A Bristol based planning expert has urged people in the city to join a campaign to de-clutter the streets in order to preserve Bristol’s historic quality and heritage.
James Edwards a planning and heritage specialist at Colliers International in Bristol said: “We are blessed with a fantastic built heritage in this city and often these remarkable buildings are affected by poor arrangement of street furniture.
“Careless street arrangements can contribute to how we interpret historic properties and could negatively affect our perceptions of these environments.”
James Edwards fully supports the English Heritage campaign to ‘save our streets’ and is encouraging local residents in Bristol to undertake an audit of their street clutter.
The campaign seeks to raise awareness of areas of the city in England blighted by superfluous signs, advertising and obstructed footways.
Local residents can download an audit on the English Heritage Website and send it to their local council. The more street audits received the more likely local councils are to take action to improve the street quality.
According to English Heritage streets are losing their character and local distinctiveness. The campaign is encouraging Bristolians to make streets a place where people want to be and where communities can thrive as a result.
James Edward concludes: “Our understanding of streetscapes is getting lost and we often fail to observe the townscapes that provide the backdrop to the streets around us.
“By making councils aware of the need for regeneration of our streets we can improve the outlook of an area and promote to the outside world a notion of civic pride.”
If you know of a cluttered street near you then join the campaign and carry out a street audit online at www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/save-our-streets.
