The people

A       Who needs to be involved in changing the place for the better?

A1    Stakeholders

Who has an interest in or concern for the future of the place through living, working, playing, visiting, providing services or investing here?

A2    Local knowledge

Who has local knowledge?

A3    Finance

Who manages budgets that might be used to improve the place?

A4    Control, regulation and standards

Who controls, regulates or sets standards here?

A5    Policy

Who draws up policies, plans, briefs and strategies that affect the place?

A6    Opinion

Who shapes opinion locally?

A7    Action

Who makes things happen around here?

A8    Collaboration

How can all these people work together on the Placecheck and beyond?

B       What resources are available locally to help people get involved?

B1                Support

What resources to support people working together are already available (including information and advice services, venues for exhibitions, training programmes, grant schemes, and funded initiatives)? 

B2    Skills

What skills are available to help improve the place? How can further technical expertise and professional skills be made available to people who need them?

B3    Guidance

What guidance or expertise can the local authority or other bodies provide?

B4    A focus

Is there a centre that can be a venue for meetings and exhibitions, and provide support for the improvement process? If not, might it be possible to set one up?

B5    Gearing up

Do any local organisations need help in gearing themselves up so they can become involved effectively?

B6    New stakeholder groups

Do any new groupings of people with a stake in the place’s future need to be organised and given support? 

B7    Appraisals

Have any useful appraisals already been carried out (conservation area appraisal, urban design assessments, or histories for example) in any part of the area?

B8    Keeping people involved

What can be done to make sure that people who are consulted continue to have a role in implementing the resulting strategy, rather than leaving everything to other organisations and professionals?

B9    Design forum

Should a design forum be set up to bring together a wide range of people to consider design issues and their common interests on a continuing basis?

C      What other methods (apart from Placechecks) might we use to develop our ideas about how to improve the place?

C1    Sharing visions

Should events be organised to identify common interests, discuss ideas, share information and experience, and enable people to organise themselves into continuing working groups focusing on specific topics?

C2    Design workshops

Should workshop sessions be organised to bring a wide range of participants together to explore design ideas for an area?

C3    Action planning

Should action planning events be organised to enable local people and invited teams of professionals to explore design ideas together over one or several days?

C4    Deciding priorities

Should residents and others make a simple model of their area to help in deciding priorities for action?

D      How can we make the most of other programmes and resources?

D1    Council programmes

How can we help the local council to focus its own programmes and resources on improving this area?

D2    Education and training

How can links be developed with education and training programmes locally?

D3    Sustainable development

How can links be made with local authority sustainable development initiatives

D4    Economic development

How can links be made between economic development and environmental improvement strategies locally?

D5    Transport

How can links be made with walking and cycling initiatives, and other initiatives such as Travelwise, Safe Routes to School and Quality Bus Partnerships?

D6    Grants

What sources of grants are available locally?

D7    Social inclusion

How can links be made with neighbourhood renewal and social inclusion initiatives?

D8    The market

What knowledge is available about how the local economy and property market are likely to influence what development is possible?

E       How can we raise our sights?

E1    Inspiration

How can local leaders (in local government, business, education, faiths and the voluntary sector) be introduced to inspiring examples of urban regeneration?

E2    Study visits

To where should study visits be organised?

E3    Environmental education

How can environmental education in schools be promoted, focusing on the neighbourhood, town or city, to help the next generation of decision-makers and civic leaders understand how places change and can be changed?

F       What other initiatives could improve the place?

F1     Local management

Should a town centre management or neighbourhood wardens initiative be set up, or is there an existing one that can be further developed?

F2     Design initiative

Should a design initiative be launched, involving people and organisations that shape the built environment in a linked series of events, exhibitions and publications?

F3     Networking

How can local networks be developed to link people with a common interest in shaping the place, and who can benefit from being in contact with each other?

F4     Youth council

Should a youth council be set up to develop a programme of events, exhibitions and exchanges involving young people in environmental issues?

F5     Ideas competition

Should an ideas competition be launched to attract interest, explore new approaches and inspire action?

F6     Awards scheme

Should an awards scheme be organised for the best contributions to improving the area?

F7     Celebration

Should local festivals and other events be organised to celebrate the area’s distinctive character?

F8     Self-help

How can self-help initiatives by tenants’ and residents’ associations, amenity societies, traders’ associations and other interest groups (individually or in partnership) be launched and supported?

F9     Facilities

What facilities does the place lack?

