Urban designers call on Lichfield residents to share design ideas for Birmingham Road Site

Create Streets will host a stall at the Wade Street entrance to Three Spires Shopping Centre on Saturday 25 February, between 12noon and 4pm, and are calling on residents to pop by to help develop design ideas for the Birmingham Road Site. 

In November they attended the Lichfield Christmas Fayre to discuss with locals how they want the site to look and feel, and how it can best serve Lichfield.

This time they will be asking residents about the types of buildings, layout and masterplan of the site, exploring different ideas for public realm in the new development.

Create Streets specialises in working with local communities and residents, putting a focus on designing places that are beautiful, sustainable and popular.

For the past decade, Create Streets’ founder Nicholas Boys Smith has been at the forefront of challenging poor-quality development .

In June last year Create Streets and Lichfield District Council teamed up to start engagement work with local residents and stakeholders on new plans for the Birmingham Road Site, focusing on how it should look, feel and function.

Residents were invited to use the ‘Create Communities’ website to have their say on preferences for building styles and also register their favourite, and least favourite, spots in the city.

Feedback from the online platform and community engagement events will then help shape the design of the site in the next phase of development.

This engagement complements the consultation, for which many responses have been received, running in the foyer at District Council House in Lichfield’s Frog Lane.

It is open until the end of February, and everyone is welcome to drop in and post their comments on the boards in the dedicated room situated on the right through the first set of doors.

David Milner, deputy director at Create Streets said:

“At Create Streets we are challenging the current convention of community consultation. We believe that you, the residents who live in Lichfield and know it best, should be involved from the outset.

“We are delighted that the Lichfield District Council has asked us to play this role for the design of new homes, apartments, space for businesses and new streets on the Birmingham Road Site.”