National High Streets Task Force visits Prudhoe
15 Mar 2024
Experts from the national High Streets Task Force have visited Prudhoe - meeting with a wide range of partners to look into how the town centre could be boosted in the future.
The support from the Task Force was backed by Northumberland County Council who identified Prudhoe as a town in the county who could benefit from the support the Task Force provide - building on the existing success of the town as a popular place to live, work and invest.
The Task Force, which was appointed by government in 2019, will provides locations with expert consultancy and training, working directly with local government and facilitating engagement with communities and civic societies.
The support, which has been delivered across a wide range of towns, begins with a visit from High Streets Task Force experts who consult and collaborate with the local authority, businesses, and community groups, with the aim of unlocking the potential of each place.
The visit was the final one by the Task Force following two previous trips to the town and involved a workshop in the Spetchell’s Centre with a host of local partners from the business, community and public sector including Prudhoe Town Council and Prudhoe Community Partnership.
Professor Steve Millington, High Streets Task Force Expert Practioner delivered the workshop where partners discussed and identified short term practical ways the town centre could be boosted and also longer term projects.
This includes a host of ideas that will be compiled into an action plan for local partners to take forward and included the potential to boost the high street with new and better coordinated events, better lighting and public realm, business promotion and networking, social media campaigns about the assets across town to encourage more visits and linked trips to the town centre including the castle and leisure centre and ideas about how to improve transport and connectivity, particularly between the railway station and town centre.
Cllr Gordon Stewart, County Councillor for Prudhoe South said: “It's fantastic to see the High Streets Task Force visit our town again.
“Prudhoe has many things to be proud of and our town centre is doing well but there is always more we can do. The workshop has provided lots of great ideas and the opportunity to reflect on how we might, working together make our town even better in the future.
Professor Steve Millington, High Streets Task Force, said: “Over the last two years, the Task Force has witnessed the resilience of high streets and the diversity of their communities. We’ve engaged over 4,000 placemakers so far and I’m delighted we have been able to support Prudhoe to consider their own ambitious plans for renewal and growth through practical action.”
“We know from our work that high streets thrive when businesses, councils and community champions work together. The Task Force aims to provide that impetus to partnerships and to help them learn quickly from other local success stories.”
Cllr Bryan Futers, Mayor of Prudhoe Town Council said: “The Town Council were pleased to attend the High Streets Task Force workshop and contributed ideas about where we can play our part in making our town even better in the future.
“We discussed our existing popular events programme and opportunities to do new things in the town centre working together to make this even better.”
Caroline Warburton, Chair of Trustees, Prudhoe Community Partnership said: “We are delighted to work with the High Street Task Force to make our Front Street a fantastic space for everyone to enjoy.
“The event has given us some new ideas to think through and also confirmed a number of activities already in the planning, will be important parts of our programme going forward.
“This includes the proposed Prudhoe Youth and Community facility on the East Centre site and a number of climate change related projects currently underway.
“We're looking forward to using the outcome of this workshop to fuel our partnership work going forward.”