Tuesday 4th November will see Wymondham Town Council vote on how to proceed with long-mooted plans to improve parts of the town centre, with the public invited to come and make their views known before decisions are taken. The open meeting will be held at 7pm at the council’s Kett’s Park offices NR18 0UT).
The £1 million joint venture between South Norfolk Council and Wymondham Town Council has produced a shortlist of design concepts for various parts of the town, after two rounds of initial consultations with residents.
First up, Town Councillors will choose whether or not to approve a concept to install seating and a path at Town Council-owned land on Fairland Hill. This would see technical designs produced to be approved at a later date.
Potential Stumbling Block?
But a second item on Tuesday could see Town Councillors quibble over taking on the future maintenance costs of improvements to the Market Place area of town, estimated at a maximum of £1 per household, per year.
The maintenance costs, which kick in three years after completion, could prove a stumbling block to the entire project if the Town Council does not accept responsibility for covering them.
In 2024, business owners and residents took to Wymondham Magazine to implore the council that “now’s the moment to help our high street”, after a spate of retail closures and empty premises, with the Town Council voting to initiate the project back in March 2024.
Both authorities have underlined their desire for residents to contribute their feedback, with over 1800 people taking part in consultations so far. Tuesday’s meeting provides people with another opportunity to have their views heard.
The same meeting will see councillors decide whether to approve a raft of new policies aimed at rapidly deleting video recordings of their meetings. The move comes after a spate of requests from residents to view the recordings’ contents, following the council’s decision to suspend the live streaming of sessions to the public. Anyone is entitled to film meetings themselves.
