Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
APPENDIX FOURTEEN
Report of workshop
with Devizes
Community Area Forum
Monday 5 t h December
at the Council Chambers, Browfort
Throughout this report comments recorded at the
event are presented verbatim. Additional
commentary and background to the event is
presented in italics to distinguish this from comments
made at the event.
The purpose of the evening was to elicit the views of
members of Devizes Community Area Forum to the
proposals by Gillespies for new retail development
within Devizes on the Central Car park
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Statement of Community Engagement
1.
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
On Arrival
How do you see Devizes’ role in the future?
As delegates arrived they were asked to consider how they would like Devizes
to be in the future (see DCAF Annex A).
The comments submitted on post-its were:
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Attractive to local independent retailers
Parking should be a priority, if we are trying to increase the amount of
shops and people shopping, there must be enough parking.
A park & ride scheme
The historic aspect of the town developed
The castle included as part of the town
Devizes should acknowledge its role as a secondary shopping location,
and not chase ideas more appropriate to larger centres.
Devizes needs decisions made, uncertainty is not conducive to a robust
commercial future.
Sort out the traffic problem
Increased and good value parking
Improve the open air market
We need parking close to the shops.
A blend of shops and tourist attractions that compliment each other.
At the end of the meeting one or two more post-its were added:
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2.
It must maintain its traditional role as a centre of a larger community than
Devizes town, ie a Market Town, meeting the needs of the local area.
The road capacity needs to be addressed for new retail and the extra
housing.
Is there real evidence that the predictions of the revival strategy have
started to materialise over the 3 years since 2002 ?
Regarding the proposal to reduce the number of car parking spaces, how
about the extra 1000 houses proposed.
Introduction & Welcome
Mr Ed White (Team Leader Forward Planning and Transportation) welcomed
everyone to the event and introduced the team helping with discussions. A full
list of delegates who attended the meeting at DCAF Annex B.
Mr White continued with a brief overview of the Gillespie proposals and
responded to questions about their report.
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Statement of Community Engagement
3.
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Discussion Groups
Reporting back from post it notes
While Mr White was outlining the main proposals for Devizes, members of the
Kennet District Council team grouped together all the post-its to identify key
objectives/themes emerging.
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Adequate, easily accessible parking
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Improved open air market
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Develop historic character (incl. castle)
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Robust commercial future
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Clear role within local area with independent shops and services
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Maintain viability of existing shops - TESCO
Delegates were asked to divide into groups of four colours to discuss two
topics with a facilitator, the four groups are indicated in DCAF Annex B.
Delegates were asked to consider the following questions and reflect on how
their objectives for Devizes noted on arrival could be achieved. The notes
taken during each table’s discussions are recorded below.
Discussion 1 – Future Role of Devizes
Questions to think about –
4. What needs to change for Devizes to realise its perceived future
role?
5. If new shops needed, where should they go? What type of shops
should they be?
6. Do the Gillespie proposals meet these aspirations?
Discussion 2 – Parking
5.
6.
7.
8.
Questions to think about –
Does Devizes need all the parking it currently has?
Consequences of keeping all current parking and trying to realise
Devizes’ future role?
Are there other parking solutions?
Which of the Gillespie proposals ‘best fits’ aspirations for car
parking?
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Group 1
Future Role of Devizes
Unrealistic to try and attract national retailers
Need to ensure the development meets the need of those who come
to the new housing
Balance between tourism, shops and parking
Castle is attractive and has potential but is privately owned
Possible conflict of interest with local shops and national retailers.
Need to consult the local traders
Problems with reducing car parking and increasing the shopping
Parking
Need more parking
Charging discourages people
De – crim will add to the problem
Effect of growth
Market day congestion/parking
Tension between shopping growth and parking reduction
Shoppers from the villages might have to park elsewhere
Through traffic problems
Park & ride – shuttle
How do we accommodate lorries /coaches?
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Group 2
The Future of Devizes
Good cross section of shops
Market town – need a market
Better quality of stalls provided by KDC
Services are there like plumbers, health, dentists, boot repairers
Drop in shops for urgent things
No grandiose plans for large stores
Small nationals
Low level of shoe shops, menswear
Fabric of buildings and street scene needs to be improved
Need public toilets
Flow of shops from outskirts to centre of town
Should capitalise on canal as an asset.
