Archway Project
Latest - Archway GPG's Summary (pdf) and Winter Newsletter (pdf) are now available for download
The ARCHWAY project is an E.U. Interreg IIIC West Zone funded scheme. The project is lead by Chester City Council and the network has five themed partners, three supporting partners and one advisory partner.
The project aims to develop and expand shared expertise on a range of key urban development issues in the specific context of historic walled towns and cities, with the intention of informing regional policy across Europe.
The central problem the project addresses is the challenge of sustainable development in walled towns. It will focus on 5 themes:
- Conservation, protection and enhancement - enabling the development of a modern environment with the constraints of a historic setting. A thread running through all of the above topics will be the theme of overcoming barriers to mobility within and around walled towns which often present their own particular challenges to disabled people and others with mobility difficulties.
- Transport - the problems of transport, parking and access to and within some of Europe's most attractive and historic places;
- Spatial Planning and Development - realistic spatial planning and management systems to create vibrant and modern places without compromising their historic and local distinctiveness;
- Tourism Development and Visitor Management - establishing walled towns as a focus for sustainable tourism and economic development without damaging their distinctive and historic qualities;
- Creative development and management of the cultural heritage and how to harness this as a driver for their economic future in a sustainable way.
ARCHWAY is holding five pairs of themed workshops that will lead to the publication of five separate good practice guides, dealing with the particular topics above. The project will conclude with a major Legacy conference open to organisations from across Europe.
A key theme of the project running through all of the identified topics will be access and the need to overcome barriers to mobility within the context of walled towns and cities. This will involve ensuring that regional spatial policy takes account of the needs of disabled people and others with mobility problems; managing the potential tensions between conservation and access needs; ensuring that transport systems are accessible to and usable by all; maximising the economic dividend from broadening the tourist/cultural potential of walled towns for all those with mobility difficulties. This will not only be of benefit to disabled people but also to others (such as carers with children and the elderly) for whom the historic environment can present significant barriers to mobility.
The project will build on the networking potential of the Walled Town Friendship Circle (WTFC - which was established in 1989) but is not restricted to WTFC members. The WTFC is a European based network of 140 members from both existing EU member states and new accession states. The function of the Circle is to provide a network to tackle European wide shared issues and provide a forum for the development of good practice and innovative solutions to challenges and opportunities which walled towns face.
The latest Archway Newsletter is now available for download (257kb - PDF)
Presentation given to the Walled Towns Friendship Circle (435kb - Powerpoint)