The Paris mayor’s office has abandoned plans for new buildings around the foot of the Eiffel Tower following months of protests from environmentalists and a petition signed by nearly 150,000 people.

Under the scheme, around 20 mature trees would have been cut down, while four new buildings housing a cafe, shops, toilets and baggage drop-off were set to be constructed.

“I am announcing that we are completely canceling any construction project at the foot of the tower but the re-landscaping is maintained,” deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told the Journal du Dimanche.

A decision to save the trees had been made in May following protests and objections from local residents.

The landscaping is part of a much larger plan to reorganize the space around the famous tourist attraction, which will see roads and public areas planted with grass and shrubs.

“We are not giving into pressure but we would like that the project is not overshadowed by controversy. Let’s just say that we are removing some of the friction,” Gregoire continued.

An area of ​​54 hectares (133 acres) around the tower, currently crisscrossed by several roads, will be largely turned over to pedestrians and “low-impact transportation” such as bus and bike lanes.

City authorities are aiming to finish as much as possible for the start of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

An estimated 150,000 people visit the tower site every day during the summer high season, including the 20,000 to 30,000 who climb the tower itself.

Overall, seven million people visit the tower each year.

Campaigners were delighted that the plans for new buildings had been dropped and the trees saved.

“We’re satisfied for now but we remain vigilant,” said Thomas Brail from the National Surveillance Group for Trees (GNSA), which took part in a coalition of groups opposed to the plans.

As Tamworth Borough Council begin work on progressing its plans for the town center Future High Streets project, work to remove the canopy in St Editha’s square will start on October 31.

The canopy that was originally installed almost 15 years ago, will now be removed to make way for the new landscaping and public realm improvements that will be created following the new college build on the old 1960s Co-op site.

Contractors Armac, have now started on site and have been commissioned to demolish the department store, carry out the strip out of the Victorian building and remove the canopy.

Key to the Future High Streets project is the relocation of a brand-new Tamworth College into the heart of the town centre. South Staffordshire College is leading this part of the town center redevelopment which will see the new college built on the old 1960s part Co-op site. South Staffordshire College aim to open the new facility from September 2024.

Once all work on the new college building is complete, Tamworth Borough Council will carry out a full re-landscaping of St Editha’s square which will include new seating and a public realm meeting space that will support enhanced activity.

Options to relocate the canopy have been explored, but due to its age is not possible. Locals are to be reassured that the anker monument will stay as an integral part of our town’s history.

Councilor Jeremy Oates, Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said: “It’s a positive move to see our plans progressing. The demolition of the 1960s Co-op building begins this month, ready for the new and modern college to be built, and the canopy outside the indoor market will be removed from October 31.

“We aim to minimize disruption to town center businesses the best we can, and the canopy removal work is planned to be completed by November 7.

“The canopy has served as a sheltered area for the outdoor market stalls and customers for nearly two decades, but due to its age, the structure will need to be removed carefully and the area made safe, to allow the new public realm work to take place after the new college building work is completed.

“The regeneration of Tamworth town center is a key priority and we all need to pull together to fight for its future.”

Note:

The canopy is being removed as part of the contract with Armac to ensure that costs are managed effectively and no additional contractor costs are incurred at a later date.

The bid to Government was put together in partnership with landlords, businesses and organizations, following months of public engagement, detailed research and feasibility studies.

Tamworth was awarded £21.65million from the Future High Streets Fund to develop a town center that meets the needs of 21st century shoppers, residents and businesses.

Further exciting plans for the town center include:

• Development of new affordable and flexible space for smaller, independent hospitality, leisure and retail businesses
• Restoration of heritage features and buildings so they can be brought back into use
• An improved entrance between the town center and the Castle Grounds
• More affordable office space
• Improvements to Middle Entry
• The transformation of St Editha’s Square into a multi-purpose events space.

For more information about Tamworth town center regeneration, visit www.tamworth.gov.uk/tamworth-whats-next.

More information about the Future High Streets Fund and bidding criteria is available online.

The Paris mayor’s office has abandoned plans for new buildings around the foot of the Eiffel Tower following months of protests from environmentalists and a petition signed by nearly 150,000 people.

Under the scheme, around 20 mature trees would have been cut down, while four new buildings housing a cafe, shops, toilets and baggage drop-off were set to be constructed.

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“I am announcing that we are completely canceling any construction project at the foot of the tower but the re-landscaping is maintained,” deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told the Journal du Dimanche.

A decision to save the trees had been made in May following protests and objections from local residents.

The landscaping is part of a much larger plan to reorganize the space around the famous tourist attraction, which will see roads and public areas planted with grass and shrubs.

“We are not giving into pressure but we would like that the project is not overshadowed by controversy. Let’s just say that we are removing some of the friction,” Gregoire continued.

