In our quest to learn more about what the townspeople of Cheltenham think about the development of CavHouse, members of Cheltenham Civic Society’s Planning Forum took to the streets earlier in July to find out what people had to say.
At an impromptu stall outside CavHouse on the Prom, we invited members of the public to take a look at our conceptual plan for the redevelopment and tell us what they thought.
We operated the stall between 11am and 1pm on two consecutive days – Friday 12th and Saturday 13th July. Despite the competing attractions of the farmers’ market on Friday and the vintage market on Saturday, more than 150 people visited our stall during the four hours we were there – all wanting to have their say.
Despite the relatively small sample size, the results were extraordinary.
While several people raised fair questions about how the scheme would be funded, the overwhelming response was enthusiasm.
85.5% of people who completed our feedback form registered their support for the Civic Society’s proposal to create a new public square linking the Prom with Regent Street.
More astounding than that, not a single person registered any disagreement.
Here is a selection of some of the comments people wrote down:
“Creating a new square is a great idea.”
“An additional square would create a further focal point to a gorgeous Regency town.”
“Yes, it’s a good idea if you can get the owners to agree.”
“Make the Prom a vibrant place where people want to come and visit.”
“This is about legacy as much as the benefit to Cheltenham and residents today. Just like the beautiful parks and trees that we enjoy today. These were designed thoughtfully and carefully by previous generations who cared about the future of the town and its residents.”
Andrew Booton, Chair of Cheltenham Civic Society, said: “We believe that the views of our sample of more than 150 people are highly indicative of the views of our town’s wider population.
“We will be presenting their feedback to the site’s owner, Canada Life, when we finally get to meet them. We will also present it to Cheltenham Borough Council to try to persuade them to raise their aspirations for this key site.
“Cheltenham wants good design and we deserve much better than the poor architecture that has recently come forward for other key sites – for example, the old Black & White coach station site on St Margaret’s Road and the redevelopment of some Regency buildings in Winchcombe Street.”