WHAT MAKES A PLACE SPECIAL?

Newtown exercise

Note These outputs reflect the discussion at the

seminar The responses are those of the participating

groups as fed back in plenary rather than the product of a detailed analysis

The report therefore illustrates what a workshop of this kind can produce; it is not a finished discussion of either character area

Investigation

Brainstorm features in the built environment that contribute to an understanding of character

Suggest the features that are key to analysing any area of a town

Apply these generic features to an analysis of Sycamore Drive

Character elements Building materials Palette Street layout (grid, etc) Building line Roof line Density Use/status/class Variety/uniformity Boundaries (hedges/railings)

Character elements Relationship to topography Continuity with earlier landscape features Landscape treatment Greenery Amenity Height/massing Building style/date/uniformity Fenestration detail Survival of original features Public and private space

Character elements Movement patterns Permeability/legibility Pavements, footpaths, lanes Use of rear to properties Change of use Adaptability

Penygloddfa

Penyglodda Grid layout 2-3 storeys Materials: brick, render, slate, cast iron Building line directly to pavement Surviving original detail (porches, doors, window

detail) Lower windows sash/upper casements Back to back, high density, terraces Use: residential/handloom weaving lofts Use: some “factories” (conversions)

Penygloddfa Some gaps in fabric Topography (sloping site) Layout reflects earlier field boundaries Uniformity of period linked to development of

handloom weaving and growth in E 19C/uniformity of style

On-street parking Yards to rear (note openings to yards) Lack of street trees; plot rears and vacant sites

adapted to gardens/green space

Penygloddfa Little modern infill Sharp boundaries to character area and

separation from Edwardian and later upslope and to W

Higher status residential in Crescent St? Corner shop, pub, museum Compact area Wide streets Attractive detailing (brick, timber detail) Some Regency features to more pretentious units:

arches, hoodmoulds, doorcases)

Sycamore Drive

Sycamore Drive 1984-94

Sycamore Drive Part of private housing estate: contrasts with

public housing of 1970s (predominant in modern Newtown) but part of recent expansion as service and retail centre

Development in phases (Beechwood Drive/Brynglas Ave earliest, pre 1994); still building 2009 at NW end of Sycamore Drive (laid out parallel to Old Barn Lane post 1994)

Spine road/culs de sac Follows contours of hillside Mainly semi-detached, some link with front and

rear gardens

Sycamore Drive Wide, curving spine road Mainly two storey but recent three-storey town

houses Brick (some variation of shade/palette), uPVC Uniformly residential Individual treatment of frontages/gardens Some conversion of front gardens to hard standing Later development is denser Variety offered by variation of house type and

individualisation of private space, but not locally distinctive

Sycamore Drive Distant from amenities Car dependent/wide streets Parking in garages/hard standing Recent town houses have no front garden space

to reflect needs of multiple car ownership Limited connection with earlier street pattern Typically L20C/E21C suburban: “anytown” Backed by farmland and hillside – attractive urban

edge setting Solar panelling reflects adaptation in energy

supply by individual owner