Planning for the Future of Burton Town Centre

Jun 16th, 2010 | By Chris Towland | Category: Burton Stuff, Info Snippets

Two years ago East Staffordshire Borough Council asked a wide range of people how they would like to see their Town Centre develop over the next 15 years.

We took note of what people were saying, and with the help of our consultants drew up a draft “Area Action Plan” that took on board the main messages we were hearing. Burton is likely to grow over the next 15 years or so, with new homes being built and new communities created. So, the town centre will need to serve a larger population over this time period, as well as remain competitive against other nearby town centres.

Many people and groups with interests in the Town Centre were approached and their plans and aspirations have been heard. Unfortunately, the recession has put on hold the plans of many businesses. But now is the time to kick-start investment by providing positive guidance on how the Town Centre should develop in a co-ordinated way.

To provide guidance and certainty as quickly as possible for potential investors a Policy Statement and Masterplan for the Town Centre has been produced.

A draft of the first part of this work – the Policy Statement – is now ready and the Council want to hear the views of the public.

The starting point in the Statement is the idea of creating four “Quarters” in the Town Centre – Shopping (“the Shop & Relax Quarter”), Leisure & Commerce (“the Work and Play Quarter”), Education & Residential (“the Learning and Living Quarter”), and the washlands (“Burton’s Hidden Jewel”).The Policy Statement steers certain types of activity into each Quarter, without being too prescriptive.

The Quarters idea came out of the message the Council heard from people it talked to – that Burton is more than just a shopping centre – it’s also a place to work, play, relax, learn and live. Planning for Quarters will help to reinforce this idea in people’s minds, and strong branding on the ground will help people find their way around the Town Centre better.

It will be followed by a more detailed Masterplan, due to be out for comments towards the end of this year. Both the Policy Statement and the Masterplan will be linked to the Core Strategy, a document which the Council must produce in line with government regulations. This will help to give them weight when the Council decides planning applications.

Cllr Robert Hardwick, Deputy Leader for Regulatory Services said: “Burton has already been recognized as a thriving town centre with a great future [see Burton Mail article 11/6/10]. We are working very closely with businesses and owners to make Burton even better, building on its strengths and tackling the areas that need improvement. The Policy Statement and Masterplan will make sure that all proposals to develop and improve the centre are coordinated and work together to create a town centre to be proud of.”

All comments made will help the Council to publish a final Policy Statement, which will go before all the Council Members in October 2010. Consultation on the Masterplan will take place at the end of the year, with Adoption due in April 2011.