The Urban Fringe Action Plan (UFAP) Project began in mid 2004 and is one of four such projects around the country. It is a Countryside Agency demonstration project and part of the Countryside For Towns wider programme area.
The focus of the work is the Borough of St Helens and the project is being carried out through strong links to St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. The aim of the project is to assess how the urban fringe area of the Borough can be planned in spatial and policy terms in order to maximise its potential. A series of ten functions of the rural urban fringe have been identified by the Countryside Agency. The UFAP project aims to show where these are taking place in St Helens and how this spatial arrangement can be enhanced through policy and recommendation.
Although the UFAP project for St Helens is due to finish in March 2005, the findings and recommendations will become part of St Helens MBC policy through their Local Development Framework document, which is currently being created.
What is the rural urban fringe?
In simple terms, the rural urban fringe can be viewed as the area between the built up town centre and the open countryside. When this question is considered in more detail however, the particular functions which are characteristic of this spatial area become apparent. Then it becomes clear that a line on a map is insufficient in trying to explain this ‘conceptual idea’. The rural urban fringe is therefore a combination many things:
1) landscape and countryside character, and what the area looks like
2) functions and what the area is used for
3) policy and how the area is viewed in a political sense
update: What next for the St Helens UFAP project?
The next stage in this project is to bring together all the information associated with the rural urban fringe. This will allow a clearer understanding of the area in which we are working and help to analyse the process required in order to formulate recommendations. It is important for this project that the community can get involved and have their say; this will be facilitated through St Helens MBC and its Local Strategic Partnerships.
contact: Paul Nolan