 

The place

G      How can we make this a more special place?

G1    Valued buildings

Which buildings and structures are important to conserve? Are they already protected, or should they be?

G2    Local style

Are there local building forms, practices and materials that should inspire what is built today?

G3    Scale

Does the area have a general scale of building that should be followed for most new development?

G4    Identity

Are there particular streets or spaces whose special character is vital to the identity of the whole area?

G5    Highlights

How can the setting or appearance of the best buildings and spaces be improved?

G6    Skylines

Are there distinct skylines (or opportunities to create them) that development should respect?

G7    Public art

Are there places where works of art (such as sculpture, paving, water features and lighting) could enhance the place’s character and sense of identity?

G8    Reflecting the past

What information (such as maps, published history or oral reminiscences) is available about how the place has developed? What aspects of the place’s history might be reflected in new development?

G9    Protection

Is any of the area protected (as a conservation area, for example)?

H       How can we make this a greener place?

H1    Natural features

Which natural features are important to conserve and emphasise?

H2    Planting

Where can trees, shrubs or hedges be planted to form views, provide shelter, give spaces a sense of enclosure, soften or screen unattractive buildings and other structures, provide seasonal variety, and attract wildlife?

H3    Parks

Are there places where a park or green space needs to be created or improved?

H4    Green corridors

Are there places where green corridors (for people and/or wildlife) could be created along natural features or roads, rivers and canals?

H5    Ecology

What local schemes are there to improve habitats and support wildlife? What else needs to be done to attract or protect living things (flora and fauna)?

H6    Large-scale planting

Where would large-scale planting usefully provide shelter from the wind or shade from the sun?

H7    Streams and rivers

Are there any streams or rivers (on the surface or underground in pipes or culverts) that could be made more of?

I      How can the streets and other public spaces be made safer and more pleasant for people on foot?

I1       Feeling safe

Are there places where people feel unsafe during the day or at night? What can be done to make them safer?

I2       Facing the street

Are there places where the street would be livelier and feel safer if a building or buildings (existing or new) had windows or doors on to the street, rather than presenting a blank facade?

I3       Back gardens

It is generally safer for the rear gardens of houses to back on to other gardens, rather than side roads or service lanes. Are there places where new development or other improvements could contribute to that?

I4       Public or private space

Is it hard to tell whether some pieces of land are public or private space? If so, how can the distinction be made clear (for example, by maintaining the line of buildings along a street, or by walls, fences, railings, gates, signs and paving)?

I5       Gap sites

Are there places where a gap in an otherwise continuous line of building frontages along a street detracts from the street’s quality? If so, how might the gap be filled? Alternatively, how might a usable, attractive space for pedestrians be created there?

I6       A sense of enclosure

Pleasant streets, squares, parks and other spaces are often enclosed by buildings (of a scale that feels right) and/or trees. What opportunities are there to create that sense of enclosure?

I7       Taming the traffic

Are there streets and street junctions that could be made to feel more like public spaces (by traffic calming, for example), rather than just traffic routes?

I8       Overlooking

Are there places where streets, footpaths and open spaces would feel safer if buildings overlooked them?

I9       Lighting

Are there places where lighting needs to be improved, or light nuisance (such as lights near bedroom windows) reduced?

I10    Living over shops

Is there potential for living over shops to provide inhabited rooms overlooking streets and to encourage evening activity?

I11    Ground Floors

Can ground floors be made livelier by providing entrances, windows and active uses (giving interest to passers-by and allowing the street to be overlooked)?

I12    Car parks

Are there places where a car park provides the immediate frontage to a street, and where the street would be improved in appearance and for pedestrians by a more active use?

I13    Detail

Which buildings lack interesting detail, particularly at ground level where people see it close at hand?

J        How else can public spaces be improved?     

J1      Open space

Is there any public or open space that is not used for anything? How can it be made usable?

J2      Shelter

What places are unnecessarily windy (due to down-draughts from tall buildings or a lack of shelter)? What can be done about it?

J3      Art and craft

Are public art, craftwork and well-designed street furniture needed to give identity and interest to public spaces?

J4      Street life

Do public spaces need to be adapted (or made adaptable) to accommodate local economic, social and cultural life (such as markets, festivals, tourism, night life, eating, entertainment, sport, sitting out, promenading, religious practices and retailing)?

J5      Contamination

Are there places where rubbish or ground contamination needs to be cleared up?

J6      Pollution

Are there places where air or water pollution needs to be tackled?

