We wanted to re-post this concise and thoughtful LinkedIn write-up from field trip participant Tess Cook of RJP Town Planners (Ruth Jackson is one of our fab mentors). When someone captures the spirit of an event so well, there’s no reason to tinker with it. We did add some of our own pix and a comment from Altrincham key player, trip organiser and FoGM board member Steph Everett of Homes England. Thanks so much, Steph!
Yesterday I was able to take advantage of a perfect sunny afternoon for a guided wander through Altrincham town centre courtesy of Future of Greater Manchester Alumni network, to understand just why the regeneration here is inspiring change in other locations.
Many thanks to Steph Everett, Lindsay Humblet, Stephen O’Malley and Pete Swift for their insights and to Lisa Taylor and Collette Hayton at Future GM for organising.
This is not a story of Alty Market and a bit of paving – the threads that run from earlier innovative work at Poynton – stitching together the destinations with the safe routes that the community wants and needs, leveraging investment commitment and belief from the businesses, measuring and demonstrating the impacts.
It is a story with true disruptors and champions for change alongside real commitment from the built environment practitioners over 15+ years.
👩🏻🎓 So many practical lessons learnt and shared, from winning hearts to maintenance top tips.
🌂……not overlooking the improved resilience to flooding from the fabulous chain of rain gardens.
🛍 And to the naysayers, you will walk further from the car parks at the Trafford Centre than you will to get into Altrincham!
Thanks also to the other participants for their excellent company and and for contributing to a very energising session reminding me just why I love my job 😊.
From co-host Pete Swift: Thank you so much for such an astute and brilliant recording of what was a really fun visit. You’re all welcome any time! 😊
From Steph: I wrote the initial Altrincham Town Centre regeneration paper for the Trafford Leader back in 2010 and Planit and Civic have been involved in design and delivery ever since. It was great to share combined reflections with Lindsay Humblet, Pete Swift and Stephen O’Malley on what ingredients have made it so successful.
If you’d like to host or request an Alumni Network field trip, get in touch with one of our fantastic Alumni reps, or Get Involved!
