Residents in Burnham-On-Sea have this week been invited to have their say on how £300,000 of community cash from supermarket giant Tesco is spent on improving the town centre.
As first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com here in March, the expansion of Burnham’s Tesco store in Ben Travers Way involves £300,000 being given to the regeneration of the town centre as part of an agreement struck with Sedgemoor District Council at the time the firm’s planning application was granted.
Burnham’s Town Team has been asked by the Town Council to make recommendations for how the £300,000 should be spent on improving town centre – and residents are being asked to get involved.
Discussions on how the cash could be spent will take place at a public Town Team meeting on Monday (June 25th).
The forum is part of a series of consultation events, which have also included a project with Highbridge’s King Alfred School and a questionnaire to all town centre businesses. Residents can download the questionnaire here and submit their feedback.
The consultation comes as work to complete Burnham-On-Sea’s second bid for a share of regeneration funding from the government’s Mary Portas scheme is also on track to be completed by the end of June.
As first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com here last month, Burnham’s Town Team is re-submitting its bid to the Department for Communities and Local Government to become one of the second group of ‘Portas Pilots’.
Burnham hopes to be among the 15 towns who will each receive £100,000 plus help from the government and shops guru Mary Portas.
“Learning the lessons of the first round of Portas Pilot winners, the Burnham bid has been refined to focus on Town Centre marketing, events and training,” the Town Team’s Alex Turco told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week.
Monday’s public meeting will take place at 6.30pm at the Town Council Chambers in Jaycroft Road, Burnham. The meeting will be open to all.
Mr Turco added: “We would urge residents and businesses to attend Monday’s meeting to have their say on the future of the town centre.”
Pictured: From top, Burnham’s Tesco store and the Town Team’s Bev Milner Simonds and Ben Metcalfe in the town centre
