Plans for Cornish Dott take shape

Plans are being put together for next year’s Designs of the Time programme, which will take place in Cornwall.

David Godber (pictured), deputy chief executive of the Design Council, says a number of potential projects for Dott Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which will follow on from 2007’s programme in the North East, have been identified.

These include commissions for a sustainability building centre, a community centre in Pengegon, a redevelopment of Redruth town centre, a transport plan for the A3047, and a car park redevelopment in St Austell.

He says, ‘There is a lot of emphasis on engaging the public in design and creating a legacy beyond Dott.’ The Design Council and Cornwall County Council are in the process of finalising a co-operation agreement for Dott Cornwall.

The agreement will see the Design Council provide £500 000 in core funding over two years, and Cornwall provide £300 000 over the same period. This is expected to be signed off next month.

Cornwall County Council’s director of creative unit Rose Barnecut says that as well as this core funding, individual publicly funded Dott projects will be put forward for European convergence funding. This would be managed and potentially matched by the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Barnecut identifies Camborne, Pool, Redruth, Bodmin, St Austell and Clay as ‘economically challenged’ areas of the county where design commissions could be held.

She says, ‘Dott Cornwall’s aims are skills transfer, empowering communities and raising end-user awareness of the value of design.’

John Miller, director of the School of Design at University College Falmouth, which has a ‘nonvoting’ role in Dott, adds that the university is developing the Academy of Innovation and Research, which he hopes will help to deliver Dott projects and provide a legacy for Dott. Cornwall is also advertising nationally for staff to project manage Dott, and follow in the footsteps of Dott 07’s programme director John Thackara and executive producer Robert O’Dowd, who has been acting as a consultant for Dott Cornwall.

POTENTIAL DOTT CORNWALL PROJECTS:
• A sustainability building centre in Cornwall
• A community centre for Pengegon
• Redevelopment of Redruth town centre
• A transport plan for the A3047
• A car park redevelopment in St Austell