Should Hull's 'Old Town' be re-named 'King's Town' as part of urban village proposal? please log in to view this image EXPERTS say more efforts should be made to create a new "urban village" in Hull's Old Town. The historic area could also be renamed as King's Town to help raise its profile both nationally and internationally. The ideas follow a two-day visit to Hull by English Heritage's urban panel earlier this summer. Panel members spent both days walking around the city centre and the Old Town in particular. Now published in an official report, their main recommendations include: Doing more to encourage people to live in the Old Town in converted buildings. Supporting community or pop-up use of empty shops and spaces. Rebranding the area as King's Town to promote the Old Town. Consider new policies limiting the height of new developments. Rethink current landscaping plans for Trinity Square to include more green space. Deborah Wall, English Heritage's historic places principal for Yorkshire, said: "One of the main things that came through from the visit was a real delight and surprise among the panel about what they saw in Hull and the Old Town. "Some of them had been to Hull before but had never seen the Old Town while, for the others, it was a totally new experience. "What really impressed them the most was the stunning architecture and the fantastic potential of the Old Town." She said while there had been a steady increase in residential conversions in recent years, the potential for more people living in the Old Town was clear. "It was felt the Old Town really does need some specific focus. It needs to have a purpose and an urban village would do that," she said. Ms Wall said the King's Town idea had been suggested by one of the panel's members during the tour before being included in its main recommendations. The king in question refers to Edward II, who granted Hull its first Royal charter in 1299. The report says: "Starting with a clear understanding of the special qualities of the Old Town, possibly translated into a rebranding of the area as the King's Town, active marketing based on special quality and limited availability could drive up demand. "Starting small but within a masterplan and in concert with other Old Town landowners, the first steps can be taken, building interest in a location that is unique within the city and the wider region." Alex Codd, Hull City Council's planning manager, helped host the visit by the panel. He said its findings and recommendations were already being used in debates on future policies covering the Old Town. "As well as heritage experts, the panel also included urban designers, landscape architects and people with a background in economic development," he said. "I would say they were all very pleasantly surprised by what they found. With the UK City of Culture 2017 on the horizon, they all recognised the Old Town's tremendous potential." http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull.../story.html#JRHThqrMkSMMph5B.01#ixzz3FSSwMUmH I don't think it's a bad idea, there's definitely opportunities to develop the area and for the area to be expanded across the river over time.
A name change? Uh-oh Hull City Council and English Heritage working together in harmony. Good job there's apparently no egotistical old fools working for EH.
Nope, it was the other stooge. Remember - Happy never starts off arguments on the name change - it's ALWAYS CTWD!
They're right about a lot of things. Lovely architecture, a nice atmosphere there and definitely not meeting it's full potential. I don't know about calling it Kings Town. Can't The Old Town do?
it's always gonna be known as The Old Town.. same as Bransholme centre.. just how many refer to it as North Point Shopping Centre, or the Bus Station as The Interchange?
I always get the bus from North Point Shopping Centre to the Interchange when I'm going to watch Hull Tigers
I actually prefer simply "The Old Town". It works for other cities across Europe and elsewhere so why not here? It also sounds "right" (probably because it is). They are right though that it has a lot of potential and is much underused and I'd welcome efforts to help it grow in stature.
Is it officially called the Old Town, or just referred to as that, because is it the oldest part of Hull?
I'm sure locally it will still be called The Old Town whatever happens and I don't really see any reason to change that, as long as there's a specific focus on that area that results in further development, it's a massively underdeveloped resource and asset.
Are you insane? Old is also far too long - Should be shortened to just 'O'. It will have huge global appeal and generate interest internationally.
careful, some of you sound a bit obsessed with me and CTWD. You'll have the forums resident medical experts accusing you of suffering a mental disorder. To the OP, when has changing a name ever resulted in a bigger profile and financial gain? Never, that's when. You don't see cities in Germany changing the names of their Alt Stadts to Kaisers Town. Do the place up but leave the name alone ffs. Marketing experts my arse.
"The historic area could also be renamed as King's Town to help raise its profile both nationally and internationally." I've heard that somewhere before, now where was it?
Historically, we don't use "Kingston" for the same reason we didn't use the "Wyke" that preceded it. Predictably it was partly due to the name being foisted upon us by outsiders that thought they knew best and without us having a proper choice. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
