Haverhill's Queen Street Shop Front Scheme Launches
Monday, 3rd August 2009.
A scheme to bring new life to shop fronts in an attractive Victorian conservation area in Haverhill was launched on Monday 3 August.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council hand delivered application packs to each of the forty or fifty businesses in Haverhill's Queen Street, encouraging them to apply for grants that will make their premises appear more attractive and at the same time retain and enhance the historic character of the area.
The grants will pay for between 70 and 90 per cent of eligible works up to a limit of £10,000 total cost. When applications close in the autumn, the results will be reported to the Haverhill Area Working Party which will recommend which projects go ahead. The successful applicants will then have two years to complete the work.
Cllr Karen Richardson, Haverhill Area Working Party member said,
“Queen Street traders have been through a lot of disruption with the public realm enhancement work going on at present to create a pleasant retail quarter. We hope this scheme will offer individual and practical support, to be undertaken in their own time. It is an opportunity, not an obligation. They will need to do the work themselves and comply with planning policies, all of which is explained in their packs. I hope that we will see a strong uptake”.
The total pot of money allocated to the scheme is £50,000. St Edmundsbury Principal Planning Officer, Chris Rand explains,
“The scheme is as much about simple changes as big ones. For example some businesses may like to think about replacing their A-board with an attractive hanging sign. Maybe just some repairs and paint are needed, for example a plastic fascia above the door could be removed and the original moulding beneath could be restored and sign written. The design guide in the pack offers lots of ideas”.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council hand delivered application packs to each of the forty or fifty businesses in Haverhill's Queen Street, encouraging them to apply for grants that will make their premises appear more attractive and at the same time retain and enhance the historic character of the area.
The grants will pay for between 70 and 90 per cent of eligible works up to a limit of £10,000 total cost. When applications close in the autumn, the results will be reported to the Haverhill Area Working Party which will recommend which projects go ahead. The successful applicants will then have two years to complete the work.
Cllr Karen Richardson, Haverhill Area Working Party member said,
“Queen Street traders have been through a lot of disruption with the public realm enhancement work going on at present to create a pleasant retail quarter. We hope this scheme will offer individual and practical support, to be undertaken in their own time. It is an opportunity, not an obligation. They will need to do the work themselves and comply with planning policies, all of which is explained in their packs. I hope that we will see a strong uptake”.
The total pot of money allocated to the scheme is £50,000. St Edmundsbury Principal Planning Officer, Chris Rand explains,
“The scheme is as much about simple changes as big ones. For example some businesses may like to think about replacing their A-board with an attractive hanging sign. Maybe just some repairs and paint are needed, for example a plastic fascia above the door could be removed and the original moulding beneath could be restored and sign written. The design guide in the pack offers lots of ideas”.
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