J7      Noise

Are there places where the impact of noise needs to be reduced?

J8      Graffiti

Are there places where graffiti needs to be removed or protected against?

J9      Clean streets

Are the streets and other spaces well cleaned and maintained?

J10  Fly-tipping

Are there places where fly-tipping needs to be prevented or where dumped rubbish needs to be cleared?

J11  Maintenance

Is it clear who is responsible for caring for and maintaining each piece of public and open space? If not, how can it be cared for?  

J12  Vermin

Are there problems with mice, rats, pigeons or other vermin?  

K       How can we make the place more welcoming and easier for people to find their way around?

K1    Landmarks

Are new landmarks (buildings, works of art or other features) needed to create or improve views, and help people find their way around?

K2    Views

Are there places where views (of local landmarks, for example) need to be opened up?

K3    Corner buildings

Are there places where a new corner building could provide a useful landmark?

K4    Gateways

What can be done to mark places that act as gateways to particular areas?

K5    Civic buildings

Are there public spaces that would be visible and accessible locations for public and community buildings?

K6    Entrances

Do the entrances to public buildings need to be made more welcoming?

K7    Lighting

Are there places where better lighting is needed to improve safety, help people find their way around, highlight landmarks, show off attractive buildings, or disguise eyesores?

K8    Signage

Are there places where better signs are needed?

K9    First impressions

Do the signs give the right impression of the area?

K10 Names

Are street and building names clearly visible?

L        How can the place be made adaptable to change in the future?

L1     Flexibility

What can be done to ensure that new buildings are not tightly designed to a very particular use, so that they can be adapted later to any one of a variety of future uses? (Floor-to-ceiling heights, building materials, and the design of ground floors and street-corner buildings may be important.)

L2     Mixed uses

How can new development or other improvements make possible a mix of compatible uses and tenures to help make the place one where people live, work and play? (This might include flats above shops, or workshops in residential areas.)

M      How can better use be made of resources?

M1   Energy

How can new and existing buildings minimise their use of energy? (This may involve matters such as how buildings face the sun, how they are sheltered from the wind by the slope of the land, trees, and other buildings, and how they are constructed.)

M2   Land

Are there buildings, sites or areas that are underused? What would help bring them into use, and what might they be used for?

M3   Building materials

What suitable building materials are available from local and/or sustainable sources?

N       What should be done to make the most of public transport?

N1    Density

What can be done to ensure that the density of development is highest where access to public transport is best?

N2    Bus stops

Are there bus stops that need to be more conveniently sited, made safer and lit better?

N3    Bus priority

Can higher priority be given to buses on main transport corridors?

N4    Shared bus lanes

Can bus lanes be adapted to accommodate cyclists as well?

N5    Railways stations

Are railways stations accessible by foot from all directions?

O      How can routes be made better connected?

O1    Connected spaces

Are there public spaces that need to be better linked in to a route that is well used by people on foot?

O2    Streets for people

Are there streets that seem to have been designed solely with vehicles in mind, which need to be adapted as places for people on foot (by calming traffic or widening pavements, for example)?

O3    Pedestrian routes

Are there pedestrian routes that need to be made more even and non-slip, clearer to recognise, better lit, less cluttered by street furniture and more interesting?

O4    Connected routes

Are there roads or footpaths that need to be better connected into well-used routes, so that the presence of more people makes them feel safer?        

O5    Cycling

What needs to be done to encourage cycling, and to make cycling safer for cyclists and pedestrians?

O6    Junctions

Are there junctions that should be made to look more obviously like the way into an area, helping to give the area identity and making it easier for people to find their way around?

O7    Boulevards

Are there places where buildings turn their backs on a main through route, and where a continuous frontage could be created if the road were turned into a boulevard?

O8    Barriers

What barriers to movement (walls and fences, for example) would be better removed?

O9    Direct routes

What places that pedestrians go to and from need to be connected by more direct routes?

O10            Pedestrian crossings

Are there road crossings that are not well positioned, or places where new road crossings are needed?

O11            High streets

Are there streets where some of the qualities of a traditional high street could be encouraged by allowing for stopping, parking and slow traffic, and providing wide pavements?

O12            Traffic speeds

Are there places where the layout of new development (using smaller corner radiuses, rather than wide sweeping curves, for example) could encourage low traffic speeds?

O13            Parking

Are there places where parking needs to be improved, controlled or reduced?

O14            Deliveries

Are there places where arrangements for deliveries need to be made safer?