Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 The long-term regeneration of Radstock town centre requires the continued development of a strategic approach. To help develop this approach a set of regeneration principles is proposed for the town centre.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The regeneration principles for Radstock town centre set out in this report as a basis for consultation and subsequent development of a physical regeneration framework for Radstock town centre.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 This report does not raise any specific financial implications.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 Radstock Town Centre has been the focus of a considerable amount of regeneration work and significant improvements have been achieved over recent years. To build upon this and underpin the long-term regeneration of the town centre requires further development of a strategic approach. This report puts forward a set of regeneration principles which draw upon regeneration work and consultation over recent years. These principles are intended to provide a context for development of physical regeneration proposals for the town centre.

5 RISK MANAGEMENT

6 RATIONALE

6.1 A coherent and co-ordinated approach is vital for successful regeneration of Radstock town centre. The draft Local Plan allocates the former railway and associated land in the town for development. Whilst there is not currently a physical regeneration framework or masterplan for the town centre, a significant amount of regeneration work and consultation has been undertaken. Drawing upon this work to establish a set of regeneration principles will provide a starting point for development of a physical regeneration framework for the town centre. These principles can be fed into any subsequent production of formal planning documents for the town.

7 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

7.1 The option of relying on current policies and strategies has been considered. This has been rejected because the lack of a forward looking and holistic context for physical regeneration risks failure to realise opportunities and the town's potential. It would also fail to build upon the regeneration work and consultation undertaken. Consideration has been given to deferring further work until commencement of formal planning documents within the Local Development Framework process. However, this has been rejected because of the need to facilitate regeneration in the shorter term and given the fact that work undertaken now can feed into development of any subsequent planning documents.

8 CONSULTATION

8.1 Ward councillor, Executive councillor, Town council, Overview & Scrutiny Panel, Other B&NES Services, Local residents, Community Interest Groups, Stakeholders/Partners, Other public sector bodies, Section 151 Finance Officer, Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer

8.2 The proposal set out in the report has been considered by the Major Project & External Bodies Overview & Scrutiny Panel. Consultation has been undertaken with other Council Services prior to production of the report. Other Council Services, the Chief Executive, S151 Officer, Monitoring Officer, Executive Member and Ward Councillors have been sent copies of the report for comment. The Midsomer Norton and Radstock Link Group has facilitated initial discussion with key stakeholders. There will be further consultation with local residents, the Town Council, other public sector bodies and stakeholders/partners if the recommendation of the report is agreed.