I have laid the following motion on the Agenda of the town council's Highways Planning and Development Committee meeting which starts at 7pm on Monday 19 January 2009:
"To resolve that this committee:
a) supports the report produced by Adam Nardell, Regeneration Officer at West Wiltshire District Council, dated 14 January 2009 and headed "Westbury Town Centre - Regeneration of the Streetscene and Public Realm";
b) recognises the success of the Market Place Regeneration Project in improving this important, historic part of Westbury town centre;
c) believes that to fully capitalise on this momentum and to achieve the best benefits from this investment for the Westbury and surrounding community, it is essential that the next logical phase of Town Centre Improvement Works identified in the "Vision for Westbury" plan should proceed as soon as possible;
d) believes this should be the regeneration of Maristow Street and its junction with part of Edward Street, as this area is another important, historical part of the town centre;
e) believes that this historic town centre regeneration is supported by Regional Policy in the Regional Spatial strategy and it should be supported through the emerging Local Transport Plan 3;
f) accordingly requests that the Highway's Department (Attention: David Bullock) at County Hall provides a commitment to continuing the good town centre regeneration work already undertaken and budgets now for the necessary consultation and preliminary design works for Phase II of this process in the upcoming 2009-10 financial year of Wiltshire Council.
Cllr R Hawker to present this item".
Here is a copy of the Report from Adam Nardell, which I requested as a local district councillor to advise the town council on moving this mattter forward:
Westbury Town Centre – Regeneration of the Streetscene and Public Realm
IntroductionThis report outlines West Wiltshire District Council’s (Regeneration Service) overall concept of improving the streetscape of Westbury Town Centre in support of the local economy and the associated ease of pedestrian movement between the fragmeneted retail clusters in the town.
This approach has both regeneration and traffic/transport benefits in that it will provide an improved, legible and better connected town centre environment which will improve footfall for local retailers as well as encouraging a modal shift in transport choices.
The report also outlines the suggested next steps in taking this initiative forward and as such can be viewed as an initial bid for funding through the Local Transport Plan to undertake initial design and feasiblity studies.
BackgroundThis proposal follows a consultation exercise which resulted in the production of A Vision for Westbury, which sets out priorities and objectives for the enhancement of the town centre and specifically the linkages between High Street and Market Place.
This overall concept has been identified as a priority by the 5 Towns Initiative Group (5TI), which is a partnership between the District and Town Councils.
In addition, significant funding for the first phase of the overall scheme, improvements to Market Place, was secured through Wiltshire County Council. Following extensive public consultation and design the Market Place improvement project commenced in October 2008 and is due to be completed by February 2009.
Introduction to WestburyThe initial focus for this project has been Market Place, which occupies a prominent position within Westbury Town Centre, and is historically the heart of the town. However, the current retail/commercial centre of the town has several distinct parts to it, but focuses on two main areas:
• Market Place, which is dominated by leisure uses such as public houses, takeaways and the hotel, but does contain a some retail use.
• High Street, a 1960s shopping precinct mainly in retail use.
The new and the old parts of town are linked by Edward Street and Maristow Street, where there is a mix of commercial and residential properties.
The A350 runs around the centre and the current arrangements discourage people from driving from one part of the centre to the other, so the linkages between the old and new parts of town are mainly used by pedestrians. Should the Westbury bypass go ahead, the A350 will be downgraded to a local distributor road.
Market PlaceMarket Place has a multitude of pedestrian and vehicular functions. It is a square surrounded by active uses and represents a destination in itself; however, it is also a through route for accessing Maristow Street and Alfred Street as well as being one of the access routes for The All Saints Church.
Market Place is surrounded by listed buildings, all of which are important to the setting of the scheme. Nevertheless, the pivotal landmark building would have to be “The Old Town Hallâ€, which is grade II* listed and sits in the most prominent location within the square.
In considering Market Place it has been necessary to consider its context in the town and to decide on a palette of materials that could, over time, be used elsewhere in the centre. It should also be noted that in the commission for the design of Market Place obliged the designers to also consider what could be done to improve the links to the new part of town along Maristow Street and Edward Street.
Background on Existing DocumentsWork has been undertaken in Westbury over the last few years to consider how the town centre can be enhanced. Following considerable consultation, it has been highlighted that there is a need to improve the appearance of the town centre and try to improve the coherence between the old and the new parts of the centre.
Several documents have been produced which have looked at what improvements may be feasible. In 2003, following several consultation exercises, Anna Crosbie produced “A Town Centre Development Plan for Westbury†which outlined key issues and priorities and suggested a number of projects to enhance the town centre.
A Vision for Westbury was produced in 2004, also by Anna Crosbie. This included a range of identified priority projects including the improvement of Market Place and improving the connectivity between the town’s fragmented shopping centres. In 2004 Wiltshire County Council appointed Mouchel Parkman to look at possible transport measures in the town centre.
The Westbury Area Community Plan has also highlighted the need for work to be done in the town centre.
Wiltshire’s Local Transport Plan 2 (covering 2006-2011) has targets to improve walking and cycling and also refers to other quality of life issues including improving the street scene in town centres. Given that the 5TI scheme will come to an end with the abolition of the District Council, the Town Council should look to the Local Transport Plan as the principle source of funding for traffic, transport and streetscape improvements, although it may be possible to tap into the Regional Development Agency’s “Regional Infrastrcture Fund†through the new Economic Development and Regeneration Service at Wiltshire Council.
Scheme ObjectivesTaking the objectives for Market Place as a starting point, the objectives for continuing public realm improvements from Maristow Street to High Street could be (in no particular order):
1) Enhance the attractiveness of the streetscene through use of quality materials and furniture which complement the built form
2) Return it to an area whose function prioritises pedestrian uses.
3) Retain car parking and loading which is essential to businesses in but reduce the visual and physical dominance of the vehicles in the streets
4) Allow the streets to compliment Market Place as a functional area which can be used for a market and other community events.
5) Improve pedestrian and cycle links into the square, particularly with respect to links to High Street.
6) Enhance the commercial viability of the streets.
PhasingClearly, to undertake wholesale streetscape improvements throughout the town in a single will be disruptive to business, residents and visitors and will carry a significant cost implication.
It is suggested therefore, that any programme of streetscene improvements which take forward the “Market Place†concept should be rolled out in phases.
While the environment of High Street is arguably most in need of a substantial intervention, it can be argued that the impacts of any disruption that works might cause already fragile businesses (particularly in the prevailing economic conditions), might justify delaying this to a later phase.
There is also a logical sequence in starting improvements from Market Place and rolling these out through Maristow Street, Edward Street and ultimately High Street. This approach would also lend itself to the annual determination of LTP and other budgets.
ConclusionThe Town and District Councils have demonstrated the will and ability to deliver the Vision for Westbury and the success of the Market Place Improvement scheme has built momentum behind the Vision’s implementation. The support of County Council for the Market Place project has been crucial but would not have been forthcoming if they had not seen that this scheme fulfils the aims of the Local Transport Plan in encouraging modal shifts in travel and improving the pedestrian experience. It is evident that County Council also see that the rolling out of the approach outlined in the Vision for Westbury (to better connect High Street with Market Place) also helps them achieve their traffic and transport objectives.
There is now the opportunity for the Town Council to build on this and the success of the Market Place project by committing to the planning and delivery of the streetscape improvements outlined above and through this encouraging County Council to do likewise and to commit significant funds to the overall project.
Adam Nardell
Regeneration Projects Manager
WWDC
14 January 2009
[/hr]
ChatterBox