Agenda item

Wiltshire Council have allocated funding to support high streets between 2021-2025. This report updates on activity to date and plans for the future to support the creation of viable high streets which meet the needs of the community and can adapt for the future.

The update on the Wiltshire Towns Programme was delivered as a presentation, not a report, as set out in the agenda.

The item was introduced by Corporate Director Place, Parvis Khansari. He outlined that the Towns Programme had been in planning for some time but had been delayed by the Covid Grants Scheme. The Director stated that they were now able to roll out the Towns Programme.

Head of Economy and Regeneration, Victoria Moloney, delivered the presentation. This included points such as the importance of the retail sector in Wiltshire, the discussions with Town Councils and key stakeholders, the framework of the programme and existing projects.

Officers responded to a number of questions and comments from the Select

Committee which included the following areas:

·       Whether tourism could be promoted more due to the number of artefacts in Wiltshire. It was explained that the Government’s Tourism Recovery Programme scheduled a four year return to normal and that work was being done with Visit Wiltshire off that basis. There would be a focus on structural changes to the marketability and sustainability of tourism in Wiltshire.

·       The link between the Towns Programme and other council policies, like active travel. It was clarified that officers were linking to other work groups and ensuring that they met shared aims where possible.

·       That the Market Towns Forum would be returning after the pause due to the pandemic. It was outlined that the model may change a bit, moving away from briefings and more towards exercise and discussion. Meetings taking on a specialism focus were also being considered to group similar towns; however officers would not want to restrict who the towns can have discussions with.

·       Work being undertaken in Chippenham with the Town Council to understand their priorities and action plan in a similar exercise to the Future Highstreets programmes in Salisbury and Trowbridge. In response to questions the Head of Economy and Regeneration stated that she was happy to ensure that Neighbourhood Plan connects with that. The officer also highlighted that there was a balance to be struck between helping businesses survive in the short term and supporting them to become sustainable looking towards the future.

·       There was cooperation and support from other departments within Wiltshire Council and the Economy and Regeneration department would be engaging more going forwards.

·       The effectiveness of publicly supported one-off events, for example in Salisbury.

·       The next steps of the programme, starting with the creation of an activity generation plan with workshops and advice to support Town Councils, then actioning the plans with funding. Existing business support organisations would be utilised to ensure businesses can access funding. There was an awareness of potential capacity issues, which were being looked into.

·       Concerns over limitation of existing projects to dress up town centres and lack of flexibility to fit support to the specific area due to differing needs. It was clarified that the existing contract was unfortunately a set framework, but that this was not the preferred model going forwards and feedback on what is required by different towns was welcome.

·       How the apps would be achieved. It was explained that there would be some automation to pull through events from trusted sources. In terms of the Heritage App that was in the earlier stages and would have community exercises to feed into its development. There was a focus on local voices as a positive factor impacting tourism.

·       Differences between issues facing towns, the officer explained that plans for similar settlements were being trialled. The funding would be based on employment and retail numbers, with the focus on the people behind the businesses. The broad range of settlements considered under the Towns Programme was also highlighted.

·       The Vacant Units Fund to assist people in finding a location for their business.

·       It was clarified that where there are existing organisations in place working to support and improve towns, the Towns Programme would seek to work with those and not attempt to overwrite or replace.

·       How best to achieve positive relationships with landlords, such as by being able to demonstrate value of supporting the programmes and present a compelling argument for partnership.

·       Air quality and increasing interest in active travel tourism as well as the potential for quick wins, such as air quality benches. However it was also raised that there would need to be a balance between issues that the Towns Programme would tackle.

·       Tree planting in towns was being looked at, with some successful projects proceeding.

The committee thanked the Head of Economy and Regeneration for her excellent presentation.

Resolved,

That the select committee,

1.    Note the progress on the Wiltshire Towns Fund to date

2.    Receive a further update, on progress with the delivery of the programme, in 12 months’ time.