View Materials and Designs for Town Centre Regeneration
Oakham Town Centre Option A
People in Rutland are being invited to view and comment on evolving designs for the regeneration of Oakham Town Centre.
Designs and proposed surfacing materials for an improved Oakham High Street with one-way traffic flow will go on display at Oakham Library from 14th November to 15th December 2017 as part of consultation on a town centre regeneration scheme led by Rutland County Council.
The display will include design drawings, showing work to date on the proposed new highway layout and expanded pedestrian areas, as well the location of parking spaces, cycle routes and delivery bays for businesses.
In particular, there will be an opportunity to see and comment on the types of materials being considered for pavements, kerbs and road surfaces, along with examples of new street furniture, such as benches and lamp posts.
“We all want Oakham to have a unique, attractive and vibrant town centre. Creating an environment where more people want to come and stay longer is the key to attracting a greater number of visitors, more inward investment and a wider selection of retailers – all helped by a reduction in traffic and more space for pedestrians. Having consulted on outline plans for the Town Centre, Cabinet voted unanimously to select the preferred option. We are now getting on with the job of developing detailed designs for the High Street and will shortly be asking for help to fine-tune these plans. We want to get people’s views on the types of materials that are being considered as part of the town centre regeneration and to see how they would look in place. This is an important part of the design process and we hope people will take the time to get involved and tell us what they think.”
Councillor Tony Mathias, Leader of Rutland County Council
As part of the detailed design phase for the Town Centre Improvement Scheme, Rutland County Council will be approaching businesses, traders and other stakeholders directly for their feedback on the latest detail designs.
People will also be able to view the scheme designs and comment online from 14th November by visiting: www.rutland.gov.uk/oakhamtowncentre
The information gathered will then be used to help create a final detailed design, which will be presented to Full Council for approval in March 2018.
If approved, funding for the project would come from a number of capital sources, including financial contributions from developers and funding from the Department for Transport. No money is being taken from other service areas to fund the project and it will have no impact on Council Tax.
The change to one-way traffic along Oakham High Street will significantly increase the amount of safe, usable space for businesses and pedestrians, as well as introducing a new parking layout with designated spaces for cars and loading bays for deliveries. The scheme will retain a similar level of on-street parking in the town centre and there are no plans to move away from the provision of free parking along the High Street.
To reduce the impact that HGVs have on the street environment, it is proposed that weight restrictions will be applied to redirect all but necessary HGV traffic, while other deliveries may be restricted to certain times of the day. There will also be a 20mph speed limit in place.
Extensive analysis of the road network in Oakham has also taken place to assess the alternative routes that would be taken by High Street traffic following implementation of a one-way system. This has shown that the increase in flow on other roads would be modest and well within current capacity, even at peak times. Work to address any pinch points, restrictions or constraints along alternative routes forms part of the detailed design phase.
Designs and materials for the regeneration of Oakham Town Centre will be on display at Oakham Library from 14th November to 15th December 2017.
Opening hours for the library are: 9.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 4.00pm Saturday.
For more information, please see our Oakham Town Centre page or email: oakhamtowncentre@rutland.gov.uk
