Waveney MP Peter Aldous.
Photo: Andy Darnell
Meeting to discuss Lowestoft town centre plan funding
By Anthony Carroll
Thursday, February 16, 2012
2:34 PM
SHOPKEEPERS and business owners in Lowestoft are being challenged to come up with fresh and innovative ideas next week to boost the town’s appeal to shoppers and draw in new visitors.
Waveney MP Peter Aldous has arranged a meeting on Monday to discuss setting up a “town team” to access up to £100,000 of government funding. If traders show enough support, he is hoping Lowestoft can submit a bid for a share of a national pot of £1m to drive the town forward commercially and help it produce an action plan.
Nationally, 12 towns will be selected to take part in a £1m town team pilot scheme.
It has been set up after the high-profile report last year on the future of the country’s high streets by retail expert Mary Portas, star of the BBC television programme, Mary Queen of Shops.
One of Ms Portas’s 28 recommendations to protect and breathe fresh life into town centres was the setting up of teams to create a “visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets”.
The pilot scheme will also be used to test the validity of Ms Portas’s other recommendations, such as having a national market day, free parking schemes, cutting red tape and allowing councils to take over empty shops.
Mr Aldous said Lowestoft should apply to be one of the 12 towns in the pilot scheme as it had a lot to offer.
He said: “I think Lowestoft has a very good story to tell. I believe we have an old fashioned high street which is steeped in history and we have the Scores which are unique. It is all about making Lowestoft even more attractive to get more people coming into the town.
“The town plan could be a catalyst. Even if we don’t get the money then Monday’s meeting will enable us to explore and examine blueprints we could put into action.”
Mr Aldous also said the Kirkley area would benefit from having a town team, which could also look at ways of sprucing up the area and promoting its own retail area.
The national town team pilot scheme is being funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government, which is seeking applications until March 30.
Launching the town team scheme, Grant Shapps, minister of state for local government, said; “We are asking local leaders to come up with innovative ideas of their own to boost struggling high streets and town centres.
“I want to see local leaders ready to try new things, experiment and innovate so that their high streets and parades become the place to be for local people and visitors alike.”
Mr Aldous’s town team meeting is taking place at 2pm at his constituency office in Surrey Street and it is open to any local traders or shop owners. For further information call 01502 359980.
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8 comments
Maybe if our council stopped ridiculing and insulting the people of Lowestoft, then we all will maybe see a decent town centre. And sort out the parking and the horrendous parking charges But hey! don’t hold ya breath.. And Lowestoft does need a Third crossing it’s not about traffic for the town centre it’s about thru traffic going to Yarmouth. Via the A12 .And that will ease the traffic going into town and over the Bascule Bridge.
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Sifu
Friday, February 17, 2012
There are some good points here.Tea&Biscuits is right about the third crossing. It is desirable but will not solve every single problem in the area. A proper affordable public transport system would help. Reality rules OK is also correct about the dire state of the town centre, and I would describe it as threatening rather than unsavoury for much of the time. I disagree about the charity shops though, these are a vital steady source of income to the charities, and provide an example of what little altruism remains in the UK. NorfolkLassie advocates businesses cooperating to improve things. An overall improvement requires money to be spent on conserving our remaining old buildings, and ensuring good quality design of new public and commercial space. In the end, all businesses are interested in is profit, not quality of life. At the root of it all is the fact that incomes in the area are generally insufficient to support the kind of shops, restaurants, cafes and services which make for an attractive town centre.
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point du jour
Friday, February 17, 2012
There's no point in papering over cracks.WDC have killed the town it will take more than Pee Wee Pete to revive it.
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kevin bacon
Friday, February 17, 2012
Aren't these comments so far proving the point of needing this meeting and designing some plans to improve the area? Yes the town centre is currently an isoar, yes it is starting to have more empty shops but that needs to be worked on and resolved. If a team of people who know the industry can come together and put into action something that makes it more welcoming, cleaner, free parking schemes and enables the team access to government funding then this is only a good thing. We need to support this not ridicule the challenge.
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NorfolkLassie
Friday, February 17, 2012
Why bother Lowestoft town centre is dire and to be avoided at all costs. It is full of cheap rubbish shops, fast food outlets that stink the entire town, more charity shops than anywhere else, rubbish and dog poo around and some really unsavoury areas. You cannot turn a Is ear into a silk purse .
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Reality rules OK
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Why do people go on so much about a third crossing as if it is the holy grail to solve all the towns problems. It won't. And we will not be getting one for many many years if at all as the cost of building it won't balance against the small benefit it offers.
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Tea&Biscuits
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Do we need to go around this again , it has to be the THIRD crossing , and it don.t take town team to tell you that !!!!!!!!!!
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kettle1
Thursday, February 16, 2012
It would be a good start if WDC stopped jacking up the parking fees; everyone concerned stopped digging up the roads and otherwise making the place an inaccessible hell; and the place was cleaned up and kept clean. I doubt however that any sort of silk purse can be made out of the sow's ear that Lowestoft has now become.
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T Doff
Thursday, February 16, 2012