See the “Background” section at the foot of this post for information about the scope, scale and schedule of this project.

Update 5 October 2023

The first phase having been completed in March 2023 (see below) there was then a pause while the election took place and, resulting from this, the new administration got its feet under the table. That having now happened, Martin Colston, the portfolio holder responsible for these initiatives, has recently confirmed that the first Hungerford steering group meeting will be on 16 October at 6pm in Hungerford Town Hall and will be chaired by Councillor James Cole. Various stakeholders have been invited including from the Town Council and the Town & Manor.

As well as studying and perhaps commenting on the terms of reference which have been specified, the first order of business is expected to be identifying the top two or three priorities to focus on from the seven outlined in the Hungerford Town Centre Strategy (p38 if you’re looking at the thumbnails or pp74-5 if you’re following the numbers at the foot of each page).

Update 25 March 2023

Please click here to see further information on the results of the consultations.

Due the election, there was then a pause in this project. It’s expected that during the summer of 2023 the new West Berkshire Council will, in conjunction with the main organisations in the town, agree how the work will continue.

Update 23 January 2023

A Visioning Workshop was held on 19 January in Hungerford Town Hall, involving a wide range of stakeholders including councillors, business and community representatives.

During this workshop, HemingwayDesign presented the results of the latest public engagement survey in relation to strategy development process. The participants were invited to provide further input (many had already done so at the meeting on 9 November 2022, see below) into identifying opportunities and areas of improvement in Hungerford’s town centre. These focussed on unlocking growth in the areas of economy, local heritage, connecting places and, in general, on making the town an exciting and inviting place to live in and visit for those of all ages.

The survey results will be published by the end of February 2023.

Update 12 January 2023

The formal consultations (see below) have closed but over the next six weeks or so there will continue to be engagement with stakeholders, including the town council. The exercise is on course to be concluded at the end of February 2023 and the results will be published shortly thereafter.

Update 4 January 2023

The consultation remains open (see section below).

The high-speed accident in Hungerford High Street on 13 December (see our separate report here) has made participating in the consultation all the more important. If you have concerns about traffic and road-safety issues in the town, and if you believe that solving or ameliorating these will help to create the positive results that the place-making strategy is designed to achieve, then make these points in the consultation. If you have already completed the consultation you should be able to go back and edit your response.

Update 5 December 2022

The consultation deadline is midnight on Monday 9 January. You can click here to take part.

The consultation covers both Hungerford and Thatcham: you can reply to either parts or to both, as you decide. The survey takes about 10 minutes. The more responses are received, the more relevant the conclusions will be and the greater the chances of securing funding for the towns from the government and other bodies.

You don’t need to live in or work in the towns (or even in West Berkshire) to contribute. If you visit either place, even occasionally, your views are important.

Please pass the survey on to as many others as you can, particularly young people and those who may not regularly be online. Paper copies will be available from Thatcham Town Council, Hungerford Town Council, Thatcham Library and Hungerford Hub and Library.

Update 28 November 2022

It’s been announced that the public survey for the Hungerford and Thatcham place-making strategies will run from Monday 5 December 2022 to midnight on Monday 9 January 2023. Further information, including the link to the survey, will be provided in due course.

Update 9 November 2022

A workshop was held in the Hungerford Town Hall on 9 November which was attended by local retailers, town and district councillors and representatives of several local organisations – about 35 people in all. The purpose was not so much to provide solutions – though several were proposed – but to identify what the issues were which this exercise could help address. Several of the these were identified by all four groups. Many of these also touched on matters outside the core area (see below).

The Place-making team will then use comments and ideas to formulate specific proposals which will be the subject of public consultation. It’s hoped that this will start in December and run until early to mid-January. This schedule should give the team enough time to consider and evaluate the responses and finalise the recommendations before the project’s end date of 31 March. As mentioned below, this will be given wide publicity in Penny Post and elsewhere.

Background

As part of its programme of work to protect and enhance the high streets and town centres of the district, West Berkshire Council has appointed Hemingway Design to develop a Place-making Strategy for Hungerford town centre (similar work is also being done in Thatcham as part of the same project).

Hungerford’s strategy is focusing on the High Street area (roughly speaking from Atherton Crescent to The Bear), although the team is aware that areas outside this such as The Croft, the canal and the railway station are also vital parts of the town and consideration will need to be paid to how these can also be improved or enhanced..

Place-making Strategies are visual plans for the town centres with a range of suggested improvements and uses which will enhance their vitality and economic success in the future. Hemingway undertook similar work last year with the Newbury Town Centre Masterplan, details of which you can see here.

The place-making strategies will involve the following stages:

• The first step will be discussions with organisations such as the town councils, retailers and local organisations. This will enable the Place-making team to understand not only the aspects of the town that should be preserved and enhanced but also the ones that need improvement.
• This will then lead into a public consultation process, which is a vital part of this exercise. The open public consultation will be held to formulate the final plans: it’s hoped that the success of these will match that of the Newbury Masterplan consultation which received about 5,000 responses. We’ll announce soon when the consultation will take place so that you can provide your input. You can in the mean time find more information by clicking here.
• This will then lead to the creation of a strategy document which will include visioning of what the future might look like.
• How many of the aspirations are realised will depend on the availability of grant funds. This kind of inclusive and detailed exercise is an important pre-condition for many organisations and government departments to consider releasing funds. In addition, the higher the level of public engagement with the consultation, the more convinced any funders will be that the proposals have widespread community support. Your involvement will, therefore, be influential.

Each important stage of the process, including the consultation, will be given wide publicity, including in Penny Post. This post will be updated as necessary and the changes promoted in the weekly and monthly newsletters.

Note that the place-making strategy is completely separate from the Hungerford 2036 neighbourhood development plan which is being created for the town; and from the local plan refresh which will affect the whole of West Berkshire and which will also be the subject of a consultation at about there same time.

Please click here to see a post that covers the same exercise which is also taking place in Thatcham.

Photograph © Hungerford Chamber of Commerce.