Shoppers in a Nottinghamshire town have given their views on how best to spend £20m government funding to improve their high street.
Gedling Borough Council has requested the support amid claims from council leader John Clarke that his area is the worst funded council in the country for government support.
The new plans would include creating ‘a Sneinton Market vibe’ in Netherfield which could include independent shops and micro-pubs.
There will also be plans to improve connectivity in the area by creating a new cycle and walking route into the town centre and a new 3.5 kilometre greenway from Netherfield to Gedling Country Park could be created on the former railway mineral line.
Overall the council wants to create massive improvements in Arnold, Carlton and Netherfield.
Reaction from local residents and businesses to the proposal was mixed.
Charlene Quinn, 35, a mental health support worker from Carlton, said: “I think it’s a good thing. I’m not much of a shopper and I avoid town like the plague. It might be nice to get some clothes shops.
“Markets are always nice, they bring people together. It might be nice to have a car boot of an evening like they do in Arnold.”
Paul Blackham, 70, a retired facilities manager from Netherfield, said: “They’ve tried about three times to have a market here and they’ve all failed.
“They should spend the money on rent relief on the high street and get some shops in that people actually want to go to. We need a shoe shop, we need clothes shops.
“I tend to stay in the area, I don’t shop elsewhere. We’ve got a good selection of supermarkets here.”
Local butcher Robin Tuxford, 75, and son James Tuxford, 49, said they feel it is “too late” to breathe life back into the high street.
“The supermarkets have suffocated the smaller shops. We’ve got Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Lidl. There used to be eight or nine butcher shops on this street and now we’re the only one.” said James.
“It’s too late. The bakers, the fishmongers, the butchers, they’re all gone. We haven’t even got a charity shop. It’s too late to help small businesses.” said Robin.
The local authority has applied for £20 million through the Government’s latest round of ‘Levelling Up’ funds. It has also committed to boosting the bid with an investment of £2.2m from its own budget.
The bid is being supported by Conservative MP for Gedling, Tom Randall, who has asked the Chancellor and Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to approve the application.
The council has previously bid for funding from two other Government pots of cash but has been unsuccessful on both occasions.
Cllr Clarke, who estimates Gedling has lost 65% of previous funding levels in the last two years, said: “We don’t want people to say ‘I don’t want to go to Netherfield.’ People will drive through it in their droves to get to Victoria Retail Park but why not stop off and look at the shops and independent businesses that are there.
“I think this is a vision that could happen in the next few years if we got the funding.”
Tom Randall, MP for Gedling, commenting on the launch of the Government’s new Build Back Better High Streets Strategy, said: “At the last election I promised that I would work to regenerate and create thriving high streets across Gedling – and as we build back better, this strategy shows how the Conservatives are delivering on that promise.”
The MHCLG is not yet able to say whether Gedling has been successful in its application.
