Author Archive

I spent Monday with Walsingham Planning Specialist Planning and Development Consultants. To start the morning off, I met with Roberta “Rob” obtaining a detailed background in the British planning system, particular from a private consultant’s perspective. I then had the privilege of sharing a cappuccino with Emma at Costa, a local chain coffee shop that is seeking to remove a condition of planning approval in order to increase seating capacity in the café. Being able to walk out into the community and see Knutsford from a professional perspective, rather than a tourist’s view, was interesting and insightful. Mike, a planner on staff with Walsingham, then oriented me to the Planning Portal, which is the online application submittal program used to submit planning applications to local authorities. Such an electronic application format certainly reduces the amount of paper necessary but does not eliminate the need for hard copies. Nonetheless, given I’m the “tree hugger” of our planning office, I was appreciated the electronic filing program.

It’s interesting to note that our friends here on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean endure the impacts of “nimbyism” and traffic congestion and incompatible infill (for my British friends – unsympathetic development schemes within conservation areas). Folks of the greater Manchester area face the same problems as we do in Gainesville-Hall County, Georgia…we just attack them in different ways.

Thank you Walsingham for a wonderful vocational experience and for sharing with me the “dark” side of the planning world! You all were great hosts for the day!

http://www.walsinghamplanning.co.uk/

Oh my goodness! I can’t believe this experience has come down to a little over 24-hours before we fly out of Manchester!?!?! What a bittersweet moment…one of looking forward to hugging our families and yet saying goodbye to wonderful, warm people – our new friends. I must admit that while I am anxious to see my husband and two little boys, saying goodbye at the Farewell Dinner was more difficult than I imagined. Seeing all of the gracious hosts and many other Rotarians and friends was touching, a lasting impression which words cannot describe. Many of you have taken us into not just your homes, but also into your hearts and families, and for that we are grateful. And it is those moments spent sitting around the table with my host families, sharing a drink of some sorts and chatting about the little differences between our cultures, which I will treasure always. Thank you District 1050 for your warm hospitality and your friendship. Cheers!

On Wednesday of this week, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC) Conservation Office. Paul and Steve provided me with a nice introduction to the British preservation process in preparation for a meeting with English Heritage regarding a potential planning application.

After the introductory meeting with Paul and Steve, I went on a very nice walk-about in Stockport with Fionna and Melissa who showed me various redevelopment projects – or as they say here in England, “regeneration schemes”. Seeing the “after” of various slides I viewed in theoffice was amazing. Stockport has accomplished great things in revitalizing its city center, from refurbishing historic buildings with residential units in the heart of town to bringing life back into the Market Hall.

And of course one of the highlights of our walking tour was standing at the bottom of the Crowther Street stairs, which were made famous by L. S. Lowry with one of his paintings.

Observing the meeting between the Stockport MBC Conservation Office, town planner and English Heritage was interesting and took back to my role as the preservation contact for Gainesville. While the British system is somewhat reversed of ours, meaning that design review is governed on a national level and not at the local level as with Gainesville, I still felt as though I could easily jump in the conversation. After that meeting and lunch, I traveled with Crispin to visit with the owner of a “listed” building (which is a building that is historically significant structure for which most any exterior – and in some cases interior – work requires prior approval) to discuss a roof problem. As I listened to Crispin talk with the owner, I heard myself speaking with owners of property in the Green Street and Ridgewood Neighborhood Local Historic Districts regarding their respective projects.

With all this being said, my match-up with the Conservation Office of Stockport was just perfect. Thank you to Paul, Steve, Fionna, Melissa and Crispin. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with you all!

After a lazy morning on Saturday, I traveled to Liverpool with my host family. Home of the Beatles! I visited The Cavern,

a bar where the Beatles got their start. The bar and stage area were several floors below street level, so it was very warm and loud with the music of a talented Beatles cover band. Afterwards, we moseyed

over to the docks area to walk through the Beatles Story Museum and gained great insight into their story. And last but not least, we drove over to Penny Lane for a glimpse into the area called home to both John Lennon and Paul McCartney and for which the song “Penny Lane” was named.

