Examine competing town centres and others with well designed and attractive public areas and take photographs of good practice for reference. You might consider appointing consultants to provide an urban design framework and ideas for improvement. It is important to pay due regard to the way the centre has developed over the years and make best use of existing assets such as historic facades or features. Some fundamental design considerations There is often a tendency to over-design, resulting in clutter and unnecessary expense. Projects that have been drawn in plan form can sometimes look empty, but prepare a few sketch perspectives of the scheme to include shop fronts and people and a better impression will result.
People moving through a space are as much part of the street scene as the seats, bollards and trees.
After considering the effects of statutory requirements such as traffic signs and road markings it is useful to involve the specialists, such as the traffic signs engineer, at an early stage. Guidelines should be treated as such and not as rules, so look for ways to reduce the impact of signs and supporting posts - flexibility is the key. Whilst most well designed items of street furniture should blend in, consider the benefits of co-ordinated design and colours from the outset. Whenever possible, salvage existing furniture and natural materials for re-use, even for a future project, and instead of automatically following the 'safe' option, such as selecting 'Victorian' style lamp columns and using them everywhere, consider every option. Keeping a sense of place Town centres often have special characteristics and the image or atmosphere of the place should always be retained and enhanced.