Programmes - Neil Graham

Durham Cathedral, Canon Residentiary - Revd. Canon Rosalind Brown

Durham University, Treasurer - Paulina Lubacz

Private Sector Representative Kevan Carrick (Partner - JK Property Consultants)

Durham County Council - Elected Member Neil Foster (Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development)

Currently the DCV Executive includes:

Harvey Dowdy                                    Director - DCV

Kathryn Watson                                  Technical Support - DCV

Michael Hurlow                                    Project Manager (H&D) - DCV

Paul Ryan                                           Project Manager (Finance) - DCV

Clare James                                        Project Manager (Development) - DCV

Seif El Rashidi                                     World Heritage Site Coordinator - DCV / Durham University

Ann Deary                                          Environmental Manager - DCV

Eric Wilton                                           Environmental Assistant - DCV

Peter Coe                                            Durham County Council (Lead Officer)

Alistair Haworth                                   Capital Development Manager (ONE)

David Robson                                      One North East (Lead Officer)

Philip Davies                                        Durham Cathedral Chapter Clerk

Peter Robinson                                     Durham University Director of Estates & Buildings

Craig Wilson                                         Visit County Durham Development Manager

The Executive is provided with additional support by named officers at Durham County Council who have legal, planning, housing, procurement expertise etc. as and when required.

 

4. Is Durham City Vision in charge of strategy planning and policy setting for Durham?

No.

DCV's remit is to implement projects that reflect and support the overarching economic strategy for Durham, set by Durham County Council and One North East who regularly consult a wide range of differing statutory bodies, local businesses and local people.

 

5. What are Durham City Vision's objectives?

The organisation has been tasked with delivering physical regeneration projects that will help with four core objectives that reflect the need to enhance the city centre's economic status and attract investors without compromising its cultural heritage. These are:

- Reinforce the position of Durham as a market-town service centre;

- Foster Durham's knowledge economy;

- Position Durham as a hub for public sector employment; and

- Enhance Durham as a visitor destination.

 

6. Does Durham City Vision conduct public consultation?

DCV has, in previous years, undertaken extensive public consultation regarding  broad strategic issues, in particular with a group known as the "Durham Voices" during 2005 - 2007.  This led to the publication of the Durham City Centre Masterplan in 2007.  Since then, DCV has conducted a number of public consultations in relation to individual projects prioritised by the DCV Board and will continue to do so in the future in collaboration with Durham County Council and other partners.

In the future, it is likely that the Area Action Partnership (AAP) for Durham City (which was established following the formation of the Durham County Council Unitary Authority in April 2009) will play an increasingly important role as a forum in which strategic matters are debated.  The DCV Board will be represented at various levels by a mixture of DCV Officers and Board members as appropriate.

 

7. Is Durham City Vision accountable to anyone?

As a partnership organisation, Durham City Vision is responsible for reporting to all its partners as well as liaising regularly with likeminded organisations across Durham.  The County Council acts as the "Accountable Body" for DCV acting as a banker and also overseeing internal and external audits in accordance with strict regulations regarding the expenditure of public funds. The Durham County Council elected Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Environment also has a seat on the DCV Board.

 

8. How is Durham City Vision funded?

The core costs of the organisation are principally funded by the Regional Development Agency One North East and Durham County Council.  Projects are funded by Board Member and other public / private bodies both in cash and through in-kind contributions.

 

9. How does Durham City Vision select its projects/initiatives

The DCV City Centre Masterplan was evaluated by SQW Consulting in 2008 to establish which of the physical regeneration projects identified would offer best value for money and were most likely to improve the economic performance of the City.  The Board then undertook a project prioritisation exercise which identified a number of projects for immediate action during the period 2008 - 2012, some of which have now been completed while others are in still in development:

Durham Station Steps - new build (completed)

The Heart of the City Market Place & Vennels - public realm improvements

North Road (bus station frontage) - strategic acquisition (completed)

Old Shire Hall - strategic acquisition (completed)

Former Ice Rink - strategic acquisition (completed)

World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, Owengate - building restoration / creation of a new facility

Riverbanks Gardens Project - woodland management, access and restoration

Claypath and Milburngate House - development design briefs

 

10. Isn't Durham City Vision just about events and tourism?

When the operational team was first established in June 2007 they were made responsible not only for physical regeneration projects but also for delivering events.  The DCV Events team took charge of a number of successful events across the City which included the ‘Streets of...' series and Enlightenment in November 2008.

Since the announcement of Durham's bid to be City of Culture in 2013, the County Council has taken the lead on events in partnership with Visit County Durham to allow DCV to focus purely on the physical regeneration of the city.

Durham City Vision will continue to provide support for major events which are likely to showcase the City to investors and have a significant economic impact such as the forthcoming Lumiere festival and the Durham Mysteries.