Redevelopment of Wharf with theatre and museum, good signposting.
Need good cinema and theatre – cinema needs improvement.
Central car park ok for new shops – centrally located
Areas down New Park St could be developed
Need way through old ‘Pound Shop‘ in Brittox to central car park
shops.
Need clothing and shoe shops
Happy with speculative development capable of being changed in size.
Shop like Wilkinsons
Good food offer in town
Partly meet aspirations re role of Central car park
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Meet aspirations on Central car park but we could have more car
parking there.
Proposals for shops in Central car park – 2 large shops and smaller
units
Better with medium sized shops – not so difficult to fill ( eg Littlewoods
still empty in Chippenham )
Consider shop mobility as part of the scheme like Salisbury and
Trowbridge.
Don’t want to lose the feeling of the town but it needs tidying up
Parking
Feeling enough car parking now but we need to keep this.
Move the parking to the peripheral areas.
Deck the Shambles car park or Sainsburys
Better management could lead to better environment, eg.
pedestrianisation
Public transport doesn’t serve the town well – number of buses and
their location
Deck Station rd a good step forward, supported by signage and
parking pricing
Support shops on Central car park but keep the overall number of
spaces in Devizes as a whole
Deck Sainsburys rather than go underground
Keep some surface car parking on Central car park for disabled
Concerns about servicing / size of delivery vehicles
Encourage Tesco to get involved – or accept that they will leave
Preferred solution – redevelop Central car park with restricted surface
car parking then deck station rd and Sainsburys to keep the overall
numbers.
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Possible problems – coach parking – designated place – drop off and
pick up in town
- Workers parking to remain at Station Rd with a pricing
policy – potential to reduce the housing so there’s
only enough to support the development.
Group 3
The future role of Devizes
Swan yard and little Brittox good areas
Need to attract people to do their main shopping in Devizes and they
will do other shopping there
Rates high
Property too attractive, not a box
Too many supermarkets
Too many shops at the East end of town, not enough at the Northgate
end
Clothes and shoe shops missing from Devizes
Devizes either needs selling as a shopping town or a tourism town
Need shopping facilities for poorer people inc. Tesco
Brilliant idea to build houses to finance other development.
Devizes should be made one way traffic – this would aid parking and
improve traffic flow
Underground car parking is a brilliant idea
Why dig down when you can deck at least 2 storeys ?
Against underground car parking
Station Rd – disaster to use it for housing
Need to deck Station Rd or put shops on top
Brilliant idea to build houses to finance other development.
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Parking
Two schools of thought – some people want small specialist shops
Could put larger stores to the outskirts of Devizes eg Tesco
A town the size of Devizes can only support either small shops or
large shops in the centre.
Could put a mall of small shops where Tesco is.
Charity shops are ruining the town – unfair disadvantage on rates
Too many of the same kinds of shops.
Why is the town looking so dreadful after all the studies?
Town council needs to look at it’s buildings for venues
Boost tourism
Wharf / canal area should be for leisure
Devizes should be made one – way traffic – this would aid parking and
improve traffic flow
Need more parking
Security
Support underground car parking
Traffic management ( one way system and roadside parking )
No new shops needed
Villages need car parking
Park & ride at Browfort
Deck Sainsbury’s and half of Station Rd with shops above
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Group 4
The Future role of Devizes
Obtain agreed public opinion
Realising Devizes is different to other towns
Do nothing may not be a good option
Transport management
National shops but they must be balanced
Central car park is a good location
Do proposals link to other strategies?
Gillespies has not taken into account the rise in internet shopping
People want brand examples – we need to be market led ( flexibility is
important
Parking
Park & ride on London Rd ( skid pad )
A conflict between government guidance of no parking in the town
centre and more visitors and an increasing population
Recognise concerns of different groups of people, elderly, level
access.
Preferred Option – deck Station Rd, single underground car park with
some surface parking, need another deck area to get back to current car
parking levels
Education regarding the use of the car linked to management and
pricing and signage
Marlborough – good example of thriving town with less car parking
Don’t lose the car parking but move it
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
Possibility of decking Sainsbury’s and use the Chivers site as well
Iceland / dry cleaners redevelop to a car park?
Perception is we don’t have enough parking
We must sell the idea that change isn’t necessarily bad
Use Browfort at weekends
Enough parking for visitors but we need more for workers.
