1. John Harvey
City Centre Manager
ATCM & English Heritage – The Changing
Face of the High Street: Heritage and Town
& City Centre Management
Princesshay Case Study

2. Background – Why
Princesshay?

3. Bedford Circus (Princesshay Site) - 1939

4. Aerial View of Bedford Circus

5. Sharp’s Princesshay
“the
Cathedral is too enclosed. It is
hidden from the City… something
should be done to extend its physical
influence to make it more visible…
How should this best be done? It
should not be done by any spectacular
opening out of wide and long vistas…”

6. The need for Princesshay
 Out of town shopping
proposals of late 80’s
 City Centre’s first – 1993
onwards
 Exeter’s response
 Choosing the
Princesshay area

7. Princesshay – view of Cathedral

8. Bedford Street – looking towards Post Office

9. Bedford Street – looking East

10. Bedford Street – looking South

11. Post Office Street

12. BDG Scheme (1998/99)

13. Developing a scheme for the 21st
Century…
Key
 Cathedral Quarter
 Castle Quarter
 High Street
 Leisure Quarter
 Office Quarter
(Southernhay)
 Princesshay

14. Urban Design Principles…

Urban form

Mixed-use development

Active public frontages

Permeability of the city grid

Pedestrian dominated
framework

Public realm

Sustainable development

15. Designing the scheme…

16. Ground floor plan
Car
Park
St Stephens House
Contract 6

17. Second floor plan

18. Weather protection

19. Design Reviews
English Heritage
“The now genuine mixed use approach to the
assembling of the project emphasises a truly
sustainable and regenerative quality”
Formal CABE design review
“The pleasing variety of the architecture is, we
believe, in tune with the relatively informal and
responsive nature of the site planning”
English Heritage Urban Panel
“Commends the adoption in Exeter of best practice
principles for the regeneration of historic cities”

20. Scheme Delivery
 Programme
 Enabling works – service diversions/Cheeke
Street
 Tenant relocations
 Managing The Change

21. Princesshay - May 2005

22. Post Office Street/Roman Walk

23. Bedford Street – Looking East

24. Princesshay – Looking West

25. Catherine Square

26. Almshouses

27. Public Art - Pavilion Building

28. Public Art – War Memorial

29. Connectivity/Way Finding

30. Conclusions – Benefits Delivered
Pedestrianisation
Integration/permeability
Civic squares and spaces – with activity
New names
Economic momentum
‘Extending the day’ – connecting ‘day’, ‘evening’
and ‘night-time’ economies
 Dwell time
 City Centre living
 Quality design







31. QUESTIONS

32. John Harvey Contacts:
e-mail –
john.harvey@exeter.gov.uk
Mobile –
07795 438 297
Twitter –
www.twitter.com/exeterccm
Slideshare – http://www.slideshare.net/exeterccm