Outline of the Proposals

Overall

The proposals are about how the £123,000 granted by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) and Hampshire County County Council (HCC) will be spent. The matched funding, another £120,000 granted by the South East England Development Agency will produce further improvements later. Please note that these are outline proposals which have not yet been fully costed or designed and are therefore almost certain to be subject to changes. Please note that this is summary of 2 hours of briefings and detailed questioning.

Town Hall Frontage

The proposal is to remove the present Yorkstone pavement, which is uneven and has "lumps" leading to the bank entrance; the stone will be sold and the funds reused on the project. They will be replaced by smooth but non-slip Yorkstone paving which will slope gently from the kerb to the entrances to the Town Hall, HSBC Bank and Glass Foolery making access to those premises easier and the area safer for pedestrians. The present seating will be replaced by all wood benches and a circular seat around the tree. The current notice board will be replaced by a larger one given space for more community information. Planters in the same material as the seating will flank the entrance to the bank. All the wooden items will be "fitted" to reduce the possibility of theft. The bollards will be renovated and retained.

The Square

The missing granite sets in the raised roundabout will be replaced in improved bonding material which will reduce the number times that the sets are dislodged. HCC will be more responsive to requests for repairs in order to try to keep its appearance "as new". The bollards and other street furniture around the Square will be renovated and attempts made to improve the clutter. The tree grill will be removed and the area repaved.

Bell Street

The street lights in Bell street will be painted black in line with all the others in the Town and street furniture renovated.

Major improvements are planned for the Bell Street Car Park area. The old library site is to be sold for housing development and this means the loss of some of the area where recycling takes place. The exact location of recycling facilities is to be looked into and HCC will accommodate the wishes of the Town, considerations such as the frequency of use of the facilities and the look of them will be considered when identifying locations and the building of surroundings to make them as unobtrusive possible.

The planting around the car park will be replaced, where it is unsuitable, with that requiring less maintenance. and the southernmost parts will include wildflower areas which could be suitable for visitors to picnic. The whole park will be resurfaced with a light coloured material which will allow bays to marked out over the whole car park. The lighting of the area was discussed but no conclusions reached, again HCC will aim to accommodate the Town's requests.

Great Lane

Great Lane will be generally renovated.