Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council can ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

The time allocated for receiving and disposing of questions shall be a maximum of 30 minutes. Any question not disposed of at the end of this time shall be the subject of a written response, copied to all Members the following working day unless withdrawn by the questioner.

Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council could ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

One such Question on Notice had been submitted for this meeting as follows:-

Councillor Amos asked the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism (Councillor I J Henderson):-

“At the 6 August 2024 full Council meeting I asked a question about investment in Clacton Town Centre and particularly the wrapping of the empty shops. The answer I received was that this would be done in the Autumn, and yes, at the beginning of November some shops were indeed wrapped.

Disappointingly though there are still at least eight shops not wrapped and looking unkempt and so the Town Centre still looks scruffy and dirty which is not likely to encourage business investment! 

My question therefore is: Where is the town centre regeneration money for Clacton that matches what is being invested in Dovercourt High Street?”

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism responded as follows:-

“I would like to thank Cllr Amos for his question regarding investment and regeneration in Clacton Town Centre.

I can confirm that while some progress was made in November with several shop fronts being successfully wrapped, it is correct to point out that a number of premises remain untreated.  Whilst it remains our ambition to wrap all empty shops, we are not able to make any adaptions to privately owned premises without the express permission of the property owner. And despite continued attempts, we have been unable to gain permissions for the remaining empty shops.

In contrast to the position in Dovercourt High Street, where most properties are represented by a few local estate agents, Clacton's commercial property landscape is significantly more fragmented.  To provide an example of the challenges we are faced with, one property owner has been contacted on nine separate occasions and has yet to even respond.  Therefore, we cannot wrap the shops without the owners’ consent.

In addition to shop wrapping, the Council has significantly improved town centre cleaning and through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, supported local organisations to stage town centre events, a Pop-up Art Gallery and provided grants for shop front improvements which will also continue through 2025.

I am also pleased to say that in the coming weeks and months you will see an installation of new banners around the Town Centre to provide a vibrancy and further animate the area.  Public safety will be improved through improvements to the towns CCTV coverage, with up 20 cameras being upgraded and new cameras installed at additional locations including the High Street.  And where necessary, we will be working across the organisation to consider the range of enforcement powers available to encourage business owners to address poorly managed properties.

I should point out however that this is just the beginning of our significant ambition for regeneration. As Members of the Council will be aware, the Clacton Town Board was set up as part of the previous Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns funding criteria, bringing together community leaders, local businesses, the community and voluntary sector, education and health services, Police Fire and Crime Commissioner and Tendring District Council to develop a strategic vision for the town.

I am pleased to say that earlier this month, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that Clacton is one of the 75 areas that will receive a share of its £1.5billion Plan for Neighbourhoods programme.  As such, Clacton will be given up to £20million in funding over the next ten years, which will fall under the jurisdiction of the Town Board.

This provides an incredible opportunity to drive regeneration of the district’s largest town, improve footfall and support the attraction of increased private sector investment.  Following a widespread consultation process which will take place to understand what local people want to see, the Town Board will develop a strategic plan of how to spend this significant investment over the lifetime of the funding available.

Our investment commitment to Clacton Town Centre remains hugely ambitious and in addition to the Plan for Neighbourhoods programme, the Council with partners, have progressed proposals to develop of a series of high-quality and exciting projects through the Levelling Up Fund, under the Clacton Civic Quarter banner.  This regeneration scheme will be a new gateway for Clacton Town Centre and include the Carnarvon Terrace project, which has now received planning permission.  It will result in the delivery of 28 much-needed well-designed new homes, improvements to the existing carpark, a public realm scheme and the creation of new ‘maker space units’ for retail entrepreneurs. Furthermore, Essex County Council will be developing a new Clacton Hub at the same site, which will see the creation of a brand-new skills and learning hub, and bring together an Adult Community Learning Centre with the Library, and the University of Essex’s new Centre for Coastal Communities.

In addition, over the next few years, we will also see the development of some wonderful projects planned for the town centre area, under our Community Regeneration Partnership scheme with Government.  This will include town centre projects such as:

·      Providing an attractive route from the seafront to the Town Centre through an exciting new public realm scheme

·      Supporting community transport to provide better services and access to the Town Centre for local people

·      Looking at the feasibility of acquiring and repurposing a disused town centre building for community and cultural use

·      And providing £500,000 of grant funding to support improvements to local shops.

This is an exciting time for Clacton Town Centre, and I hope you agree there is a real sense of positivity for the future.”

Councillor Amos then asked a question of clarification to which Councillor I J Henderson responded.