Second project complete - The Northern Gateway
North Street Car Park and the adjacent bus station are the main arrival points for visitors to the town. The area boasts some of Midhurst’s iconic attractions including Cowdray Ruins and South Downs National Park Headquarters and Visitor Centre. Sadly the area was dominated by a poorly maintained, unattractive building and badly planted brick beds.
This is just one of the projects identified by landscape architects Deacon Design when they reviewed the town centre to see how it could be improved. When their recommendations were shared with the community at the end of 2022, 86% of respondents agreed that Midhurst should be greener and more pedestrian and cycling friendly.
The before and after images show the transformation of this space and already footfall has increased as people enjoy walking through this area now and sitting on the benches with a view.
The new interpretive and welcome signs, designed and partly funded by South Downs National Park, provide a wealth of information on the town and it’s key attractions along with a QR code linking to the Visit Midhurst website with information on all the shops, eateries and accommodation.
© Christopher Ison
“Our collaboration with Midhurst Vision to bring both the Northern Gateway and Grange Green Walkway projects to life has been hugely positive and the new signage, interpretation and mapping plays a vital role in increasing visitor footfall to the South Downs Centre”; Emily Summers-Mileman, SDNPA.
“We share Midhurst Vision’s aspirations for the town and are happy to work in partnership with them to bring them to fruition”, Richard Watts, Chair Midhurst Town Council.
“The dedicated team of Midhurst Vision has created a unique gateway into Midhurst with careful attention to detail. The planting, benches and new signage has worked wonders for what was a thoroughly unloved area, creating a space where people are comfortable to pause in while waiting for the bus, as well as being pleasant to walk through on the way in to town and giving visitors a true sense of place when entering our town,” Hannah Burton, Chichester District Councillor.
“Cowdray Estate has been delighted to be part of this unique collaboration of passionate residents, the town and district councils and SDNPA. The Estate wholeheartedly supports the aspiration to have a cohesive plan for improving the town centre, which is key to supporting local businesses and making it more enjoyable for residents and visitors to spend time in,” Jonathan Russell, CEO Cowdray Estate.
“Fantastic – certainly worth making these changes to improve the experience of visiting Midhurst for everyone.” One of the comments from the community consultation.
The Northern Gateway Improvements were funded by The Community Infrastructure Levy, South Downs National Park Authority, National
Additional thanks to: Deacon Design Landscape Architects, Kieron Beattie Landscapers, Fitzpatrick Woolmer Signs and Langley Design for the bench.