Future communities

Cardiff students have helped residents in Bristol anticipate and shape their future by exploring potential planning applications and development schemes.

11 students on the MA Urban Design – an innovative course jointly run by the University's Schools of City and Regional Planning and the Welsh School of Architecture – worked with the community of Lockleaze in Bristol to help them visualise their area in the coming years.

Lockleaze is one of 17 communities in England to test neighbourhood planning, a key feature of the 2011 Localism Bill. The Bill gives powers to local communities to determine the form of development that might come forward in their community.

Under the guidance of Cardiff lecturers Mike Biddulph, Dr Andrea Frank and Marga Munar Bauza, the students worked with the community group the Lockleaze Voice and other residents to develop a neighbourhood strategy.

They identified key development sites in the area and taking into account comments and ideas from residents, presented a strategy to the group.

Speaking about the project Mike Biddulph of the School of City and Regional Planning said: "The students' work will help the residents of Lockleaze visualise the sorts of development that might come forward within the neighbourhood and anticipate the sorts of issues and requirements that they might have for schemes."

Dr Andrea Frank, also of the School of City and Regional Planning added: "The project gave students a firsthand experience of neighbourhood renewal procedures and issues, and helped them develop knowledge and skill related to community involvement – something increasingly important for professional planners."

The project both supported learning and offered real value to the Lockleaze community. The community group, the Lockleaze Voice, has also expressed its gratitude for the support they received in putting together a plan for their community.