The unfortunate demise of Cavendish House could provide Cheltenham with the unmissable opportunity to create a town square – the focal point that the town has always lacked.
Cheltenham Civic Society (CCS) is calling for the owners of Cavendish House – Canada Life – to work with Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) and the people of the town to create a vibrant, pivotal hub for the town centre.
“The Council should lead a public debate about what could be done. They should up their ambition and insist on an outcome that’s driven as much by the public interest as by private profit,” commented CCS Chair, Andrew Booton.
In the Society’s OurTown newsletter, CCS’s Planning Forum has just presented a vision for a new ‘Cavendish Square’ that would link the Promenade with Regent Street.
Each of the new square’s four sides will be dominated by a handsome building:
- The Everyman Theatre, with Matcham’s distinctive Edwardian façade, would be the main feature of the south-east side.
- Facing it, in the Prom on the far side of the square, would be the fine Regency terrace anchored by Waterstones bookshop.
- On the north-east side would be the imposing former County Court building, alongside a new 4 or 5-storey development of shops with offices above.
- On the south-west side would be a new civic building, a prestigious home for CBC, which could be 4-storeys high development, which would enable CBC to dispose of its existing, outsized premises further up the Prom.
All the neighbouring Grade II listed buildings would be retained and their settings greatly enhanced by such a development. The scheme also allows for some of the existing Regency frontage of Cavendish House on Regent Street to be retained and restored, with shops or cafés at the ground level and apartments above.
The square itself would need to be designed to very high standards. High-quality surfacing, street furniture and public art would be essential. And it would need trees to provide shade in a warmer climate.
Cavendish Square should host continental-style eating-out areas. It should be planned to be at the heart of life in our town – and would particularly come alive at Christmas, in Race Week and during all our other festivals. As an attraction in its own right, Cavendish Square will draw people to the centre of town and stimulate the economy in the immediate vicinity, including in the Prom and the High Street.
“What we are really seeking is a big leap of imagination by the owners – Canada Life – and the Borough Council,” said Andrew Booton. “Of course, the site will need to be commercially viable, but it also needs to be exciting and do justice to its central location.
“We hope our initial ideas will provide some inspiration for Canada Life to come forward with something even better. We would be delighted if they do so, and we would be pleased to work with both Canada Life and CBC to discuss all the possibilities.”
The following sketches by CCS Planning Forum member, Bruce Buchanan, illustrate the potential development of the new square. Click here to view and download a short presentation containing all of the plans and images shown on this news page.
