Masterplanning • Ebbsfleet Cultural Colocation Strategy

Planning a Garden City: community infrastructure at the city scale.

Ebbsfleet—the UK’s first new Garden City in over 100 years—will bring together 40,000 new residents and the potential for 30,000 new jobs, to re-imagine the industrial heritage of North Kent as a reinvigorated location for investment and growth.

For people to thrive, all developments must be supported by a robust network of community and cultural facilities. The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation appointed RCKa to co-create a Cultural Development Framework, harnessing creativity at every level in order to shape the social infrastructure necessary to make Ebbsfleet an unrivalled place to live, work and visit.

Leading a team of architects, placemaking specialists and urban designers, we delivered a pioneering engagement programme. Through conversations with local residents, cultural institutions and public service providers, we gained a deep understanding of regional need and secured over 100 expressions of interest from organisations open to relocating to the Garden City. This was the most ambitious outreach exercise we have ever undertaken: and a hugely exciting project that will transform the lives of thousands of people living and working in the Thames Estuary.

200 attendees at our ‘Come to Ebbsfleet’ event

Contact with 1,500 organisations in the creative, culture and community sectors

100 cultural organisations expressed interest to co-locate to Ebbsfleet

“On behalf of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation we would like to thank RCKa and your team for the fantastic work you have all done"

Kevin McGeough - Head of Strategy and Placemaking, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Understanding place and local need

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation’s brief encouraged us to adopt a uniquely strategic approach in assessing delivery plans and proposals for essential community infrastructure across the Garden City – from the existing communities and industrial heritage of Northfleet along the Thames, to the transformative developments reshaping Whitecliffe’s chalk quarries into a new ‘pioneer’ neighbourhood.

The objective was to develop plans for a city-scale network of community assets, carefully assessing the demand and optimal locations for specific services. While also considering how assets unique to each community and place, could together create a cohesive and supportive network incorporating facilities of various size and scale.

 

 

"Successful creative spaces need in my experience a strong/passionate advocate who is based there"

Nicole Mollett, Artist

Ensuring assets are fit for purpose

To ensure assets will be ‘fit-for-purpose’, the team adopted a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement. From the outset, we set out to identify creative, cultural and community sector partners from the local area and across the south-east, offering them the opportunity to ‘co-locate’ within the civic buildings and outdoor spaces planned for the Garden City.

This co-production process took place against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis, requiring a radical re-think in the way in which we engaged and collaborated with project stakeholders. Despite these challenges, our outreach programme showcased best practice innovation in co-design and co-production. Highlights included: connecting with 1,500 organisations in the creative, culture and community sectors; hosting over 200 attendees at our ‘Come to Ebbsfleet’ event; and garnering nearly 100 expressions of interest from organisations eager to co-locate to Ebbsfleet.

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Overview of the EDC area

Map of civic infrastructure on the Ebbsfleet peninsula

Character area map of the Ebbsfleet peninsula

"The community needs space for community activities and the foundry appears to be a great space"

Adrian, community worker

Building a lasting legacy

Underpinning the entire programme is an emphasis on long-term sustainability and legacy. This included developing several pilot projects to demonstrate how insights gained from engagement can shape robust delivery plans. Our plans for new and revitalised community hubs in Whitecliffe and Northfleet not only presented ambitious design proposals but also outlined recommended project partners, operational models and an initial business case. Significantly surpassing conventional ‘architectural’ design services, instilling confidence in future investment.

This approach aligns with a broader, enduring vision to transition the ongoing stewardship of community assets to the Ebbsfleet Garden City. This entity will assume responsibility for the maintenance and management of these spaces, ensuring the well-being of residents and meeting the needs of all stakeholders.

"The engagements and quality of outputs are beyond the expectations we had when we embarked on this project, and we are confident they will have a significant impact on the delivery of the Garden City in the future.”

Kevin McGeough - Head of Strategy and Placemaking, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Client
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Status
Completed 2022

Location
Ebbsfleet, North Kent

Project Team
Tom Hart
Dieter Kleiner
Anthony Staples
Daria Szmucer
Andrea Villate

Collaborators
AOC
Fourth Street
Studio ONB

Related Project

Staples Corner

Project list