It rained Sunday morning, which was perfect for another lazy start. Such lazy mornings were nice because I had a chance to catch up on some much needed rest. I attended service at Whalley Range Methodist Church with my host Rebecca, and was welcomed with open arms by all who were there worshipping. It was a smaller congregation but very close, as was evident with the joint celebration of two birthdays. One of the members celebrated her 96th birthday!?!? She looked fantastic! One would never have guessed. It was so sweet watching her glow as she was handed a huge bouquet of flowers while we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her and another lady also celebrating her birthday.

After church, my new friends Julie and Zyla took me to Trafford Center, which is a massive shopping mall in Manchester with at least 200 shops!?!?! The crowds walking around on a Sunday reminded me of the crowds at Christmas time; it was very busy (it appears that the recession perhaps is less impacting on the retail sector here). The evening was rounded out by a wonderful barbeque at the house of Ed Bernard, who is a fellow UGA grad (Go DAWGS!!!!). We enjoyed delicious food and drinks, and the team, together, enjoyed the company of our hosts and friends from the Manchester Breakfast club.

On Tuesday, we were driven to meet our new hosts – the Rotary Club of Hazel Grove.  I’ve had the pleasure of staying with Ian and Julie Johnson, who like all of my other hosts have welcomed me with open arms.  Their home is in the more suburban area of Poynton, outside of Stockport.  After settling in, we all enjoyed a nice little hike at Lyme Hall, which is a very old home of a different character than others we’ve seen.  But the most interesting fact is that it is the home (or at least from the exterior) of Mr. D’Arcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the BBC miniseries.  Historic, non-historic, the house is a gorgeous estate home located on the edge of the Peak National District and has over 17-acres of gardens, surrounding open space, and deer roaming the hills.  Although breezy and a bit on the chilly side, it was still a very nice walk up to the “cage” because the view was fantastic.  Visiting the site makes me want to watch the series with Colin Firth as Mr. D’Arcy!

It’s hard to believe that a week has passed since I posted my first comment to the team blog. We have packed in so much in so few days; it’s amazing we’re all still standing. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a very rewarding and enlightening experience…one we’ll remember always, but has been VERY busy and full of wonderful sites, museums and new people.

We’ve traveled from north to south within District, and since lasting posting we have visited London, Tarpoley and Sanbach, and are now in the Manchester area. I am staying with a wonderful woman, Rebecca, here in Moss Side on the outskirts of the Manchester City Center.

Our trip to London was quite surreal. I finally got to ride on a double-decker bus! I was a little disappointed that it was not the traditional red bus but nonetheless, it was still quite fun seeing the sites of London from atop the open, double-decker. We saw many wonderful, majestic places – including my favorites Parliament, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and Westminster Abbey. Being the government-focused geek that I am, I the Parliament building breathtaking and found myself getting a bit teary-eyed. Seeing the crown jewels in the Tower of London was a neat experience. The beauty of the various crowns and orbs is difficult to put into words, and unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos. After visiting the Tower of London, Doug and I enjoyed a boat ride on the River Thames, which was narrated by a very funny chap. Although Doug and I were slightly bus-napped in London, we managed to find our way across town on the London tube to visit Buckingham Palace and spend a few “quid” at the famous Harrod’s. The team bonded as a whole as well as with District 1050 GSE team member Steve, as we observed comical street entertainment in Covent Garden Square and sampled fine British spirits in various London pubs. While stately and beautiful, London would not be a place to call home for me. It was just too big and too busy…it’s not Hall County!

After London, I lived briefly with the Webb family in Tarpoley, which is a quaint little countryside village located about 45-minutes south of Manchester. The Webbs and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Frogg Manor Hotel (www.froggmanorhotel.co.uk), which to say the least was by far the most interesting dinner experience I’ve ever had. The owner of this bed-and-breakfast is retired British Army and is quite the chef. I ate the best salad ever (which by the way the English have it going on as it regards side salads – very proper!) and a very delicious beef dish. As one may guess from the name “Frogg” Manor, there were a large number of frog figurines inside and outside. If you’re in the Tarpoley area, I highly recommend having dinner there. You won’t experience anything else like it.