An area of ​​54 hectares (133 acres) around the tower, currently crisscrossed by several roads, will be largely turned over to pedestrians and “low-impact transportation” such as bus and bike lanes.

City authorities are aiming to finish as much as possible for the start of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

An estimated 150,000 people visit the tower site every day during the summer high season, including the 20,000 to 30,000 who climb the tower itself.

Overall, seven million people visit the tower each year.

Campaigners were delighted that the plans for new buildings had been dropped and the trees saved.

“We’re satisfied for now but we remain vigilant,” said Thomas Brail from the National Surveillance Group for Trees (GNSA), which took part in a coalition of groups opposed to the plans.

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Issued on: 03/10/2022 – 12:26

Paris (AFP) – The Paris mayor’s office has abandoned plans for new buildings around the foot of the Eiffel Tower following months of protests from environmentalists and a petition signed by nearly 150,000 people.

Under the scheme, around 20 mature trees would have been cut down, while four new buildings housing a cafe, shops, toilets and baggage drop-off were set to be constructed.

“I am announcing that we are completely canceling any construction project at the foot of the tower but the re-landscaping is maintained,” deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told the Journal du Dimanche.

A decision to save the trees had been made in May following protests and objections from local residents.

The landscaping is part of a much larger plan to reorganize the space around the famous tourist attraction, which will see roads and public areas planted with grass and shrubs.

“We are not giving into pressure but we would like that the project is not overshadowed by controversy. Let’s just say that we are removing some of the friction,” Gregoire continued.

An area of ​​54 hectares (133 acres) around the tower, currently crisscrossed by several roads, will be largely turned over to pedestrians and “low-impact transportation” such as bus and bike lanes.

City authorities are aiming to finish as much as possible for the start of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

An estimated 150,000 people visit the tower site every day during the summer high season, including the 20,000 to 30,000 who climb the tower itself.

Overall, seven million people visit the tower each year.

Campaigners were delighted that the plans for new buildings had been dropped and the trees saved.

“We’re satisfied for now but we remain vigilant,” said Thomas Brail from the National Surveillance Group for Trees (GNSA), which took part in a coalition of groups opposed to the plans.

© 2022 AFP

Bas Smets on landscaping Notre-Dame, and ‘hacking’ a city to fight climate change

Landscape architect Bas Smets talks to us about Notre-Dame, modern gardens, microclimates and more

When the medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris caught on fire in 2019, the world was devastated. Now, as plans for the restoration of the important monument are underway, Bas Smets hath plans to help bring the beloved, iconic space back to life. The Belgian landscape architect has been appointed to redevelop the expanses around Notre-Dame, greening the Île de la Cité into a mini, verdant paradise in the heart of one of Europe’s largest metropolises.

His mission, however, goes beyond the immediate landscape. Using plants to help manage temperature, especially in a big urban hub like Paris, is a key tool against climate change. ‘It [climate change] is such a hard thing to grasp and we all feel so small, but we can work on a smaller scale and make a big difference through microclimates. My work is about creating these microclimates. As soon as you can understand how a city works you can “hack” it and improve on current conditions. I don’t think I have a style, but I have a methodology, and that is to try and understand a site and improve its resilience. Use the force of nature to improve life and the environment.’

Landscaping Notre Dame

Image: Studio Alma pour le Groupement BBS

Working with architecture studio Grau, Smets also collaborated with a variety of consultants on lighting, water, engineering, public space safety, preservation, and even philosophy, to carve out his proposal. The team worked on enriching an extended area around the cathedral with new trees and all manner of leafy delights, stretching the planted sections, unifying public space, while aligning it with the city around it. A large, paved area right in front of Notre-Dame’s main entrance preserves the important, well-known views of the monument, celebrating it from every angle.

‘We had to rethink the area of ​​Notre-Dame, but also rethink the whole city, as the Île de la Cité is the cradle of Paris. For example, nobody [used to go] behind the church, even though there was a green space – Parisians never went there,’ Smets points out.

Parc des Ateliers, Arles. Photography: Iwan Baan

Design development begins immediately, and while works might stall around the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the aim is for the landscaping to be finished by 2027.

Features will include a new – and rare – linear park along the Seine, offering views of the Pantheon and the Paris skyline across the water; a brand new, dedicated visitor centre; a mix of species, including chestnut trees, European nettle tree, and others suitable for three climes; and a fountain-type feature that will see the paved open space in front of the cathedral flooded with a thin film of water once a day, probably at a set time, imitating the wet pavement after a summer rain, cooling the area down while adding one more element of dynamism and nature to the composition.

