Business

Wyre Forest District Council are calling upon local residents and businesses of Kidderminster to share their views on the area, as part of a major consultation to shape the future of the Town Centre. Town centres throughout the UK have, and continue to experience the challenges of a societal shift in changing shopping habits, as well as the influence of COVID-19.

The council have launched an online survey (which you can find here: www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/towncentresurvey) to give the opportunity to anyone who lives, visits, works in, or has a view about Kidderminster to have their say on how they think the Town Centre could be made into a better place over the next twenty years. It has been designed to establish the current views on the town and includes questions about shopping habits before and during the Coronavirus Pandemic, reasons to visit the town – plus more!

Wyre Forest District Council have appointed HemingwayDesign and New Masterplanning to draw together feedback from local residents and businesses, feasibility studies, and other key statistics to inform a vision for the Town Centre.

Councillor, Fran Oborski – Wyre Forest District Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, Planning and Capital Investments, said: “We are working with HemingwayDesign to create a 2040 vision for Kidderminster town centre… We have seen massive changes in shopping habits, global trends and what attracts people to town centres. Like most of our towns, Kidderminster had already been changing before the pandemic, but those challenges are even greater now due to the effect of COVID-19… This short survey is a great way to let us know what you think about the town currently and what you’d like to see in future. Your responses will be taken into consideration when drawing up the blueprint for Kidderminster and our other town centres to help them tackle the unprecedented market changes.”

Wayne Hemingway MBE Co-Founder of HemingwayDesign said: “Town centre woes have been in the national news for a few years now and COVID-19 speeding up the changes that are taking place. But not all town centres are suffering as much as the media make out. Between us all we are capable of coming up with ideas and plans that will help Kidderminster Town Centre to be a vibrant focal point of communities, businesses and visitors for generations to come. You don’t need to be a designer to have ideas. We want to understand what you need to make your town centre a better place. Everything you write on the survey will be read closely and taken into account, so please do take this opportunity to share your honest opinions with us. We’re going to ask a few questions about your experiences of the current town centre, and then explore your ideas for the future. It should only take around 10 minutes to complete, but feel free to spend longer and tell us as much as you like!”.

To have your say, complete the survey here: www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/towncentresurvey