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 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 should 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
redevelopment work is underway, with completion scheduled for
November 2013.
Portas pilots bid
In March 2012 Broxbourne Council submitted a £100,000 bid for
the Mary Portas pilot scheme funding, on behalf of Hoddesdon town
centre. The bid was unsuccessful, both for the initial round
of 12 pilots announced in May 2012 and the subsequent second round
of 15 pilots announced in July 2012. A short YouTube video
was produced to support the funding application.
The bid consisted 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.
Hoddesdon town centre to become a Town Team Partner
Broxbourne Council and Mr Charles Walker MP
have successfully applied for Hoddesdon town centre to become a
Town Team Partner. The Department for Communities and Local
Government announced the scheme in August 2012, which enables
access to £10,000 of funding to implement part of the initial
Portas Pilot bid.
The £10,000 for Hoddesdon town centre will be
used as a communications and marketing budget to support the
widened programme of town centre events. The town centre events
programme, which includes the Hoddesdon Town Charter Fair and
Vintage and Classic Vehicle Display, attracts large crowds in the
town centre and there is potential to increase the footfall count.
Event days offer local businesses the opportunity to showcase their
products and services to potential new customers.
Planning
The new style local plan 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 Brookfield Farm. 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.