Work on delivering £350,000 of improvements to Burnham-On-Sea seafront and the Princess Theatre are set to begin in the Spring, the Town Council has said this week.
The council’s ‘Burnham Evolution’ project received a huge funding injection from Hinkley Point’s Community Impact Mitigation Fund last year and this week the council has revealed the timeframes for the work starting.
The news came after a question from local resident Bev Milner Simonds, Burnham’s former Town Centre Manager, during a public consultation session held before a council meeting this week.
Town Clerk Sam Winter told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The £350,000 grant award from the HPC Community Impact Mitigation Fund to enable delivery of part of the Business Plan was finalised at the end of August this year and a Project Coordinator was appointed to implement the agreed projects. The Council must by law comply with a formal, lengthy procurement process, which is underway.”
“The Princess refurbishment works will take place in Spring next year and the works to The Esplanade will also start in the Spring and take place over a phased period to coincide with the phased payments from the Hinkley Point C Community Impact Mitigation (CIM) Fund.”
“The Esplanade works rely on the co-operation and agreement of other public bodies and are therefore dependant on the timescales of those bodies.”
“To ensure a cohesive design and work-efficient approach, the replacement of the town centre fingerposts will coincide with the replacement of the seafront signage. In order to carry out more of the projects identified under the Business Plan, further funding is being actively applied for and we await responses.”
“It is worth noting that the very large sums of funding awarded to neighbouring towns recently have not been open to application by Town Councils. The government requires that District Councils nominate towns and submit these applications.”
“Whilst the government is unable to confirm whether there will be another round of Coastal Communities funding, the Town Council is working with Sedgemoor District Council to identify further sources of money and is delighted to confirm that £30k has been awarded by Sedgemoor District Council to the Town Council for use in procuring retailer support for local independent businesses. The Council is working with Burnham-On-Sea Chamber of Trade to deliver this project.”
Projects on Burnham’s Esplanade are:
- Creating a new Play Area on the South Esplanade
- A new Trim Trail on the South Esplanade
- Replace existing signposts
- Seafront Sea Walk (1 mile S-N, mid-point and N-S start point signs)
- Quarter mile distance markers
- Refurbish or replace benches
- Refurbish or replace bins
- Replace lighting on lamp posts with column lighting on existing lamp posts and install decorative lighting in the long-term
- Floor games and seawall wildfowl art
- Demolish and replace 3 x shelters in similar style and aspect (raised) to those along The Esplanade
- Hinkley Point C Information Panel
- Maintenance budget
