Regeneration Benefits

The public realm is a key backdrop which provides the setting to the character of our towns, particularly in areas of recognized importance such as Conservation Areas. Their design and management is therefore of crucial importance. The High Street falls within the Maidstone Centre Conservation Area. This area scored very poorly on English Heritage’s annual conservation area survey 2010, due in part to the poor quality of the public realm and the rate of vacancies at upper floor levels. Unless improvements are made the Conversation Area is likely to be placed on the annual ‘Heritage at Risk’ register. The new designs and investment planned for the High Street will overcome and deliver many of improvements needed and recommended in the Maidstone Centre Conservation Area Appraisal, adopted by the Council in February 2009. This should mean that, if implemented, the Conservation Area should not remain at risk for long.

Furthermore, economic competitiveness and quality of place are closely linked. The Government recognises that quality of life factors, including quality of place appear increasingly important in attracting private sector investment and skilled workers. If Maidstone is to continue as the commercial and retail hub of Kent, the Borough Council must invest in its public realm to ensure that the County Town can compete successfully with other areas.

The Borough Council has therefore taken the lead in proposing this investment, and is determined to create the right conditions for economic development in the town. This objective is being fully supported by Kent County Council.

The project will regenerate the centre and rebalance the commercial heart of Maidstone – broadening the shopping appeal from just Fremlins Walk, Week Street and the Mall. The project area contains many independent retailers which add to Maidstone’s distinctiveness as a place. It will attract more visitors, it will increase footfall and will increase the viability of existing shops and attract new shops into the area.

The need for the project, and the potential economic benefits, have been set out in an independent report by leading consultants, Colin Buchanan and Partners CB). CB has previously demonstrated how to value the economic and financial value associated with investments in good street design in research for both Transport for London (TfL) and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).This report quantified the quality of the existing town centre using the Pedestrian Environment Review System (PERS); an audit tool for measuring the quality of the pedestrian environment by placing scores on a number of established characteristics e.g. quality of the surfaces, legibility, lighting etc. The research findings enable an evidence-based approach to the design, appraisal and funding of high street improvement works.

The research found that the quality of environment within the study area is currently poor, with all 15 characteristics scoring negatively, the only exception being ‘effective width’ of footpaths with a score of zero, indicating an average standard in the PERS evaluation and therefore still necessitating significant improvement. This is particularly significant considering it falls within the Maidstone Centre Conservation Area.

The report goes on to state that the project if implemented will, increase footfall and generate £4.5 million of additional visitor expenditure in the town and create nearly 100 new jobs in both the day and night time economy. This is particularly important as the High Street Ward is one of the most deprived wards in Kent and England (top 20%) with an unemployment rate of 5.7% (July 2010).

The new designs and investment will overcome and deliver many of the improvements needed and recommended in the Maidstone Centre Conservation Area Appraisal, adopted by the Council in February 2009.

This type of investment has been proved to work elsewhere. In New Road in Brighton a public realm project resulted in a 22% increase in cycling and a 162% increase in pedestrian activity.