Borough's efforts to improve town centre outlined
Friday, 18th April 2014.
Two meetings yesterday heard about ways in which St Edmundsbury Borough Council plans to bring improvements to Haverhill town centre.
The council's Haverhill Area Working Party was updated on the process for putting together a masterplan for the town centre,which is being led by ONE Haverhill.
Four 'themed groups' have been set up, which will be facilitated by borough officers, to explore different aspects of the town centre and develop options which could be put into a draft plan for consultation with the public.
The groups are: A Place To Live Work And Play, Ready For Growth, Connectivity and An Attractive Environment. Each has a variety of representatives from different areas of the community.
The working party was also introduced to the council's new market development officer Sharon Fairweather, who outlined how she aimed to expand and develop the town's provisions market.
She has organised a series of events including a farmers' market next week, a youth market on May 17, with music and dance, and a motor show on July 12, to tie in the the vintage vehicle rally run by the town council the following day.
She has also initiated a Trade For A Tenner scheme, with five small local businesses trialling on the market.
Cllr Anne Gower welcomed the moves, but said farmers' markets made her think of one she had visited in Linton where she was astounded at the prices, and hoped this would be more competitive.
Cllr Maureen Byrne suggested an indoor market, which had worked several years ago in the former Co-op store before Argos and Peacocks came in.
She suggested the current empty Co-op store in Jubilee Walk, but was told by the borough's economic development officer that they were currently at a bit of an impasse with the Co-op over the council-owned building.
"It is leased to the Co-op, but we are struggling to get them to liaise with us," she said.
They have to get the Co-op's agreement to any changes and recently wanted to liven it up while it is boarded up with some artwork, but could not get the Co-op to respond. "We won't give upon it," she said.
Ms Mailey was also the guest speaker earlier in the day at thebestof Haverhill business networking group at Days Inn.
She outlined the six priorities of her department, the only one to have been expanded when St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath councils came together for 'joint working'.
These were: meeting with and understanding the needs of businesses locally; promoting the West Suffolk economic region; supporting the market towns; ensuring the right conditions for growth, which includes infrastructure; developing skills and increasing oportunities for employment; and capitalising on main sectors and, in the case of Haverhill, one of the main ones was manufacturing, contrary to the national picture.
She was strongly urged by Rob Maidment that in any work on infrastructure the council should concentrate on the new road proposal for the A1307, and not get sidetracked into considering rail or bus options.
They would be all very well and nice for the public, but far more important was the needs of business, which required the new road, he said.
Ms Mailey told him such a judgement would be 'jumping the gun', when a lot of analysis work was to be done this year on the exact usage of the road.
A high quality passenger transport system would help the road, she said, because it would take a lot of traffic off it.
Mr Maidment disagreed and said simply: "If you build the road the town will fly."
The council's Haverhill Area Working Party was updated on the process for putting together a masterplan for the town centre,which is being led by ONE Haverhill.
Four 'themed groups' have been set up, which will be facilitated by borough officers, to explore different aspects of the town centre and develop options which could be put into a draft plan for consultation with the public.
The groups are: A Place To Live Work And Play, Ready For Growth, Connectivity and An Attractive Environment. Each has a variety of representatives from different areas of the community.
The working party was also introduced to the council's new market development officer Sharon Fairweather, who outlined how she aimed to expand and develop the town's provisions market.
She has organised a series of events including a farmers' market next week, a youth market on May 17, with music and dance, and a motor show on July 12, to tie in the the vintage vehicle rally run by the town council the following day.
She has also initiated a Trade For A Tenner scheme, with five small local businesses trialling on the market.
Cllr Anne Gower welcomed the moves, but said farmers' markets made her think of one she had visited in Linton where she was astounded at the prices, and hoped this would be more competitive.
Cllr Maureen Byrne suggested an indoor market, which had worked several years ago in the former Co-op store before Argos and Peacocks came in.
She suggested the current empty Co-op store in Jubilee Walk, but was told by the borough's economic development officer that they were currently at a bit of an impasse with the Co-op over the council-owned building.
"It is leased to the Co-op, but we are struggling to get them to liaise with us," she said.
They have to get the Co-op's agreement to any changes and recently wanted to liven it up while it is boarded up with some artwork, but could not get the Co-op to respond. "We won't give upon it," she said.
Ms Mailey was also the guest speaker earlier in the day at thebestof Haverhill business networking group at Days Inn.
She outlined the six priorities of her department, the only one to have been expanded when St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath councils came together for 'joint working'.
These were: meeting with and understanding the needs of businesses locally; promoting the West Suffolk economic region; supporting the market towns; ensuring the right conditions for growth, which includes infrastructure; developing skills and increasing oportunities for employment; and capitalising on main sectors and, in the case of Haverhill, one of the main ones was manufacturing, contrary to the national picture.
She was strongly urged by Rob Maidment that in any work on infrastructure the council should concentrate on the new road proposal for the A1307, and not get sidetracked into considering rail or bus options.
They would be all very well and nice for the public, but far more important was the needs of business, which required the new road, he said.
Ms Mailey told him such a judgement would be 'jumping the gun', when a lot of analysis work was to be done this year on the exact usage of the road.
A high quality passenger transport system would help the road, she said, because it would take a lot of traffic off it.
Mr Maidment disagreed and said simply: "If you build the road the town will fly."
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