LDA Design has been commissioned to prepare a masterplan for Bangor, the oldest city in Wales.
A new 20-year strategy and vision will position the whole of Bangor as a City of Learning and Culture, enabling one of the UK’s smallest cities to reach its full potential and maximising benefits for local people.
Gwynedd Council commissioned the masterplan, with a newly formed strategic partnership including Bangor City Council, Bangor University, the Welsh Government, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board and the private and third sector. The aim is to create a better-connected city, with improved public realm, making it a healthier and more prosperous place to live.
With more than 11,000 students, more than half of Bangor’s total population, Bangor University has a critical role to play in the city’s future growth. The masterplan will look at ways of strengthening connections between the University and the local community, taking a place-based approach to end ‘town and gown’ divide, embedding lifelong learning at the heart of Bangor’s cultural and civic identity.
LDA Design is behind recent town and city masterplans for Plymouth, Shrewsbury and Exeter. The independent consultancy also developed the masterplan for UCL East in London, which establishes a new campus model rooted firmly in its Stratford setting, drawing in the community and visitors to support more widespread local opportunities.
Clare Wilks, project leader and associate at LDA Design said: “Bangor is a remarkable small city with a stunning natural setting but it needs to make more of its natural assets, take greater advantage of its University and its role as a centre of learning.
“Our aim will be to make the experience of working, living and visiting Bangor much better through improved public realm and place-making.”
This week, LDA Design kicks off the visioning process with a Big Masterplan Week, bringing all key stakeholders together to imagine just what is possible and to maximise benefits for all.
LDA Design director Bernie Foulkes explains: “We propose to engage with the strategic partnership and key organisations and individuals in Bangor in a way that hasn’t happened before. Our Big Masterplan Week will, we hope, create a fantastic sense of collective endeavour and commitment to transforming the town.”
The LDA Design team includes Phil Jones Associates on transport and movement, Donald Insall Architects on built heritage and conservation and the BE Group on property and market advice.
Painting of Bangor by LDA Design’s Bernie Foulkes.
