November 2020

6 Buckden Roundabout November 2020 From your District Councillor New Town Centre Support Initiative and New Funding Covid - 19 will be blamed for many things as time goes by. But one thing is certain, it has accelerated the demise of town cen- tres and high streets across the country as shopping destina- tions and paved the way for a post - retail landscape to emerge. Although Huntingdonshire ’ s market towns are faring well in the circumstances; lockdown effectively shut our high streets overnight and led to internet shopping growing further, putting our local retailers under even greater pressure. However, it ’ s worth considering that pre - pandemic, the high street was already facing significant challenges – with 12 per cent of all UK shops vacant in March 2020. Covid - 19 has both highlighted the issue and exacerbated it. Retail floor space is estimated to shrink by as much as 80 per cent across the coun- try, a result of the pandemic combined with the underlying trend of decline. New Thinking Faced with these enormous challenges we are presented with an opportunity to lead a values - led period of renewal to make our town centres fit for the future and deliver lasting change and a new poll has been set up. New Poll This revealed that only 9 per cent of people want life to return to ‘ normal ’ after the pandemic is over. People have noticed significant changes during the lockdown, and many have decid- ed that a better way of doing things is possible – and how we use our town centres must be part of this. We are seeing that people are appreciating spending less money, valuing the local environment more and sharing a stronger sense of community. Many people tend to think back to a golden age of high streets and this still exerts a powerful nostalgic pull; but the need to reduce the reliance on ‘ traditional ’ retail and give consumers other reasons to visit our towns is now more critical than ever. The ‘ has it got a Waitrose or an M&S ’ checklist isn ’ t helpful. Instead of asking what brands are on our high streets, we need to be asking what great experiences can be had there to en- courage their use as community and leisure hubs. New Funding Not everyone will immediately embrace this vision for our town centres but doing nothing is not a realistic option and we can ’ t halt the advance of online shopping and the changing nature of consumer habits. Huntingdonshire District Council has therefore already submitted a £12 million Future High Streets Fund plan to the Government to transform St Neots, and we are now embarking on similar bold plans to prepare Huntingdonshire ’ s other market towns for a post - Covid future in which they can not only survive but thrive. New Results Conservative Council Leader, Ryan Fuller who has been leading these new initiatives, recently announced: “ I am pleased to be able to report that the Combined Authority Board has agreed HDC's £300k funding request to develop St Neots Future High Streets Fund style plans for St Ives, Hunting- don and Ramsey. Once we have developed these plans and have detailed projects to pursue, we can utilise CPCA funds, HDC's CIL and other external funds to deliver multi - million - pound transformation schemes in our towns. A new consensus is needed, and we will be initiating the de- bate and the conversations that we will need to have with our communities as we embark on this process. Many people (including some of the opposition) will resist change and will simply look back to what we once had; but we can't afford to do that and we must therefore demonstrate a vision for our towns and strong leadership of place ”. New Local COVID 19 Funding Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) has revised its ex- isting Community Chest Grant Scheme criteria, with a focus on recovery for new applications. The revised criteria include be- ing open for applications with immediate effect, no closing date for applications (until all funding has been allocated) and applications that demonstrate how the project aims to address one or more of the issues identified in the Huntingdonshire Recovery Report. All key information and revisions can be found on our website. As we start thinking about recovery, the criteria for the re- maining funds of our COVID - 19 Community Chest Grant has been revised to enable the district ’ s recovery and adapt to a new normal. ” Executive Leader of the Council, Councillor Ryan Fuller said: “ To date, 35 applications have been considered over 9 rounds and more than £23,000 has been awarded. Therefore, with funding remaining to be allocated, we have revised the criteria to enable more community groups and organisations to help people as we continue through uncertain times. ” Applications will be considered by councillors weekly; there- fore, you can expect to receive a decision on whether your application has been successful no more than 7 days after sub- mitting it. If you are a local community organisation or project set up in response to the coronavirus COVID - 19 pandemic you can view the eligibility criteria and complete an online application form. I hope you will agree that these developments are helpful, and I wish you all the best as we go forward. If you need help with these schemes or any other issues, do get in touch. Hamish Masson, District Councillor Buckden Ward District Councillor