Skipton Renaissance Project 2003

Note: November 2004 saw launch of the website www.skiptonrenaissance.org.uk/ - this is the official council-owned site and is the place to go for latest on the Skipton Renaissance Partnership

This page (below) last modified 14 July 2003

It's all about getting the community involved in the future of the town. What with SkiptonWeb being a community site, we find this particularly interesting...

There was a 'Renaissance Weekend' held on the High Street over the weekend of 12th/13th July 2003, with open discussions and everyone invited to participate, both tourists and locals.

As part of the 'Renaissance Market Towns' initiative, teams from John Thompson and Partners consultants have been working with the community since April 2003 to bring together ideas and create a 'vision for the future'. A 'Rennaissance Charter' will be produced along with an action plan.

There are photographs of the Renaissance Weekend in the SkiptonWeb gallery.

Here's a link to the message board where you can add your own comments on this issue...

More information / links:

The John Thompson and Partners website is at www.communityplanning.co.uk - you can download an agenda/programme there - a 1.5MB (Yipe! - 1.5MB for 2 pages of A4) Acrobat PDF format document. Don't have ADSL? Don't want to waste time downloading and firing up Adobe Acrobat, then painfully scrolling through it all? Just want the info? Well it's your lucky day. We've done it all for you and pasted the text below, on this page.

The Skipton Renaissance program is being organised by Yorkshire Forward, Craven District Council and Skipton Town Council

The rest of this page is the text of the program/agenda from the www.communityplanning.co.uk website:

Skipton Renaissance Weekend - the gateway to the future

Friday 11 July to Wednesday 16 July 2003
The Marquee, Skipton High Street (outside the Town Hall)

The Renaissance Marquee

The Renaissance Marquee will be the focal point for a wide range of Topic-based Workshops and Hands-on Planning Sessions which will run throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Everyone who cares about Skipton and it’s hinterland is invited to participate - its an informal process and it’s fun, so just pop in or stay all day.

What’s happened so far?

Yorkshire Forward (the Regional Development Agency) are working to make Yorkshire and the Humber the UK's number one region and have appointed John Thompson & Partners (Community Planners) to lead the Renaissance Market Towns process for Skipton. Their team has been working with the local community since April and all of the ideas created so far will be brought together and further explored over the Renaissance Weekend. This event will be an important milestone in the history of the town, which will be simultaneously celebrated through the transformation of the High Street - “for an evening and a day”.

What will be created?

By the end of the Renaissance Weekend, a Vision for the Future will have been created, together with a Renaissance Charter and Action Plan, to be delivered through a new partnership of interests, The Renaissance Team. The Vision will be unveiled at the Report Back which will take place at 8pm on the Wednesday evening, 16 July, in the Town Hall. Don’t miss it!

The High Street Transformed - “for an evening and a day”

We’re closing and animating the High Street from 6pm on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. Now we need you (and your family and friends) to bring it to life. Just bring a hamper and enjoy the space or help to entertain as well - music, dance, performance, art, acrobatics and anything else you can think of - everybody and every idea elcome!

The Renaissance Weekend is being organised by John Thompson and Partners on behalf of Craven District Council, Skipton Town Council and Yorkshire Forward. For further information please contact Nicola Forde, John Thompson & Partners, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ. Tel: 020 7251 5135; Fax: 020 7251 5136; Email: nf@jtp.co.uk or visit the project website at www.communityplanning.co.uk. If you would like to organise an activity for the High Street, please contact Jonathan Kerr, Craven District Council, Granville Street, Skipton. Tel: 01756 700 600; Fax:
01756 700 658; Email: jkerr@cravendc.gov.uk

Programme

Friday 11 July - The Renaissance Marquee (Town Hall)

2.00pm Welcome and Introduction

2.15pm Topic Workshops:
The Bigger Picture
Skipton’s regional role
The Town and surroundings
Young People’s Workshop
What do we need?
Where should it go?

3.15pm Refreshments and report back

4.00pm Topic Workshops:
Tourism, Heritage and Culture:
The ‘Gateway to the Dales’
Skipton as a cultural centre?
Housing and Social Provision:
Problems and needs
What’s needed?

6.00pm The Local Economy:
Rural Businesses and Farming
Defining New Markets

6pm - 8pm Hands-On Planning: Drop in and work with us in small groups around plans of the Town and its hinterland - it’s an enjoyable process, and it works.

Saturday 12 July - The Renaissance Marquee (Town Hall)

11.00am Welcome and Introduction

11.15am Topic Workshops:
Jobs, Training, Enterprise:
Small business development
IT and marketing
Landscape & Transport:
Public and private transport
Creating a high quality environment

12.45pm Report Back

1.30pm Lunch

2.00pm Hands-On Planning & Walkabouts:
Come and work with us in small
groups to develop the ideas which
have arisen, including exploring the
Town and its surroundings on foot and
by coach.

5.00pm Report Back and Way Forward

6.00pm Close

6pm Saturday 12 July to 6pm Sunday 13 July - The High Street Transformed

The High Street Transformed - “for an evening and a day”. Come and enjoy the entertainment and give us your ideas at The Family Drop-in that will run throughout Sunday in the Renaissance Marquee.

8pm Wednesday 16 July 2003 - The Town Hall - A Vision for Skipton

Report Back, Presentation, Exhibition. See the Vision unveiled and take a stroll through the future. Don’t miss it!

...

The Renaissance Weekend is being organised by John Thompson and Partners on behalf of Craven District Council, Skipton Town Council and Yorkshire Forward. For further information please contact Nicola Forde, John Thompson & Partners, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ. Tel: 020 7251 5135; Fax: 020 7251 5136; Email: nf@jtp.co.uk or visit the project website at www.communityplanning.co.uk. If you would like to organise an activity for the High Street, please contact Jonathan Kerr, Craven District Council, Granville Street, Skipton. Tel: 01756 700 600; Fax:
01756 700 658; Email: jkerr@cravendc.gov.uk