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Leominster High Street Heritage Action Zone Scheme  (HSHAZ)

Leominster town centre is benefitting from the multi-million pound High Street Heritage Action Zone Fund, which seeks to breathe new life into High Streets that are rich in heritage and potential.  Between now and March 2024, Herefordshire Council and Leominster Town Council will be working in partnership with residents, businesses and community groups to deliver a range of projects that aim to renew and rejuvenate Leominster’s High Street and Conservation Area.

The projects included in the Leominster HSHAZ Scheme were identified through public consultation and discussion with Historic England. They include:

  • improvements to the public realm, with a focus on Corn Square
  • a grants programme to restore key historic buildings/shopfronts and bring under-utilised buildings back into use
  • the introduction of Wi-Fi and footfall counters in the town centre
  • a web-based heritage app for promotion of Leominster’s history, tourism and retail offerings.
  • a review of listing building records and a Conservation Area Appraisal, to help to protect Leominster’s architecture and ensure that new developments are in keeping with Leominster’s unique townscape.

Local residents, businesses and community groups have helped shape and contribute to these projects. Further details, including the latest weekly updates on the current public realm works, are available at: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/history-lives/high-street-heritage-action-zone

Great Places to Visit funding supports Leominster’s Covid-19 recovery

Throughout 2022 Leominster Town Council worked to deliver a wide range of projects supported by the Great Places to Visit Scheme. These projects were funded from the Government’s Covid-19 Outbreak Management Funds grant as part of Herefordshire Council’s Covid-19 recovery plan, supporting economic recovery and improving wellbeing in Herefordshire.

The Great Places to Visit Scheme sought to revitalise market towns by funding improvements to public realm, support for events and markets, and shop front improvement grants. The scheme funded the following projects in Leominster, delivered by Leominster Town Council:

  • Resurfacing of pathways surrounding the Grange Open Space
  • Resurfacing of Aida’s Accessible Amble in Pinsley Mead and the Millennium Green
  • Additional litter bins in Etnam Street and on the Grange.
  • Planting of trees in empty tree pits throughout the town centre.
  • 5 new benches in Corn Square and Broad St.
  • 4 accessible picnic tables at the Grange play area
  • Design and development work to support the refurbishment of public toilets in Central Car Park.
  • Shop Front Improvement Grant Scheme, supporting twenty town centre businesses.
  • Additional town centre signage.
  • Event support, promotion and entertainment for a range of community events in 2022, including Party in the Park, Leominster Food Fayre, St Edfrith’s Festival, Leominster Victorian Street Market, and the Leominster Christmas Lights Switch-On.
  • Infrastructure works to support Leominster’s Christmas Lights scheme.
  • Design and printing of Leominster children’s heritage trail maps.
  • Locally-produced Jubilee bunting for Leominster’s town centre.
  • A new bench and information noticeboard to support services at Leominster Food Bank

Each of these projects has been inspired by consultation with Leominster’s residents, businesses and community groups. Our thanks go to Herefordshire Council and the Government’s Covid-19 Outbreak Management Fund for these positive contributions to Leominster’s unique townscape and thriving community life.

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Welcoming People Back to Leominster's High Street

During 2022, Leominster Town Council delivered a range of projects that aimed to support and promote the safe and successful reopening of Leominster’s town centre for local trade and tourism. These projects were selected and funded through the Welcome Back Fund, supported by Herefordshire Council, which sought to encourage people back to the High Street and support economic recovery in Herefordshire following the impact of covid-19. The Welcome Back Fund provided councils across England with a share of £56 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welcome-back-fund

Projects in Leominster included:

  • The Through the Wardrobe event – over 400 people attended this popular event in December 2021, which brought a touch of Christmas magic to Leominster’s families.
  • Planting in Leominster Bus Station: funding provided two new planters to brighten this key arrival point for visitors. These planters will form part of the Leominster in Bloom planting scheme in the town centre.
  • Leominster Independents Day – 12th March 2022: this successful event attracted visitors from across the West Midlands to discover Leominster’s fantastic independent businesses. The event was shaped through consultation with local businesses and included free parking, giveaways, street entertainment, tours and family activities.
  • Additional street cleaning on Saturdays: supporting local businesses and tourism by ensuring that Leominster’s streets are kept clean and welcoming for visitors and residents.
  • Town centre tree works: trees on Etnam Street and West Street were overgrown, causing problems for pedestrians, businesses and property owners. Professional maintenance of these trees will ensure that they remain a feature of our town centre for many years to come.
  • Open spaces: the purchase of brightly coloured deckchair seating on the Grange Open Space will support local events and encourage the use of our beautiful green spaces.
  • Support services information: we worked in partnership with Leominster Shopmobility to produce bookmarks raising awareness of local services that help people with mobility problems to return to the High St following the covid lockdowns.
  • Educational events: we worked with Leominster Foodshare to hold a ‘Cooking made easy’ demonstration and workshop session in March 2022. This event supported covid recovery within the community, by encouraging confidence in cooking and equipping local residents to reduce waste and costs.

Our thanks go to all those who contributed to the successful delivery of these projects and events.

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Grange Consultation map

The Grange Open Space Masterplan

Leominster Town Council has adopted the Masterplan to help implement a range of projects and improvements on the Grange in Leominster. Red Kite Network Limited, a Shropshire-based landscape architecture, ecology and green space consultancy were commissioned to support the Council in developing a masterplan for the Site.

The Site incorporates Grange open space, the former cricket ground, the playground and recreation ground, The Priory, the Millennium Green and Pinsley Mead. The brief was to create a destination park, which will include a revitalised play area and recreation space for the local community, whilst also enhancing the wildlife and tourism potential of the Site.

The Adopted Masterplan

The final documentation can be downloaded below, please note these files (PDF) may not be fully accessible, contact us for accessible files:

Presentation to the Environment & Services Committee – 16th September 2019

Consultation Report

Background

In March-April 2019, public consultation was carried out to determine local residents’ and stakeholders’ views on and priorities for The Grange. The Phase 1 Public Consultation Report sets out the methodology and findings of the public consultation. The Grange Phase 1 Consultation Report.

Based on the findings of the Phase 1 Consultation, alongside the technical site analysis carried out by the design team, Red Kite developed concept proposals for The Grange, which are available by contacting us

The Phase 2 Consultation, carried out in July 2019, gave local residents and stakeholders the opportunity to provide their feedback on the proposals. Red Kite are now collating the results of the Phase 2 Consultation and finalising the proposals based on the feedback we’ve received. Leominster Town Council will then use the final masterplan and supporting consultation evidence to apply for the funding required to make these plans a reality.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to The Grange Project consultation. We hope that the final proposals will provide an exciting, sustainable and resident-led vision for this much-loved open space in the heart of Leominster.

For more information on the Grange Project, please email townclerk@leominstertowncouncil.gov.uk or telephone the Town Council Offices on 01568 611734.