Reporting Back from discussion groups
In the summary session at the end of the meeting each group were asked to
report back an important point arising in their discussions, relating to each
discussion topic.
Role of Devizes Key Points
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Redevelop Central Car Park with restricted parking, no underground.
Deck Sainsburys Car Park and Station Road.
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No easy solutions. Hard reach agreement.
Need boost retail but not big shops in town. Perhaps out of town.
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Some change retailing, but car parking must not be reduced.
Park and Ride
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Devizes not typical other towns. Need give examples of stores trying
to attract
Central car park right place retail
Need to look at new parking solutions
Parking coaches etc. needs be considered.
Devizes has adequate parking but in wrong places.
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Statement of Community Engagement
3.
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
What Happens Next?
At the close of the meeting Ed White explained how the issues and ideas
raised during the event would be recorded and used to inform the preparation
of a committee report for Kennet District Council Members on the Gillespie
proposals. A full report of the meeting would be made and circulated to
delegates to make sure it was a true record of the event before being used.
Once a decision has been made on how to respond to the Gillespie proposals
for Devizes, the land use implications will be included in a draft Area Action
Plan for Devizes Town Centre, part of the range of documents that will replace
the current Kennet Local Plan. The Area Action Plan will have full statutory
weight to influence future planning decisions within Devizes Town Centre.
4.
Questionnaire
To help officers at Kennet to improve how they consult and how workshops
are organised, delegates were asked to complete a short questionnaire as
they were leaving. A copy of the questionnaire is attached at Appendix 3. The
results are illustrated below.
Specific comments were sought on ways to improve the meeting. Comments
made were as follows:
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A little more time
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More preamble time for initial thoughts (objectives)
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Push the fact widely that the questionnaire is accessible online, particularly
to schools and encourage feedback
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This is difficult!!!
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A little more time
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More time
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A little more time and a little more direction/control from staff
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More precise details of choices available
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
DEVIZES FORUM
Was there sufficient opportunity to make your views
known?
Adequate
14%
Limited
Insufficient
86%
0%
DEVIZES FORUM
Was the event the right length?
8%
Too long
About right
Too short
92%
DEVIZES FORUM
Did the meeting give a clear understanding?
7%
Very clear
36%
57%
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Reasonably clear
Not clear
Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
DCAP Annex A:
Future Role of Devizes?
‘If nothing is done to attract the right sort of retailers there will be
more empty shops, a deterioration in the mix of shops and services
and an exodus of shoppers to other shopping destinations.’
This was one of the conclusions of the Retail Revival Strategy
commissioned in 2002.
Is this the future you see for Devizes?
Or do you believe the future role for Devizes is clear and
secure?
Using the post-its below please write down a few of your ideas
about Devizes’ future role. Once you have your ideas on paper
can you place the post-its on the boards provided. Thank you.
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Statement of Community Engagement
Devizes Town Centre Area Action Plan
DCAF Annex B: List of Delegates
Cllr A Molland
Kennet Councillor
Cllr P A Brown
Kennet Councillor
Cllr J Ody
Kennet Councillor
Cllr Geoff Brewer
Kennet Councillor
Cllr H N Woolrych
Phil Tilley
Wiltshire County Council
C S Winchcombe
Wiltshire County
Councillor
M Hues
Cllr Mrs J Combe
Kennet Councillor
Cllr P Evans
Kennet Councillor
Cllr R T Parsons
Kennet Councillor
Cllr Mrs T Carr
Kennet Councillor
Mr R Giles
West Lavington Parish
Council
Mr A E H Batt
Urchfont Parish Council
Mr V Alexander
Roundway Parish
Council
Mr Nixon
Cllr Mrs J Giles
Kennet Councillor
Cllr Mrs P M Winchcombe
Kennet Councillor
Cllr C Hoddinott
Kennet Councillor
Cllr Mrs Rugg
Kennet Councillor
J Cutler
Mr D Kimber
Easterton Parish Council
Inspector Bowerbank
Wiltshire Constabulary
Table of Facilitators
Parking
Ed White
Carolyn Gibson
Forward Planning and Transportation Forward Planning and Transportation
Future Role of Devizes
Chris Minors
Louisa Down
Forward Planning and Transportation
Forward Planning and Transportation
Val Powley
Community Partnership Officer
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