Introduction to the gallery
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is an attractive, small market town with an
interesting mix of independent and national retailers reinforced by
a café and restaurant offer. The town centre has many attractive,
historic features, a market on
Wednesdays and Fridays and shop fronts that are generally well
maintained.
The Council’s objectives for Hoddesdon are:
- To create an attractive and vibrant town centre
- To create a prosperous employment area providing a range of
jobs
- To encourage sites to come forward for development to provide
jobs, housing and to meet other local development needs
- To maintain a high quality environment for shoppers, visitors,
residents, traders and those working in the town centre
The Tower Centre is an essential component in the successful
delivery of these objectives, as it has the capacity to make a
major contribution to developing a more vibrant town centre. The
Tower Centre is underused at present but it can act as a catalyst
to bring fresh retail investment into the town centre. Centros, the
owners of the Tower Centre, held a public exhibition in April 2011
on their plans for the redevelopment of the Tower Centre. The
Council granted planning permission in September 2011 and it is
anticipated that Centros will commence development in spring/summer
2012, with completion by the end of 2013.
Portas pilots bid
Broxbourne Council has submitted a £100,000 bid for the Mary
Portas pilot scheme funding, on behalf of Hoddesdon town centre.
The Department for Communities and Local Government will assess
applications from town centres across the country before announcing
the successful bids in May 2012. A short YouTube video
was produced to support the funding application.
The bid consists of:
- £73,808 to recruit a full time town centre
manager for two years;
- £6,192 for Action for Market Towns to
undertake a town centre health study each year for the next four
years, building upon the data gathered in the 2011 study; and
- £20,000 for a two year communications and marketing
budget to promote the town centre.
The bid will complement the investment being undertaken by the
Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council, local businesses and
property owners.
The Core Strategy will establish high level policies for
Hoddesdon town centre in the retail chapter and will also establish
wider objectives for the town centre in the sustainable
neighbourhoods, housing, employment, infrastructure and environment
chapters. The policy will set out a clear role for Hoddesdon and
establish its relationship with other town and district centres and
with Greater Brookfield. It will ensure that the centre can develop
a clear focus for food shopping, non-food High Street retailers and
independent shops, as well as an eating/drinking café culture and
other community facilities.