Agenda item

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – PLACE

The draft Town Centres Strategy has been updated following public consultation. The report outlines the results of that public consultation, the proposed modifications to the Strategy and seeks approval to adopt the Town Centres Strategy.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the Town Centre Strategy attached as Appendix 1 was adopted.

(2) That authority was delegated to the Director, Place in consultation with the Executive Member for Place to make any minor non-material corrections, including but not limited to cosmetic additions or presentational alterations, to the adopted Town Centres Strategy as considered necessary for publication and publicity.

(3) That Officers proceed with the preparation of Delivery Plans for each of the town centres following adoption of the Town Centres Strategy.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1) To allow the Town Centres Strategy to be adopted as a material planning consideration to support developers, landowners and relevant stakeholders when considering developing proposals and to provide policy advice to development management officers when determining planning applications until superseded by any new Local Plan.

(2) To set key priorities which seek to maintain and enhance the unique character and vitality and viability of the district’s four town centres through agreed partnership working and the preparation of Delivery Plan for each town.

(3) To reinforce and deliver the Council’s ambitions as set out in the Council Plan (2024 - 2028).

Audio recording – 46 minutes 24 seconds

Councillor Donna Wright, as Executive Member for Place, presented the report entitled ‘North Hertfordshire Town Centre Strategy’ and highlighted that:

· The adopted Local Plan required an up-to-date Town Centre Strategy to be produced, which would enhance existing Local Plan policies and would feed into the Local Plan Review process.

· Should the Town Centre Strategy be adopted, it would be a formal consideration in planning applications.

· A consultation had taken place on the proposed strategy, with 84 responses received, 75% of these were from North Herts residents. Consultation had also taken place with members of the Strategic Planning Board, as well as BIDs in the district and other business organisations.

· A summary of consultation responses received, as well as a response from the Council to points raised, was included at Appendix 2.

· The consultation highlighted a gap between stakeholder input and the purpose of the strategy, and the amended document sought to clarify the position of the strategy as a planning document and not a proposal for regeneration.

· There would now be a focus on delivery of the strategy, with achievable timescales and clear ownership of actions.

· A new Town Centre Officer had been recruited to support delivery of the strategy and they would lead on taking this forward with relevant stakeholders.

· Previous engagement between the Council and key town centre stakeholders had been fragmented and it was hoped this strategy would provide a more holistic approach to ensure that emerging issues were included within plans and projects developed.

The following Members asked questions:

· Councillor Amy Allen

· Councillor Daniel Allen

· Councillor Ian Albert

In response to questions, the Transport, Parking & Projects Service Manager advised that:

· The Council would work together with partners in Letchworth, such as the BID and Heritage Foundation, to look to promote activities which would bring people into the town and consider improvements to transport to support this.

· Whilst this strategy could provide framework for planning decisions, there would need to be work conducted with partners in parallel with this strategy to address footfall and retail improvements.

· Work to install a separated cycle lane on Broadway Gardens roundabout was identified as part of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan and work was already underway to assess the feasibility of this.

· The strategy provided some priorities and aspirations for Town Centres, but partnership working would be required to ensure delivery of these.

· The new Town Centre Project Officer would be coming into post by the end of 2026. Therefore, it was expected that work would begin in January 2027 to meet with stakeholders and develop the scope of the delivery plans.

· There would be local workshops with organisations, including BID Managers, to discuss the delivery plans to progress this strategy.

· The intention was to include Councillors as part of the process, including at relevant Community Forums.

In response to questions, the Director – Place advised that:

· It was not possible at this stage to put an end point on works, as work would be conducted by the new Officer when they were in post.

· The strategy had taken around 3 years to produce following the adoption of the Local Plan. This delay had, in part, been due to resourcing issues in the team.

In response to questions, the Executive Member for Place advised that the priority was to get 5-year delivery plans in place, and this would be the focus of the new Officer, once they were in post. This would include clear timescales, responsibilities and ownership of actions and regular updates would be provided to the Strategic Planning Board to monitor progress.

Councillor Donna Wright proposed to approve the recommendations and this was seconded by Councillor Mick Debenham.

The following Members took part in the debate:

· Councillor Tamsin Thomas

· Councillor Val Bryant

The following points were made as part of the debate:

· Having previously not funded economic development, it was positive to see this administration bringing needed funding and attention to this area. However, better demonstration and highlighting of the work completed already was required.

· This authority was providing a lot of support, but there were wider issues around the general decline of High Streets.

· Economic Development plans were in progress and conversations around these had been held with relevant stakeholders in communities.

· The new Officer post would be beneficial to support the rollout of this strategy and Cabinet would ensure progress against the strategy was monitored going forward.

Having be proposed and seconded and following a vote, it was: