Two of the HCS committee members, also members of the fledgling Havant Town Centre Partnership Board, were invited to a High Streets Task Force workshop at East Street’s hidden gem, The Spring, Arts and Heritage Centre on Monday 26 February. The workshop was led by Steve Millington, Professor of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, the intention being to inspire the Town Partnership Board and an invited audience of local residents and traders, with examples of ‘the art of the possible’.
I should confess that my expectations had not been high. The previous workshop in the series had been less than inspiring and my suspicion was that Steve’s approach might just come over as too ‘Marmite’ for some of the intended audience. I can happily report that I was wrong.
Throughout a three hour session, Steve took us through a well-structured and well-honed workshop format. This was the 30th time he’d run such a workshop during his grand tour of town centres in need of a boost at various locations around the UK. Far from being a tired and static pitch however, the disarmingly obvious, often inexpensive and clearly achievable examples shown in his presentation material had obviously built on the cumulative experience from previous outings and real life projects.
At times Steve’s volume and rate of ‘information’ and ‘idea’ delivery felt akin to ‘drinking from a firehose’, but there was a good deal of thought-provoking substance covered in a format that was close to 80% presentation and 20% audience participation. Each of the tables of participants contributed their ‘top three ideas’ for ‘activating’ the town centre, a popular example of which was to use the existing West Street gates to limit vehicle incursion into the area outside St. Faith’s Church. By that simple extension of the effective pedestrianisation of West Street, safe space could be created for temporary events and pavement café extensions. Also high up on the wish list from everyone present was the desire to clean the (politely phrased) pigeon faeces from Market Parade and breathe some life back into that railway gateway to the town. (The Exec officer present was overheard, quietly observing that his first task the following morning would be to review the Norse contract!)
When the audience was asked to highlight the ‘barriers to change’, one wag called out ‘Lack of creativity at Havant Borough Council’. That might have been amusing had it not come from the former council regeneration officer who had spent five years in a seemingly isolated huddle with a former elected town councillor, burning external consulting funding and delivering absolutely nothing. (With hindsight, that was just the kind of strategic, master-planning nonsense that Professor Millington kicked off the session by suggesting we should avoid!)
Steve confirmed our view of Havant’s potential, looking around the venue and noting that many of the towns he’d given this same workshop in would have given their right arms to have an asset like The Spring. His refreshingly direct manner reminded us that Havant isn’t starting from the bottom, it’s basically not too bad, this ought to be a straightforward exercise. All of this was music to the ears of those tired of being fed ‘visions’ from external consultants whose only recommendations ever appeared to be “knock it down and start again”.
Most of us left the workshop satisfied and we look forward to featuring the detail from Steve’s final report here on the Havant Civic Society website as soon as it’s available. If there was any sense of disappointment, it was in the curious mix of attendees. While the usual two out of three town centre ward councillors participated, along with two county councillors, HBC’s Regeneration and Economy’ executive officer and the town centre Regeneration Officer, the town centre traders were represented by just one sole publican with no representation from the eight small businesses who’d been personally invited.
Whether or not this was down to the council’s completely inept use of the Eventbrite platform and social media to widely publicise an event which was already flagged as ‘Sold out’, we’re unlikely to ever find out. If the non-appearance of the expected traders turns out to have been due to some misguided political intervention, then the Havant Town Partnership Board might have an issue, being very deliberately a community-focussed, cross-party initiative.
This thought also reminded me that the single most significant ‘barrier to progress’ remains the ineffectiveness of the currently elected body of councillors to challenge and debate the sometimes questionable decisions made by its leadership team. With Havant’s long overdue divorce from East Hants District Council now complete, we have a fresh new team of executive officers in place. Add to that the happy coincidence that boundary changes are triggering the complete re-election of the council in May, the future is in our hands. If the residents of the borough can be coaxed out to vote, we have the opportunity to give the new council management team the rather more balanced council of elected representatives they deserve.
As Steve Millington said – what happens next is up to us all, the residents, the small businesses and the Havant Town Centre Partnership Board. Think about it, talk to your neighbours and ask your local shop and café owners what they’d like to see happen. You can send in your suggestions via the little form at the end of this post.
Do you recognise these? Two double sided information displays in the town, three faces of which are still visible, the fourth broken. I must have walked past them a thousand times but until one of them appeared on one of Steve Millington’s workshop slides, I’d never actually looked at them. There’s an idea to be refreshed and repositioned somewhere more sensible. Perhaps facing the exits from the railway station and the bus station?
On second thoughts, I understand that there once was a third such information board, situated exactly there – at the front of the station. Subject to frequent, Friday-night vandalism, it was eventually removed.
Have your own suggestions?
Then jot them down here and press the big red button, we’ll pass them on to the Town Centre Partnership Board.
#rethinkhavant
Havant Civic Society 