Report of the Institute of Place Management

To receive the Vital and Viable Withington report and to consider how the Our Manchester Approach was used in relation to Withington District Centre.

The Subgroup received the Vital and Viable Withington report produced by the IPM which provided key insights about Withington emerging from the Vital and Viable District Centres project, drawing on centre audits, footfall data, meetings with the neighbourhood team, and a workshop with local stakeholders.  The report also provided the context and background to the analysis of Withington.

Dr Steve Millington from the IPM gave a presentation on this work referring to the main points and themes which included:

• Key strengths and weaknesses of the district centre identified from the workshop with local stakeholders;
• Key priorities for the district centre identified by stakeholders;
• “Quick win” approaches to improve Withington district centre;
• The role of the Withington Village Partnership and We Are Withington group;
• The project to improve the appearance of the area through commissioning street art;
• The impact of “Withington By Night”, an evening of late night opening of shops with entertainment, food and drink; and
• The wider policy implications of this work.

The Ward Councillor for Withington welcomed the progress that had been made over the previous two years and that the work had been led by local traders and residents, in accordance with the Our Manchester approach.  He reported that the workshops had looked at the detail of what kind of place the stakeholders wanted Withington to be, while having regard for the challenges presented by the busy bus route of Wilmslow Road and the limited public realm.  He highlighted the shutter art project, events such as “Withington By Night” and the forthcoming re-development of the former Nat West Bank as positive changes.  He welcomed the increased footfall since the refurbishment of Withington Library which, he reported, was now a major community hub.  He informed Members that the Christie Hospital had “walk-in Wednesdays” when staff and other hospital users were encouraged to walk to and use the district centre but that he felt that the Christie could get more involved and that it would be beneficial to have more trees along the route from the Christie to the district centre.

The Ward Councillor for Old Moat thanked the IPM and Council officers for supporting the work in Withington.  He informed Members that a Withington Action Plan had been developed in 2010 but that the aspirations for the area had been affected by austerity.  He reported that some of the ideas from this original plan were still being pursued but that it was recognised that the Council could not achieve these on its own and that a partnership approach was needed, involving local traders, residents, housing associations, the Withington Civic Society and other stakeholders.  He advised that this work was building on the heritage of the area, including conservation area status and the cultural history of the area, and he highlighted the good work which had taken place so far.  He advised Members that the footfall data had been useful, reporting that a local trader had changed her opening hours to reflect the footfall levels and that this had increased her trade.  He reported that the crowd funder for the street art had been successful not only in raising the money but in generating a lot of comments and ideas about how to improve the area.

The Chair commented that the importance of the library to Withington reflected information from other areas which suggested that public buildings and spaces were important in drawing people into the district centres.

Jennifer Smith from Love Withington Baths reported that Withington Baths had been due to close due to the opening of a new leisure centre at Hough End.  She reported that, following a petition and march by local people, the Council agreed to keep the baths open for a further twelve months and that, during that time, the community had put a business plan together to run the baths as a charity, with a board of volunteer directors.  She informed Members that a bid had been submitted to the National Heritage Fund to make improvements to the building and the pool.  She reported that the aim was for the facility to be a community hub, not just swimming baths, and that they had a community advisory group to ensure that the directors were doing what the community wanted.  She informed Members about the co-working space located at the baths.  She outlined her role in getting local traders working together and the organisation of events such as “Withington By Night” and projects such as the Withington Walls Project, reporting that local people were being consulted on the images for the street art.  She reported that future plans included working more with the Christie Hospital, to increase links between the hospital and the district centre, including have pop-up shops within the Christie and maps to show users of the Christie the local amenities.  In response to a question from the Chair, Jennifer Smith confirmed that she was employed part-time by Withington Baths and this included recruiting and supporting volunteers and working with other organisations that complemented their work, such as health services, and bringing them into the baths.

A Member, who was also a Ward Councillor for the neighbouring ward of Didsbury West, highlighted the impact of the busy traffic, particularly double decker buses, and questioned whether anything could be done to mitigate the impact.  He suggested that those involved in creating a map for Withington liaise with Councillor Andrew Simcock who had led on the creation of a map for Didsbury.  He also questioned whether the forthcoming re-development of part of the Christie’s site would include shops and the impact of this on the district centre.  The Neighbourhood Manager advised that the original plans for the Christie’s new building had included commercial space on the ground floor but that this had been revised, following feedback from local people and Ward Councillors.  The Ward Councillor for Withington advised that the building would now only have a café.

The Subgroup discussed the type and longevity of the businesses investing in the area.  The Neighbourhood Manger reported that some businesses were planning to make a long-term, significant investment in Withington district centre.  The Ward Councillor for Old Moat highlighted some of the changes which were impacting on the type of businesses in Withington, for example, a reduction in students in the area and changes in the way people found new homes impacting on the number of takeaways and letting agents in the area.  He informed Members that the area’s empty unit rate was similar to the national average.

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration reported that some of the key learning from the work in Withington was the importance of a broad stakeholder group, including residents, traders and wider partners, the challenge for the Council in how to engage with, support and sustain such a group and how to develop a strong sense of place and a vision for the area.

The Planning and Infrastructure Manager reported that since 2009 surveys had been carried out every two years in each district centre on the number of units and the type of businesses occupying them.  He offered to share this information, which highlighted changes in the nature of some of the district centres, with the Subgroup Members, to which the Chair agreed.

In response to a Member’s question, the Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration advised that it would be difficult to identify one type of business or amenity which was most important as an anchor for district centres.  Dr Steve Millington reported that it would depend on the area and that the IPM’s approach was engaged scholarship, working with local communities to identify the problems and solutions for that particular area.  Helen Power, founder of Levenshulme Market, who also worked for CLES, the national organisation for local economies, advised that an important factor was whether an organisation ensured that money remained circulating in the local economy, for example, through using local procurement chains and recruiting local people.

The Chair summarised some of the key learning from Withington.  She highlighted the important role of the local community and how a negative event (the proposed closure of Withington Baths) had been turned into a positive.  She advised that the challenge was to continue to sustain this work and keep people engaged which could be done through people taking on tasks such as putting on an event where they could quickly see the impact, for example the increased footfall.  She also highlighted the importance of Withington Library and the impact of the public realm, including the challenges presented by the narrow, busy road.

The Ward Councillor for Withington reported that there was a longer-term aspiration to improve the public realm, including making the area more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, as well as ensuring it was Age Friendly.

Following Withington’s unsuccessful bid to the Future High Streets Fund, the Chair asked whether there was any news about a second round of funding.  Dr Steve Millington advised that this was likely to be in the summer of 2020.

Decision

To note that the Planning and Infrastructure Manager will share information from the surveys of the district centres with the Subgroup Members.