Transcript The Hampshire Market Towns Project 2001-12 Anne Harrison Market Towns Project Manager 18th April 2012

The Hampshire Market
Towns Project 2001-12
Anne Harrison
Market Towns Project Manager
18th April 2012
The Hampshire Market Towns Project
•
•
•
•
How it has operated
Results and achievements
Legacy
Looking forward
The Hampshire Market Towns Project
• 2001-Market Towns Manager and three Project
Officers funded by HCC and
• 2004- project supported by SEEDA Small Rural
Towns Fund until 2011
• £1.1M allocated to Hampshire towns from SRT
• 32 towns eligible for grants
• Working through Partnerships
My role as County Co-ordinator
to co-ordinate the SEEDA funding programme
• Meet partners and community groups, facilitate
town partnership development
• Promote the programme and assist with the
Market Town Healthcheck and Action planning
• Assist with project selection and development,
applications to the SRT fund
• Appraise other counties’ projects
• Report to SEEDA
Some Hampshire Facts and Figures
Reported SEEDA Outputs in 7 Hampshire towns allocated Small Rural Towns Programme grants (as
at 31.12.11)
Number
Hants
SE
FT jobs created or safeguarded
7.5
214
Seasonal jobs created
0.6
People assisted to get a job
3
Business start-ups
20
Businesses attracted to the region
3
Businesses assisted in improving their performance
157
Businesses helped into a business network
61
Businesses assisted with management skills
2
Businesses using support services eg Business Link
24
Businesses assisted to use ICT more effectively
4
Regeneration funds levered in – public and private
£2,21M
People assisted in skills development
20
People undertaking workbased training
16
New community facilities (infrastructure)
6
23
Improved community facilities (infrastructure)
30
59
£11.6M
First phase of SEEDA grants allocated
Alton (£50K)
Business support, website
Alresford (£111K)
Long stay parking, footpath
Milford on Sea (£65K)
Community Centre build
New Milton (£240K)
Streetscape, town
development officer
Stockbridge (£130K)
Whitchurch (£120K)
Town Hall, tourism, events,
Streetscape, shop fronts,
project officer, young people business centre, website
Whitehill Bordon (£240K)
Event space, town improvement officer, events
Final phase of SEEDA grants allocated
Bishop’s Waltham (£1K)
Welcome to the town boards
Botley (£7,600)
Training equipment
Emsworth (£7,000)
Train station waiting room
Hayling Island £12,150)
COPP Memorial signage
Petersfield (£7,500)
Streetscape, signage, retail
Romsey (£10,500)
Destination Romsey
Stockbridge (£32,265)
Town Hall ground floor
Whitehill Bordon
(£4,335)
Retail training and frontages
Resources –
match funding and volunteers
•
• Local authorities (parish,
town, district and county)
• EU Leader
• Lottery Heritage Grant
• Big Lottery
• Developers’ contributions
• Private sector
• Community Builders
• Awards for All
• Veolia, Biffa
•
•
•
•
Steering group and
topic teams from
community groups
> 400 volunteers
involved
Over an average of 3
years
Estimated 120,000
hours
To the value of
>£720,000
Riding the SRTprogramme waves
Make SRT application
All sub projects underway
Identify priorities
Healthcheck
Group forms
Appraisal
offer
interest
Storming
or
performing
Claims in
In better place
for next ascent
Only
the
start!
Community Group
effort over time
But it’s not just been about grants….
• 20 Market Town Healthchecks
completed, Action Plans prepared and
implemented
• 19 networking events in Hampshire
and the SE to facilitate sharing of ideas
and good practice
• Town Partnerships created in many
towns to assist town councils
• Groups and individuals working more
closely with local councils to make
their towns a better place
And despite the rigours of the
Healthcheck ….
….which some said was …
Whitchurch Bollards
… a pain - it’s helped people in towns do the things
they know need to be done, for themselves
Milford’s replacement community centre,
for which they raised £921,000, hosts a
small business area and meeting room
Lee on Solent’s programme of regular guided
walks, designed to bring people to the town, in
action.
It’s combined the energy of individuals
and disparate groups
Alton 2020 - a plan for Alton
Fordingbridge Flower
Festival brought many
new visitors to the
town
Hayling’s DVD Postcard,
supported by local business
It’s acted as a catalyst
Consultation event in
Kingsclere
Thomas wows the
crowds in Petersfield
Odiham Spice Restaurant at the
Odiham Food Fair (Matthew Trow)
It’s left a legacy
• Some real successes
• Key lessons learnt (managing expectations, dealing
with views of disparate groups)
• Greatest where there has been buy-in at County,
District and local level
• Most effective with a paid member of staff
• Real community engagement
• a demonstration of how rural communities can
come together to address their own needs with
modest amounts of funding
• Big society in action before it was invented
Looking forward
• SEEDA
• more than ever, your town needs to be pro-active - Mary
Portas (Town Teams, BIDS)
• It needs a long-term vision and a plan
• Plans must be evidence-based (up to date)
• Your town needs to be ready with an identified project
outline when the funds become available
• Find partners from public, private and voluntary sectors and
pool resources
• Use other agencies and other people’s ideas to help you
(AMT, ATCM eg free Portas Pilot workshops 24th May in
London)