Regeneration and Economy - A District Perspective: Report back from Visits to Thanet on 26 July and Shepway on 1 September
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Minutes:
During the debate on this item, Mrs J A Rook declared an interest as her family company has retail premises in a number of towns across Kent.
Thanet – 26 July
1. Members made the following comments on what they had seen and heard at the visit to Thanet:-
a) the visit had been positive, upbeat, very worthwhile, and was very well organised. Thanet were congratulated on what they were doing;
b) Thanet was intriguing and challenging, in terms of regeneration, and its reputation as an area of deprivation had served it well;
c) this was the last chance for the District and County Councils to work together to achieve outcomes;
d) it was hoped that the Turner Centre would deliver all that was planned, and draw tourists from Europe as well as from the UK;
e) Manston Parkway is a key priority and would need a fast track rail link to London within the hour to ignite the whole of East Kent;
f) it is important to recognise where mistakes had been made – eg Westwood Cross – and it would be useful to see how shopping areas will be addressed once economic confidence is regained;
g) Members debated the relative merits and problems of free and charged parking:
i) Kent’s towns do not have enough and it is never free. If shoppers cannot park for free in one shopping area, they will go to another. Provision of free parking is big issue when addressing the regeneration of town centres, and should be a community commitment;
ii) it is unrealistic to expect to provide free parking, and parking revenue would contribute valuable income to a town centre. Charges could be relatively small yet cover the maintenance costs of providing it;
h) Thanet had received much regeneration funding over the years, yet still it is an area of multi-deprivation; and
i) in some town centres in Kent, shoppers could park outside shops for free, while other towns had pedestrianised high streets. This might explain why some High Streets were doing well and keeping their independent traders and others were not.
2. The Deputy Cabinet Member, Mr J A Kite, was asked what he would be doing to help Thanet in the short term. Mr Kite replied that there were two threads - strategic and specific. A key strategic challenge would be to get the Local Enterprise Partnership right. Specifics would include issues like supporting the towns and communities behind the seafronts rather than being beguiled by the seafronts themselves, and to treat all areas equally.
3. In discussion, Members started to identify key themes for their future discussion of priorities:
Shepway – 1 September
4. Members made the following comments on what they had seen and heard at the visit to Shepway:-
a) the visit had been interesting but Members had ... view the full minutes text for item 35