This afternoon I attend a meeting convened by Ash Sakula Architects, presenting their Adaptable Futures project for Frog Island. The meeting is being held at the Marmara café, Northgate Street. Despite having the full address and postcode of the venue, having looked it up on streetmap.co.uk and (or perhaps despite) having it on Google Maps on my iPhone, it takes me ages to find it. I walk up and down Northgate Street twice - on both sides of the road - before I finally see where it is. Marmara is on the forecourt of a former petrol station, which is now being used as the site of a car-cleaning and valet service. The building which is now the café is converted form the forecourt shop - as you'll see from the photo above.
I met three members of staff from Ash Sakula at the last CreativeCoffee Club and expressed interest in this project then. I'm glad to have been invited along to this meeting, among what is rather distinguished company. Chief among today's guests are Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester and Ted Cassidy, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet portfolio for Economic Development, Culture and Tourism. Sir Peter spoke briefly and positively about the importance of this part of Leicester since the beginning of the city's recorded history and offered some ideas about its potential future.
Frog Island is one of the most neglected areas of Leicester and is clearly in need of renewal. Until recently, the expectation was that large parts of Frog Island would be razed and subject to comprehensive development from the ground up. This isn't going to happen now, given the current climate, and the much-needed regeneration will have to come from within what is already there. Although this sounds like it's going to be hard work and everyone's wondering where the money will come from, still it's a relief to many. Frog Island has some of the best industrial architecture in Leicester and is testament to some of the city's most prominent former glories. It would have been a shame to see those sites vanish. I used to stay not far from here and the area is a great one for walking. Its proximity to some of the most heavily featured new developments in Highcross. Indeed, it's Highcross Street that joins the upmarket shopping precincts with the run-down downbeat Frog Island.
This project, under the aegis of Ash Sakula and Loughborough University, will complement De Montfort University's Square Mile project, which is also at work in this area of the city.
The following organisations, each with its own stake in this project, are represented here today:
- Blueprint
- Business Base
- De Montfort University
- Dominoes
- East Midlands Economic Network
- Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire
- Homes and Communities Agency
- Igloo Regeneration
- Inland Waterways Association
- Jubilee Worship Centre
- Ken Mafham Associates
- LCB Depot
- Leicester City Council
- Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership
- Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce
- Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
- Loughborough University
- Transition Leicester
- University of Leicester
From a particular Council of Faiths perspective, Frog Island has a notable absence of the diversity of places of worship and faith-based community centres that typify other parts of Leicester. Leicester Christian Fellowship, which meets at the All Nations Centre is arguably the most prominent faith community presence in Frog Island. Here today, I'm pleased to meet Bernard and Washington from the Jubilee Worship Centre in Soar Lane. We manage to have a brief word and make tentative arrangements to get together again in the near future.
Leicester Waterside has a Facebook page, which includes a number of photos taken at this event today.
No comments:
Post a Comment