Part Dieu, Lyon. Photography: Laurence Daniere

‘What we are doing is using shade, humidity, wind and water to lower the temperature in the heart of Paris,’ says Smets. And he should know, as it’s exactly what he managed to do in other locations, such as the Parc des Ateliers, home to Luma Arles, where Smets turned what was a very dry landscape into a leafy green lung. Other past works in Smets’ portfolio include the Part-Dieu square in Lyon and the Sunken Garden in London, a private leafy microclimate within a heritage building. A sculpture garden in Long Island, USA, is among ongoing works.

As for his ambitions for Notre-Dame? ‘We wanted to make a nuanced composition,’ he says. ‘You’ll walk in, sit, stay, go underground, open towards the river, emerge close to the entrance… More than giving a form, we are giving an experience.’ §

Sunken Garden, London. Photography: Francois Halard

Despite being set back by a couple of weeks by unseasonably rainy weather, the owner of the Kamloops landscaping company redoing Main Street says they are more or less on track to meet council’s completion estimate of the middle of August.

“We didn’t really set a complete target because we wanted to make sure we were affable with the businesses as much as we could,” said Colin Lyons. “Our preference would have (been) come in and just shut the whole thing down and give us the whole place, but when you’re going two blocks and a time and really trying to make sure the businesses can stay open, I think it’s been going pretty good; lots of good feedback.”

He figures they have made up about four or five days since the weather improved.

READ MORE: Re-landscaping of Main Street’s budget increases

The project recently saw a budget increase of $100,000 — to be financed out of the town’s Northern Capital Planning Grant — because of frost damage to irrigation lines.

“If any of us could have the perfect genie and see what’s underground and knew what’s underground, we’d all be better estimators, but we’re still estimating,” he said. “When you hit those hidden things that are underground … you’ve got a 40-year-old streetscape, with 40-year-old irrigation and parts just pull apart, we really had to chase the problem further to make sure you guys aren ‘t left with a worse problem when we leave.”

Lyons estimates the new landscaping should be good for the next 40 years with a bit of a caveat.

“If it’s maintained and cared for by everybody, resealing, cleaning things, keeping them up to date, having an arborist to really prune and take care of your trees to keep them in proper shape and really looking after the landscape, 40 years seems to be about the average.”

Residents won’t have to wait nearly that long, though, to enjoy the new look of Main Street, Lyons said.

“It looks small right now, but give it two years,” he said. “Once you see this in two years, it’ll really be impressive.”

Meanwhile, the town may have earned another convert.

“I love Smithers, I had no idea, I’ve drove through here and been here a couple of times just for days, but if I had to pick a place to move, or pick a place to hang my hat, this is definitely in the top three,” Lyons said.

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The re-landscaping of Main Street in Smithers just got more expensive.

Town council agreed to increase the Downtown Landscaping Revitalization total project budget to $1,260,000.00 from $1,160,000.00, with the additional funds to come from the Northern Capital Planning Grant.

The crews from Lyons Landscaping, out of Kamloops, discovered the irrigation lines had been severely damaged due to freezing water during excavation of some of the planting areas in some of the medians.

Town staff told council that in order to maintain the original design and contract landscape replacement areas, the irrigation lines must be repaired.

Repairing the irrigation lines in the medians will involve removing the red brick pavers in the median, removing curb and gutter, and removing asphalt on Main Street to replace the branch supply line to the median and lateral lines within the medians.

These repairs requiring asphalt and curb patches are not in the scope of work in the contract and beyond the project contingency.

READ MORE: Main Street re-landscaping begins

Mayor Gladys Atrill said it is something that needs to be done.

“Of course, we don’t like to have to increase the budget but until the ground was open and the irrigation lines were inspected, it wasn’t known the extent of the damage to the irrigation lines. I talked to one of the contractors downtown and he said there was roots growing into them and some were broken beyond repair so they need to be replaced,” she said. “We are building a project for the next 40 or 50 years so we need to make sure those lines are good and will work for the future. So, no, never want to increase the budget but recognize that when something new is discovered we have to deal with it.”

Overall, she is happy with the progress that is being made.

“It is really starting to take shape, we can kind of get a vision of what is going to look like. There is still a lot to do but it is shaping up and we can see where it is going,” Atrill added. “The finishing pieces around some of the concrete structures are going in, trees are coming this month. I’m quite happy with it.”

The trees and shrubs will be planted in the coming weeks.

Twenty six new benches and new waste receptacles with separate garbage and recycling bins will also be installed soon.

The concrete retaining walls will have river rock facia installed and receive light sandblast finish to ensure long lasting easy maintenance.

The bulk of the project should wrap up in mid-August with no more street closures, according to town officials.

The bulk of the re-landscaping on Main Street in Smithers is slated to wrap up mid-August. (Grant Harris photo)

The town is touting no more street closures as of mid-August. (Grant Harris photo)