3.7 Conclusions
A Riverside Centre would
make a major contribution to the regeneration of Twickenham by increasing awareness
of its riverside environment and heritage. It will do this by providing a point
of focus for the cultural identity of Twickenham, which will attract tourists
and visitors to the town centre.
An integrated Centre is
more robust to the vicissitudes of fashion and finance than one that supports
just a single function, but it is not without risk. The opportunities, strengths,
weaknesses and risks of the Centre are:
3.7.1 Opportunities
“Spirit of Twickenham”
Twickenham has grown from
a riverside village, but the river remains at its core and one of the best parts
of it is the site of this development. In the 18th Century, a tradition
was founded of Twickenham as a centre of excellence in literature, painting,
music and crafts that is maintained by the present artistic community. The views,
the environmental features, and the combination of a working and a recreational
river, continue to attract visitors and residents. The Centre will:
- Celebrate its rich
riverside heritage and its distinguished artistic tradition
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- Provide a focal
point for both of the riverside and artistic strands of Twickenham’s
heritage and present culture
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- Improve the ambience
of the area by removing the current blight.
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The Riverside
The Centre will relate strongly
to the river and it will:
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- Increase appreciation
and awareness of the local environment and its history
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- Be a landmark building
on the riverside that will add style and character to the local setting.
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Commercial impact
The Centre will become a
focus for town life and tourism and as such will contribute significantly to
the regeneration of Twickenham town centre. It will:
- Attract visitors
to Twickenham
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- Encourage and support
upmarket customers to the development and surrounding area
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- Place the Twickenham
Tourist Office where it will be most effective
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- Associate the Health
and Fitness Centre with a public activity, by virtue of the entrance
to the facility being through the Centre
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- Support the performances
and markets in the piazza
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- Provide a place
for the family elements of rugby crowds to spend their time and money
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- Attract visitors
to the shops and café within the Centre, thus helping to ensure its
financial viability.
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Fundraising
It is normal for Discovery
Centres to raise funds from the local community and funding bodies, for projects,
exhibits and further development. Fundraising is always hard, but this area
has the advantage of a population with a strong sense of civic responsibility
and suitable skills and experience in funding local projects.
Local shops, businesses
and groups have a good track record in sponsoring relatively modest identifiable
objects or projects.
Flexibility
Because of its composite
nature and flexible building it will be possible to adapt or extend the Centre
to future needs, trends or developments.
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3.7.2 Strengths
The Centre has a number
of fundamental strengths.
Position and presence
- There are few riverside
buildings with public access between Marble Hill House and Kingston
Bridge
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- It is the end of
the riverside walk from Richmond to Twickenham
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- It has good public
transport links
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- It will support
the open-air performance space (storage, etc.)
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- It will attract
good and appropriate local support
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- It’s the right
place for the Tourist Office
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- It will be open
for long hours and attract different types and ages of people throughout
the day.
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Management and finance
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- The financial projections
are robust
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- Volunteers with
appropriate skills, commitment and integrity are likely to be forthcoming
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- The building design
and management structure will enable the Centre to respond to changing
circumstances.
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New concept
- A new concept stirs
the imagination and will attract support and visitors
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- The pioneer work
has been done by other Centres, such as Techniquest. We can learn from
their experience and get the Centre underway much more quickly than
if we were starting from scratch.
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3.7.3 Risks
There are risks associated
with the venture. However, they are risks that can be addressed, not grounds
for rejecting the proposal.
Design
- It won’t work if
the building is made smaller than that proposed in this report. There
needs to be opportunity for the Centre to expand if there is demand
for it
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- Poor design of
the multifunctional building may result in parts of the building being
unsuitable or unusable for their intended purpose.
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Loss of nerve
In the light of the current
perception of the Millennium Dome and other major Millennium projects, the Council
may conclude that it is unwilling to support the Centre.
A review of such projects
(‘The Times’, 4th February 2000) showed that the failures were mainly
associated with acceptance of ambitious attendance figures prepared by consultants,
and the aim of being a national attraction. Less ambitious projects that focus
on local strengths and needs are proving successful.
The proposal made in this
report is for a Centre with strong local focus. The recommendation contained
in the Tym’s report for a national Riverside Discovery Centre has been firmly
rejected.
It is essential that the
Council is not exposed to claims for subsidy. The initial view is that the financial
and management arrangements can be structured so as to ensure against that risk.
However, this is an item that requires detailed attention, whilst the Developer
is preparing his proposal, before a firm commitment is made.
In the long term
One can foresee a number
of problems arising in the future. Each is a consequence of bad management,
and can be avoided by good management. They include:
- The Centre is so
successful that demand can’t be met so that the ambience is destroyed
and the building is battered
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- There is a loss
of vision and focus because of multiple use and poor management
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- Poor management
creates a dead space and white elephant
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- Can’t sustain enough
interest and diversity of exhibits and/or projects
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3.7.4 Weaknesses
There are a number of identifiable
weaknesses:
Scale
- The size of the
Centre may drive up the scale of the requisite enabling development
to an unacceptable level.
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- One way of addressing
this difficulty is to find part funding for the Centre beyond the development.
This is likely to be achievable, but will take time. To accommodate
the time, the options are to delay the whole development or to proceed
with the shell of the Centre, leaving fitting out until later.
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- The Centre building
may fail to meet planning regulations. However, if the Centre is a stand-alone
building and it spreads horizontally rather than vertically, this is
unlikely to be a difficulty.
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Access
- Although access
by public transport is good, parking in Twickenham is limited. Many
Discovery Centres in other metropolitan areas work without special provision
being made for parking. The Centre will mainly be used for visits and
events that do not require lots of people to be present at a fixed time;
hence, the parking demand is spread throughout the day. Thus, the parking
constraint is less severe than it appears at first sight. However, it
may be a problem for the audience in the performance space.
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New concept
- Whilst it may be
seen as a strength, there are problems in getting a new idea understood
and accepted. To be a success, the Centre will require a significant
amount of promotion and marketing, both short-term and long-term.
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3.8 RECOMMENDATIONS
| 1. |
A Riverside Centre
of at least 1,350m2 with Discovery, Arts, Heritage and commercial
elements be approved in principle as part of the Twickenham riverside redevelopment. |
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| 2. |
The Centre Working
Group moves on to the essential next steps as stated above:
- Prepare a
detailed business plan
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- Make firm
recommendations as to management structure and related matters
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- Seek professional
advice on the design and operation of the Discovery Centre and
performance space
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- Prepare an
outline operational plan that makes clear potential involvement
in and use of the Centre by local groups and the community as
a whole
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- Engage in
ongoing discussions with the architect and developer
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- Ascertain
the possibilities and practicalities of raising additional funds
for the support of the Centre
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- Contact local
groups about possible use of the Centre
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- Publicise
the concept of the Centre.
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