In mid-August, Lincoln hosted the first presidential visit for Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) President, Wei Yang and Chief Executive, Victoria Hills.
The visit, organised jointly by the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and City of Lincoln Council, was curated to showcase key areas to the city’s development and share how the public and private sector have worked collaboratively to deliver this vision.
The visit started at Lincoln Central train station, moving to the £14 million transport hub redevelopment, where guests were given a view of the city from the roof of the 1,000-space multistorey car park.
Now in its final stages, the attendees were also shown around the Cornhill Quarter development, a regeneration zone which has delivered more than 150,000 sq ft of mixed use commercial floorspace, a £1.5 million urban realm enhancement and a £30 million investment in the city’s infrastructure.
The tour moved through the city taking in the developments to the University of Lincoln campus and the most recent addition to the estate, the Medical School - a building which has been created to reduce the carbon footprint and home to a living wall holding approximately 5,000 plants of 11 different varieties, which sit around solar panels.
The tour finished at Lincoln Cathedral, where the group had the opportunity to see first-hand the restoration programme, and finally the new £17 million Lottery-funded extension, providing new meeting, exhibition, education rooms and a café.
Wei Yang, President from RTPI, said; “I was delighted to visit Lincoln with RTPI Chief Executive Victoria Hills and Chair of RTPI East Midlands Regional Committee Scott O'Dell.
“The visit was special not only for the city’s magnificent history, architecture and cityscape, but also for the warm welcome we received from the amazing team and the inspirational projects we visited.
“I was fascinated by the way the historic city has embraced the modern spirit and successfully evolved into the 21st century. I was particularly encouraged by the long-term vision and the collaborative approach of the local councils who have used planning as a positive force to engage everyone and create beautiful places for generations.”
“I would like to thank Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce for inviting us and everyone involved in organising the visit.”
Kate Ellis, Director for Major Developments at City of Lincoln Council, said; “This city has grown into an internationally renowned creative and innovative world class historic destination, and we were proud to share our hard work so far.
“Lincoln has a strong city centre with an equally powerful tourism offering and it was a great experience to highlight this during the presidential visit.”
Kieron Manning, Assistant Director for Planning at City of Lincoln Council, added: “The visit was a great opportunity for us to showcase the fantastic results we have achieved from positive and proactive planning of our city over the past 25 years, and to highlight that a collaborative approach based on negotiation yields the best results.
“It was heartening to receive such positive feedback about our approach from the delegation and we look forward to continuing our efforts in making Lincoln the best place it can be.”
Simon Beardsley, Chief Executive, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, added; “We were delighted to welcome representatives from the Royal Town Planning institute to Lincoln to not only see the many exciting new developments which have been going on, giving the city a fresh look as well as keeping the wonderful historic aspects we love so much, but also be giving the opportunity to meet Council and local business representatives, who have been working collaboratively to bring the Cornhill Quarter project to life.
“Lincolnshire is the second biggest county in England, and we have so much to offer to visitors and businesses alike, so this opportunity really was invaluable.”