The Public Realm is a million-pound regeneration of Wymondham Town Centre for the benefit of everyone who lives and works in our town, as well as our tourists. I have served on the Working Group as a Labour town councillor since May 2024, and I have worked constructively with other political parties for the good of our town.

One of the values that I am pleased we share across the political spectrum is that our town should be accessible to the disabled. As a Working Group, we walked from Town Green to The Fairland, and we saw the challenges faced by wheelchair users, such as difficult crossings and narrow sections of pavement.

Thus, I am delighted that you have asked us to improve the crossings at Market Place and to widen the pedestrian zone. We believe this will benefit not only the disabled, but everyone, such as parents with children in pushchairs.

We also share your commitment to the environment. We will continue to support transit to the town centre by bicycle, by bus, by wheelchair and on foot, while not reducing the number of parking spaces.

We will ensure that bicycle racks continue to be available, and we are working with the Highways Department to assess how the flow of traffic through our town can be improved from both the driver’s and the pedestrian’s perspective.

Furthermore, many of you told me that being in green spaces helps you relax and benefits your mental health. We intend for the new parklet, the rain gardens, and the proposed seating in The Fairland to meet these important needs.

During the public consultation in Market Place, several people spoke to me about the importance of community, i.e. that the town centre should be a place where you can sit down and socialise with your family and friends. So, I am glad to announce that there will also be new and improved seating at Market Cross and in Market Place.

We have listened to your concerns in the consultations about the local economy. It is our plan that by making the town centre more welcoming and accessible that this will increase both footfall and the length of time that people spend here. This will benefit our local businesses and encourage new enterprises to fill those empty shops.

We know that there is still work to be done. The next stage will be to progress from concept designs to actual designs that address the needs and concerns that you have raised. We look forward to continuing to work with you to deliver improvements for our town.