Two schemes to boost Bury’s established town centre will be discussed at a meeting of the Bury St Edmunds Area Working Party on Monday 20 April. St Edmundsbury Borough Council will decide on making a £20,000 contribution to a Town Centre Management led initiative to market the town regionally, and on launching a vacant shop front scheme.
The shop front scheme would see empty windows filled with striking display material promoting Bury using £5,000 of Local Authority Business Growth Incentive funding. In Abbeygate Street, owners of rundown property will be asked to make improvements, and the possibility of bringing back empty flats over shops into use will be explored.
Town Centre Manager Steve Peters will present plans for a regional and London campaign to market Bury as a shopping destination. This would include promoting the town through posters at Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Victoria and other London mainline stations and placing advertisements in newspapers and magazines across the Eastern Region.
Cllr Sara Mildmay-White, Chair of the Bury Area Working Party said,
“The opening of the arc shopping centre has given the whole town a boost, and it has also seen a turnover in tenancies. Although there is interest from new businesses wanting to come into town, it is important that Bury continues to be an attractive location, and I am very pleased to be working with the Town Centre Management to build the best impression.”
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Issued by: Sally Easton, Communications Unitl, St Edmundsbury Borough Council. Phone: 01284 757033 Email: sally.easton@stedsbc.gov.uk
