Agenda item

Sam Jones and Rachel Rowsell provided a presentation to the Board on the utilization of the capacity funding of £250,000 provided already for the development of the Long Term Plan for Clacton-on-Sea.  The update set out the approved funding allocation of the capacity funding in 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27. It also set out updated detail in respect of:

·         Shop Wrapping and plans for shop front grants and encouraging private sector investment;

·         Cleaning and graffiti removal – a town blitz to tackle immediate issues.  Put up flags and lamp post banners;

·         Community engagement – Create an ongoing dialogue with residents, businesses and visitors; and

·         Improved communication and connectivity of regeneration projects.

The issue of the difficulty in securing agreement of owners of empty shops for them to have decorative wrapping placed on the windows was discussed.  Agreement had been secured to place wrapping on what were previously the Burton shop, Oxley Funeral Directors and Wilkinsons (all in Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea).  A re-tenanting of one of the shops was referenced together with the approach in that case.  Other sites in Station Road, Pier Avenue, the High Street, Rosemary Road and Jackson Road were being pursued for agreement.  The difficulties contrasted with the position that had been experienced when organising shop wrapping in Harwich/Dovercourt earlier in the year.

The envisaged costings of wrapping all the identified shop fronts was £11,900 (plus artwork).  However, for the three shops for which permission had been granted it was £4,400 of that total.  The total allocated for shop wrapping in 2024/25 was £25,000.

Shop wrapping timetable:

The position around occupied shops with poor shop window displays was referenced.

The issues in respect of graffiti removal were similar to those being faced in respect of shop wrapping (namely full agreements to undertake the work).

The opportunity for other commercial operators to assist with persuading empty shop owners to engage with the efforts to improve Clacton-on-Sea Town Centre was referenced, likewise referencing the wish for shop owners to engage on social media may also persuade them to do so.  Notwithstanding the approaches referenced, there was also mention of the potential for enforcement powers to be used to achieve improvement in shop frontages. 

Looking further forward, the opportunity of supporting improved wayfinding and possible use of ‘You Are Here’ maps with key points displayed to support accessing a range of local attractions was referenced also.

It was AGREED that the three shop frontages where agreement existed to apply wrapping to the windows should proceed, that measures to persuade others to provide their agreement continue (and other actions to assist this ben explored).  In addition, a briefing in respect of the potential for enforcement powers to be used to achieve improvement in shop frontages was requested.

The Board was advised that Tendring District Council’s Corporate Director for Operations and Delivery was happy to update the Board on the intended cleaning objective (for which £21,000 of the capacity funding had been approved). 

The presentation also addressed improving communication actions, including:

·         Creation of a new partnership web platform to host all transformational change programmes;

·         Interactive mapping capability and digital storytelling to engage residents and businesses;

·         Increased visibility of public consultations, across a range of partners; and

·         Platform to be an independent portal, showing breadth of partnership activity and vision for place.

In respect of the Town Board’s website, procurement had been completed and ‘We Create Digital’ had been appointed to undertake this work.  The following timeline was shared with the Board:

The procurement was within the approved amount of £30,000 for this element and, as such, additional material for the website could be purchased to improve it yet further.

The opportunity for the Town Board’s website and the Tourism Group’s website to be ‘sister’ sites while containing different material and aimed at different information needs was echoed in the meeting.

In respect of street lamp post banners, the Board was provided with the following time line:

Billy Ball and Rob Mitchell-Gears overseeing the designs for the Board as a whole was reported.

It was AGREED that the overall update information be received.