Archived decisions
HAMPSHIRE COUNTRY TOWNS INITIATIVE - FUTURE PROGRAMME
1. The Hampshire Country Towns Initiative focuses on the County's rural towns which are, or contain, designated conservation areas and have a large proportion of Hampshire's historic buildings. The Initiative is aimed at making a substantial improvement to the environment by enhancing the attractiveness of the programme's town centres as places in which to live and to shop in addition to improving highway safety. Many schemes have been implemented with contributions from the County Council's highways budget and district and parish councils and to date the programme has enjoyed considerable success.
2. Further to the approval of a three year rolling programme by the former Planning and Transportation Committee on 3 July 2000, allocation of the capital budget for 2002/03 and 2003/04 for this programme has been approved as follows:-
2002/03
Hythe Promenade £150,000
Church Place, Romsey £100,000
2003/04
Market Place, Romsey £100,000*
Church Place, Romsey £100,000
Supplementary Schemes £50,000
* Subject to final agreement and approval to proceed on the major Romsey
Town Centre scheme to be given by September 2002
3. The improved budget allocation for 2002/03 for this Initiative offers the opportunity to respond with flexibility to the possibility of additional supplementary schemes in future years. In particular, there is an opportunity to link directly with the County Council's Market Towns Initiative and hence it is proposed that a sum be identified in future programmes to support such opportunities.
4. In respect of the roll forward of the programme, it is particularly important to ensure that schemes are identified well in advance and the current three year rolling programme is therefore proving to be very successful. In order to maintain the momentum of the overall programme, it is equally important to identify a sufficient number of candidate schemes to allow for slippage or abandonment.
KEITH B. ESTLIN
Executive Member
8ER24702