Since last posting, I have had the privilege of learning more about the British planning system and observing the master planning process in action. I spent the day with Fionna Edwards, the Development Planning Manager for the Cheshire West Planning Department, and from the short time we had together, I was able to discern that Chester, Cheshire West, England faces the same development pressures as Gainesville, Hall County…we just tackle them in different ways. Traffic, incompatible development, loss of business from the Main Street (or City Centers here in England), loss of historic and environmental resources…all the same issues, just different names in a different country. Although I had already visited Chester, I was still in awe of the reuse of 500+ year old buildings for modern-day retail shops. I gained more insight into what we would refer to as the “Zoning Process” as well as learned a little about the long range planning process, or as the Cheshire West Planning Department refers to it – the Spatial Planning process – which will result in a local development framework or a comprehensive plan of sorts.

We’ve seen a lot, have experienced British life in the City and the countryside, and still have more to see and do. We have visited the “Theater of Dreams” (Manchester United football – or soccer – stadium) as well the archrival’s stadium Eastlands. In fact, I sat in the Queen’s seat at Eastlands, which for our American friends is the football (soccer) stadium for Manchester City. Today we toured both the Lowry Museum (art museum highlighting the works of L. S. Lowry who is most famous for his matchstick people and animals) and the Imperial War Museum. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the special exhibit of Don McCullin’s photography at the Imperial War Museum. He is very talented at portraying raw emotion in his photos. Just walking around looking, I was angered by the innocent victims of war and brought to tears by the images of children who had lost their families. Very real, very moving.

Even while boarding the plane in Atlanta, it was quite hard to believe that more than six months had passed between being selected as a District 6910 GSE Team member and embarking on the journey to Manchester, England. Landing in Manchester was even more surreal, especially with the beautiful sunny, warm weather that welcomed us.

It is hard to believe that more than a week has now passed. It has been a whirlwind of historic tours, museum visits, and sightseeing alongside of meeting new people and experiencing the way of life in England. Contrary to my preconceived notions and anecdotal stories of the people, food and weather of England, all of have been warm and friendly. And, the food isn’t half bad. The only challenging part of the experience is the language barrier, as Britain and America are “two nations divided by a common language” (Sir Winston Churchill).

We have traveled from Wilmslow, which is referred to by the locals as a “posh” area, to Nantwich-Crewe in the countryside to Denton-Audenshaw area in an area that is urban in character. So, we have seen a variety of architectural styles and town center designs, yet the residents are similar in their warm reception. Host families have been wonderful, taking us into their homes and treating us as family…allowing us to experience life in an English town.

Of the tours thus far, my favorite is the castle tour Jeremy and I took with our hosts Vic and Chloe. We visited the ruins of Beeston Castle built in the 1200s and Peckforton Castle built in the 1800s (not a true castle but now used as a hotel). Both were breathtaking, as was the countryside surrounding them. I also enjoyed riding in the back of a red 1975 convertible Triumph as part of a classic car ride from Nantwich to Erdigg in Wales known as the Weaver Wander. Erdigg, which is a stately 18th century estate in Wales, was quite impressive. And of course being the urban planner that I am, I enjoyed visiting Chester to walk the 2,000 year old Roman walls and the Roman arena, and to see how buildings from the 1500s can be reused for various retail stores.

Aside from the interesting, informative tours, I also have had the pleasure of spending time with professional counterparts. My first vocational day was spent in the Manchester city center with a planner who works for a private firm called Matthews-Goodman. I learned in detail the British system of town planning, and quickly learned that those who go through the Gainesville planning process have it quite easy. I also enjoyed walking part of multi-use trail that runs through the Peak National Park and is part of a larger trail that runs the width of England, coast to coast. Like Gainesville’s Midtown Greenway, the Longdendale Trail was built upon an abandoned rail line but is paralleled by an equestrian trail. My second official vocational day was with Equity Housing Group, which is a not-for-profit association that develops properties with affordable housing for rent and shared ownership.

I can’t say enough about how wonderful of an experience this trip has been thus far. Warm people, great weather, good food, good company…I couldn’t have asked for more.