Tiverton named in second wave of Portas Pilot towns
Tiverton is the latest Westcountry town to be deemed a Portas Pilot town with a share of a £1.5 million Government pot to improve its high street.
The Devon town is the latest in a wave of 15 chosen locations due to be announced today, bringing the total number getting a helping hand to 27 across the UK.
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Tiverton plans to improve parking facilities to encourage more visitors and tourists to the town centre picture: Marcus Thompson
Liskeard in South East Cornwall was in the earlier batch of 12, named after retail guru Mary Portas who carried out a review for the Government of the state of the high street.
Published in December last year, the document calls for Whitehall, local authorities and business to do more to breathe new life into town centres.
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Each location has a Town Team, which will take charge of making the changes.
Mary Portas said: "I am looking forward to seeing 15 more British towns putting their plans into action."
Local Government Minister Grant Shapps was due to make the announcement today.
He said: "I'd like to congratulate the 15 town teams that, in the face of stiff competition, have been selected to be the next Portas Pilots."
Tiverton's retail woes have been blamed on being within easy distance of Exeter with its bustling high street. In order to combat this, Tiverton's Town Team plan to turn a plot of unused land in the heart of the town into a coach park to attract the tourist parties that are already visiting neighbouring artisan towns.
The plan for Tiverton is to improve parking facilities to encourage more visitors and tourists to the town centre.
As well as the cash injection, the Town Team will have a dedicated contact point in government to provide advice and support to encourage greater local business growth. It will also receive free support from retail industry giants led by Boots, as well as from Mary Portas's team.
Martin Blackwell, chief executive of the Association of Town Centre Management, said: "The response to the challenge created by the government's response to the Mary Portas report from communities in towns and cities across England was enormous.
"It is terrific to see the government acknowledging that groundswell of activity in such a positive way."
Comments
by Trotboy2k
Wednesday, August 01 2012, 12:57PM
“It's not just the tesco effect, though that has certainly had an impact, as predicted. We are in the middle of a recession, and the town's independent traders have to compete with 1) High Rents and Rates with no negotiation, since landowners get a Rate rebate if the property is empty they aren't that bothered. 2) Competition from large retailers including Tesco, Argos, Morrisons, Halfords, Homebase etc. 3) A local Council with no clue whatsoever, no plan, and no foresight .
I don't agree with Peter that Tiverton has nothing to offer, but it is missing some vital ingredients from the 'mix' to attract people to the Town Centre. It no longer has sufficient cheap Parking, it has a 'half ****d' pedestrianised zone, it has very little outside of shopping and cheapo Cafe's to attract people into the Town. It also has very few 'browsing' type shopping experiences these days. I do still do 9o% of my shopping in Tiverton or close by though.
My suggestions would be: Redevelop the Riverside area with more attractive walkways both sides of the Exe, and a riverside walk all the way from Kennedy Way to Great Western Way each side of the River including a new foot bridge across the Exe between the bottom of the Castle/St Peters and Exeleigh House. Make Heathcoat's redevelop Exeleigh House as a Cafe/Restaurant. Redevelop the whole Town Hall / Angel Hill / St Andrews Street area with an Arts Centre/ Cafe's (Including one backing onto the River Walk) low rent shop units for 'bohemian' style small businesses like Antiques, Collectables, Jewellery/clothes & Book Stores. Make the Multi-Storey Car Park free of charge. Try and get all High Street shops into use by offering Rate reductions for new businesses and any existing struggling business.”
by peter_h1
Sunday, July 29 2012, 8:45PM
“tiverton has nothing to offer never has it is a housing hub for exeter and taunton thats all”
by rjshill
Wednesday, July 25 2012, 3:35PM
“Nothing to do with Tesco's then....?”