Neighbourhood facilities should be designed around the needs of residents, not the service provider. They also need to be well-used and value for money. It is better to have a few popular facilities rather than lots that are only partially used. This is similar to good practice in private markets and can help with spatial planning – where the location and clustering of shops and services can make a big difference to their success. For this reason, it is important to support and challenge providers to consider the location and possible joining-up of facilities. This is particularly important when dealing with mainstream programmes (such as police, school or health estate re-development programmes) which can be inflexible to local requirements and innovation.
In EC1 NDC, a local primary school was earmarked for re-development. However, this was then used as an opportunity to re-configure a wider set of services on the site. Golden Lane Campus now contains a primary school, a children’s centre, and a special school for young children with disabilities. The building itself was designed to encourage joint working with very wide corridors, a joint reception and a large central dining and activity spaces. It is important not to underestimate the time and effort need to put in place joint management structures.
This concept of ‘hubs’ has increased in recent years, and the pressure for co-location and rationalisation is likely to grow. For example, libraries are already becoming ‘one stop shops’ for many council services.
