Work Starts on Environmental Improvements in Cromer Town Centre

Copyright NNDC

Work begins on Cromer Regeneration Partnership's £1 million environmental enhancement programme in the town centre this month. The works form part of the Cromer Regeneration Programme and come shortly after the launch of the Townscape Heritage Initiative earlier in the summer.

On 16 September, newly-appointed contractor Breheny Civil Engineering, of Needham Market, starts work on the first phase of the improvements, the Holt Road/Beach Road junction, followed by the main A149 Hamilton Road/Church Street thoroughfare. This phase will continue until next April, although no work is planned during December and January to avoid any disruption over the Christmas period. One of the key objectives will be to ensure that the enhancements will be in character with Cromer, with high quality materials and street furniture being used at all times.

The Hamilton Road/Church Street thoroughfare will be transformed according to the designs agreed by the town's Regeneration Partnership of councils, traders and funding bodies. Public consultation over the look and feel of the new surfaces and materials continued right up until the end of August.

The second phase (to start next year) includes New Street, High Street, Jetty Street, Jetty Cliff, the area outside the Red Lion Hotel adjoining East Cliff, and the churchyard footpaths. Detailed schedules for these works will be agreed over the coming weeks. The third area to be improved will include Tucker Street, Brook Street, West Street, Chapel Street, Bond Street, Hans Place, Garden Street and Surrey Street.

The whole programme is due for completion in November 2004, and, to minimise its impact on traders, work will be suspended during the town's busiest periods - late June to mid-September, the four weeks leading up to Christmas (this year and next) and the weeks either side of the Easter and Whitsun Bank Holidays. The programme of works were explained to local businesses at a meeting (last night) between the Councils, Breheny and the Cromer Chamber of Trade.

Before work begins, Breheny will set up an office at 8 West Street, where the public and traders can keep abreast of progress, see what the schedules are, and ask questions about the work. A bulletin board will be set up in the office and a regular newsletter is to be published for local residents.

Breheny will maintain a depot on the edge of town and only transport materials when necessary, so they are not stored in the town centre overnight and do not cause too great an obstruction during the day.

Staff from Breheny have formed part of a joint design team and have been co-operating with officers from North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council since the company won the contract in mid-July, advising on technical issues and solutions, helping to spot potential construction difficulties, and identifying sources for materials - all with the aim of minimising disruption in Cromer when work gets under way.

Meanwhile, the County Council's Planning and Transportation Department (in its role as the Highways Authority) has finalised the Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) needed for the changes to traffic management in Cromer to take place.

Consultation with Cromer people on the TROs began in earnest in January this year (once the funding had been secured and detailed traffic management proposals had been drawn up by the Regeneration Partnership), with a public exhibition and door-to-door delivery of a leaflet explaining the proposals and inviting comment. The traffic management consultation has continued right up to the last minute, with the legal process of advertising and seeking comment upon the TROs in August, and the continuous involvement of Regeneration partners like Cromer Town Council and the town's Chamber of Trade.

Alongside that, in early August the Regeneration Partnership published a newsletter containing design proposals for the 'environmental enhancements' - an idea of the way the roads, pavements and street furniture (like benches and litter bins) might look - also with the aim of inviting people's comments. These comments will be reported to the Regeneration Steering Group at the end of this month.

Peter Stibbons, Chair of Cromer Regeneration Steering Group, said: "With the first work on the streets beginning this autumn, it's another very exciting phase in the Regeneration programme. It's very encouraging to have had such a high level of involvement from the people of Cromer and a clear willingness to take on some of the temporary inconvenience to achieve a better town centre for the future.

"With the work on the Townscape Heritage Initiative now started, the Learning Centre in operation and a major proposal on the seafront submitted for funding, we can feel a definite move forward - though there's plenty of hard work and decision-making still to do."

NOTES FOR EDITOR

• The Cromer Regeneration Partnership was formed in March 2001 after public meetings in the town. It comprises North Norfolk District Council, Norfolk County Council, Cromer Town Council, Cromer Chamber of Trade, the East of England Development Agency, and local community groups.
• Six focus groups of local people and professionals from the partnership organisations were formed in July 2001, reporting to the Regeneration Steering Group. There is also a Townscape Heritage Initiative Panel, a Traffic Management Working Group, and a Seafront Enhancement Panel.
• The £1,053,000 street and enhancement works form one part of the overall £2,088,000 Cromer Town Revitalisation Programme. The other major part of the scheme is the £1.035,000 Townscape Heritage Initiative, which will give grants for the repair and restoration of town centre buildings.
• For more information about Cromer Regeneration, contact Steve Blatch at NNDC on (01263) 516232. For information about the environmental enhancements and design proposals and Townscape Heritage Initiative, contact Phil Godwin at NNDC on (01263) 516131. For details of the traffic management plan, call David Sprunt at Norfolk County Council on (01603) 222143, or Richard Smith on (01603) 223309. To find out more about the Regeneration Partnership and community involvement, call Peter Stibbons on (01263) 510969.