Decision details

The Committee received an update on the New Towns Heritage Centre bid. The presentation included the Regeneration Programme, Stevenage Town investment Plan, Immediate Objectives and Aspiration and Next Steps for the programme.

The Regeneration Programme Manager provided the following key updates to Members:

·       Highlighted the regenerations programmes that were currently in progress, such as SG1, Bus Station, North Block, Town Square, Park Place and Queensway North, and how these projects were aligned to New Towns Heritage Centre.

·       The Government awarded the Council £37million for Town’s Fund in March 2021.

·       As part of the criteria set up by the government, the Council had 12 months to submit business cases with associated working groups.

·       £2millions were allocated towards a New Towns Heritage Centre.

·       The programme would place people, communities and innovation at the heart of the Town Centre.

·       It would also help to build on the existing museum collection.

·       Officers would need to create a solid vision for what the new Heritage Centre would contain and how it would function. The business case would need to be produced by January 2022.

·       The New Towns Heritage Centre project would be at heart of the regeneration programme.

·        It would also provide well-meaning visitor experience for families and other audiences, a digitisation programme that would make collections more accessible to wider audience and its central location in the Town Centre would provide easy access.

Members of the Committee noted the update and discussed this area of work in detail. During the discussion the following suggestions were noted by the Panel:

·       It was suggested that all communities across Stevenage could take part in a Stevenage Day festival to promote the town.

·       Site visits would be really helpful and would provide opportunity insight into the project.

·       Stevenage could be used as a stop point location for national exhibitions in other major cities.

·       Stevenage needed high quality spaces to attract visitors.

It was RESOLVED that the New Towns Heritage Centre bid be noted.