New look Bromsgrove town centre is agreed

Buy photos » The square that will be the new centre of the town, by the Housman statue and Church Street. s

THE LAYOUT of the new Bromsgrove Town Centre was officially agreed on Wednesday (July 4) at the latest meeting of the district council's cabinet.

The High Street will feature a square, around the Housman statue, which will mark the centre of the town, and an open area near The Strand which will enable farmers' markets, performances and other public events to take place.

Work has already got underway on School Drive to sort out some drainage issues and work has also started on the new blue light centre, which will see the police and fire stations combined on one site, off School Drive.

The redevelopment of Worcester Road will begin in September and run until mid-November, when there will be a break so the work does not hamper the town centre over the Christmas shopping period.

And work will then restart after the sales in mid-January.

There was a lot of criticism of the district council for felling the trees on the High Street to give designers a 'blank canvas' to work with. Temporarily, trees will be placed in planters in the High Street, so they can be moved around, if needs be, to accommodate the work that is taking place.

The £2million redevelopment has been funded from a variety of sources - £500,000 came from the sale of industrial units at Sherwood Road and £500,000, to fund the work between High Street South and the Housman statue, came from Worcestershire County Council.

Another £500,000 will be coming from negotiated Section 106 contributions between 2012/13 - that, from Sainsbury's and West Mercia Police, will fund the work north of the Housman statue.

And the remaining £500,000 will come from further Section 106 contributions from future developments in the town.

Section 106 agreements see local authorities enter into contracts whereby developers contribute towards amenites and community facilities.

The area being redeveloped includes School Drive, Worcester Road, the High Street, Church Lane, Mill Lane, The Strand, Birmingham Road, the lower end of Stratford Road and the area taking in Market Street, ASDA and the bus station.

Bromsgrove District Council leader Coun Roger Hollingworth said: "We are relieved that work is underway and everything is happening at long last.

"The public will start to notice the difference," he added.

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