Our first Mission is to Refresh the town centre by improving the visual presence of the Town, in particular the high street shopping environment. At the same time improving car parking  and traffic management to promote the feel of a shopping precinct atmosphere, whilst bringing greater access to the  Library and Museum (&VIC) .

 

The Street Scene proposal is split in to 3 Design Principles and Guidelines groups. This approach is not new but simply the adoption of best practise from other councils and authorities.

Paving & Furniture is self explanatory and Sheffield City has a good example. The town needs to be decluttered.

Shop Front is also self explanatory and would be particularly appropriate to the conservation area of Biggin Street. Canterbury City, Herne Bay etc are good examples of local best practise.

Dev & Empty Property is however a little less wide spread as best practise but some authorities demand a high visual standard of temporary works and empty properties. One example is Borough Market where the wardens demand any temporary construction works, inc. hoarding, adhere to particular colours and signage specifications.

Another is Ashford Outlet where all empty retail units have specific window decorative requirements that minimise the visual impact of empty units. This can also be applied to other domestic and commercial properties.

The aim would be to seek grants to implement these principles on existing businesses and infrastructure.  Partnership deals from major retailers, marketed as big business is part of the big society. Application to future property as a matter of course.

Traffic Management & Parking in the Town require a revisit in the Town centre. Where taxi, disabled and random parking in pedestrian areas gives a poor appearance and generates a perception of general disregard by motorists of any pedestrian requirements or needs.

This is not a policy issue but town centre redesign of parking and enforcement.

Retail Policy is a major issue and requires a serious review, mainly because there isn’t one. There has been no apparent attempt to properly zone the shopping experience in Dover despite the numerous consultants reports that focus on  less tangible values and factors.

There are three (if one includes the DTIZ) distinct areas now in Dover Town for shopping. These are the Centre (Biggin St), Charlton Green/Centre and the nebulous DTIZ. The Centre is a mix of small shops with a couple of major retailers and worth developing into a proper precinct. The next is Charlton Green which has gravitated to a mainly food/grocery outlet area and could be further developed as such.

This leaves the DTIZ which must be differentiated not only so that it does not draw business from the other two areas but also so that is seen as a significantly different shopping experience from anything else in the District. And probably East Kent. This is essential in order for the DTIZ not to become another half filled ghost development such as the Folkestone development or become the new Charlton Centre of Dover in 10 years time.

The Minor Projects are to build on the previous proposals and specifically require our York Street proposal to make a significant and important step change in the Town Centre development.