Hucknall: Amended town centre masterplan to be published by the council following public consultation

Heritage and history will form a wider part of an amended town centre masterplan for Hucknall after Ashfield District Council’s public consultation on an initial draft document came to an end.
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The Ashfield Independent-led authority has confirmed it will publish the altered plan next month before cabinet members debate it and move it forward on July 19.

It follows the initial consultation on the first stages of the new Hucknall plan, which ran for four weeks between April and May and gathered 43 responses from residents and local organisations.

The council has confirmed 34 of these responses specifically addressed the questions raised by the survey, with the remainder making general comments on the wider plans within the masterplan.

Ashfield District Council wants to 'breathe new life' into Hucknall town centre with its masterplanAshfield District Council wants to 'breathe new life' into Hucknall town centre with its masterplan
Ashfield District Council wants to 'breathe new life' into Hucknall town centre with its masterplan

It comes as part of the authority’s ambition to ‘breathe new life’ into Hucknall, with the initial document revealing plans to bring derelict or disused town centre buildings back to life and further developing the town’s night-time economy, as well as moving away from shutters on high-street stores to open up shop fronts.

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A transport hub was also proposed near the railway and tram station and murals, street art and ‘living walls’ to make the town centre ‘vibrant’.

Details within the masterplan will shape the authority’s £20 million bid for the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, which is expected to be submitted in the coming weeks and will focus specifically on the transport hub.

History and heritage are two things residents want to see prioritised in the new-look planHistory and heritage are two things residents want to see prioritised in the new-look plan
History and heritage are two things residents want to see prioritised in the new-look plan

Council papers state a ‘majority’ of the 43 responses supported the council’s vision for the town centre.

But residents felt there was a need to ‘improve accessibility into and around the town centre’, such as safe walking routes from suburbs and the proposed transport hub, while responses also said there was little mention of accessibility for disabled residents, something the authority says, will be included in the amended document.

There were also calls for more signposting to out-of-town facilities like Hucknall Leisure Centre and for a potential ‘heritage trail’ around the town, recognising the importance of Hucknall’s sense of history’,

Crime and anti-social behaviour were also included within responses and residents also called for extra landscaping, better lighting, CCTV coverage, more disabled and child car parking spaces and more electric car charging ports.

These details are expected to be included in the amended document next month.

Neil Oxby, forward planning officer at the council, said: “The masterplan aims to provide a long-term framework for future investment and development, which maximises the opportunities for Hucknall and capitalises on its existing assets.

“It sets out broad over-arching principles and identifies general areasfor improvement.

“The intention of the masterplan is to be a high-level guide, it is notintended to be prescriptive.”