A crunch Wymondham Town Council meeting will take place on Tuesday 5th March that could have long-term consequences for the future of our town centre.

The public meeting will see the Town Council decide whether or not to accept a long-standing South Norfolk Council offer that could see the two authorities invest a sum approaching £1 million into making Wymondham a more attractive destination for shopping and leisure.

Residents and businesses are able to attend and contribute their thoughts and ideas during the public participation session, which will take place at the Town Council’s Kett’s Park offices at 7pm on Tuesday 5th March.

If approved, a joint group of councillors and professional officers will be formed to gather ideas from residents and businesses and create a shortlist of projects to spend the money on. No fixed plans or designs are already in motion.

Ahead of the decision, Wymondham Magazine spoke to some businesses around town to hear their views on what they think needs to happen.

Tracy Hemstock runs a jewellery shop in town. She painted an uneasy picture of the long-term trends in town centre footfall:

“Our business has been in Wymondham since 1982 and we have seen many changes on the high street. The main one being the lack of people in the town visiting, wandering around and shopping.”

She was optimistic about the offer on the table:

“Regeneration of our high street and further afield would be a fantastic opportunity to show how proud we are of the history, beauty and diversity of Wymondham.”

But ahead of the decision, she did voice her concerns at a potential lack of business-friendly thinking on the council:

“I attended the last Town Council meeting and several before this and I always think the same thing. Not one of our Town Councillors has been to our shop to talk to us about how the town is changing, what we would like to see for the future etc. But more importantly I cannot remember the last time one of our Town Councillors shopped in our business.”

Kett’s Books founder Tracy Kenny placed a high importance on the need for the right people in town to work hand-in-hand with the two councils on the project:

“We know that shopping locally is good for mental, social and physical health, but to keep the high street thriving requires experienced planning and careful collaboration.” says Tracy, who also runs the ‘Totally Locally’ initiative to shop locally.

“The Town Council should absolutely take this opportunity to invest in Wymondham, so it can be robust and strong, and here for future generations to enjoy.”

The town’s cafe owners and their customers have some of the biggest stakes in making Wymondham town centre a more-pleasant place to spend more time in. Rachael Brown from Town Green Garden Cafe was keen for decision makers not to lose focus on the overall aim of helping the high street thrive:

“Agreement on how to spend the money in the most effective areas can be discussed at a later date with sub-committees. It would be a shame to lose the funding that South Norfolk Council are offering over details that are not relevant to the big picture.”

The previous month’s Town Council meeting had seen some councillors point out flaws in concept drawings they had asked to be drawn up, to help them get a better impression of the types of improvements they could eventually choose from.

“We can see the presentation was only a vision and not set in stone.” continues Rachael. “Where and how many trees that have been drawn are a distraction to the bigger picture. We need to focus on the benefits and not the negatives. We need to move forwards, otherwise we will lose a great opportunity.”

Samantha and Gary Wootton run Elementals Magickal Emporium on Market Street. They saw South Norfolk’s offer of large co-investment as something of a no-brainer:

“It seems to us that this is the perfect opportunity for the council to deliver value to the local community. Wymondham is a jewel in Norfolk’s crown with the Abbey, Museum, and Heritage Railway line, as well as all the independent businesses so why the hesitancy over giving the town a boost?”

But the pair also voiced frustration that help for the high street had been a while in the making:

“From the dallying, we can only assume that there must be drawbacks to accepting the investment, in which case, it would be good to know what these are, because at the moment it appears the Town Council is giving the Gift Horse an extremely long, hard stare.”

If approved in full, the original deal terms would see Wymondham Town Council earmark a sum of £250,000 to unlock an estimated £650,000 from South Norfolk Council. The district council’s contribution was to come from proceeds from the now-completed sale of the Town Council’s former Middleton Street office and additional sources like their ‘CIL co-investment’ scheme.

A similar scheme in Harleston, between their town council and South Norfolk, also managed to attract extra investment from Norfolk County Council on top of the initial sums.

The meeting will take place at 7pm (be there earlier to get in) on Tuesday 5th March at the Town Council’s Kett’s Park offices (NR18 0UT) and will also be streamed live on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@wymondhamtc193). Residents and businesses will be able to contribute their views in a dedicated public participation segment.