Leamington Spa Portas Pilot funds for Christmas project

[dutchman]

A Warwickshire town that received £100,000 under a government scheme to regenerate the High Street is to spend £3,000 of it on a Christmas event.



In July Leamington Spa's old town was named as one of 15 areas which would share £1.5m in plans spearheaded by retail expert Mary Portas.

Project organisers said £3,000 would be spent on a Christmas event with music in Regent Place on 2 December.

They also plan to spend £1,000 to illuminate the All Saints Church tower.

Mary Portas Bid - Leamington Old Town project leader Jeremy Ireland said: "The plan is to attract visitors from outside the area."

The Regent Place event, which would include entertainers and stalls, has been given permission from Warwick District Council and would lead to road closures, Mr Ireland said.

He added plans to light up the church could be restricted by planning deadlines and may not get approved by Christmas.

Mr Ireland said the £100,000 would also be used to help businesses and redevelop shops.

Residents and companies have helped to raise an additional £30,000 for the high street initiative.

[dutchman]

Leamington’s Old Town team has plans for Portas funds

A ‘browsing’ retail area and lower-cost parking are among projects on which money from a Mary Portas scheme will be spent in Leamington’s Old Town.

Only a small amount of the £100,000 awarded to the area in July, as part of the retail expert’s Portas Pilot project, has so far been spent.

But Jeremy Ireland, of the town’s Portas Pilot project team, which is being jointly run by the Old Town Business Association and Bath Place Community Venture, said: “We always planned to spend the majority of the funds on larger ventures that will have long-term benefits.

“We have been put under pressure by local authorities and consultancy groups to give the money to them, but we don’t want to because we are here to help small businesses do better, not to help people with large businesses and large cars to get an extra bonus.”

Around £6,000 has been spent on managing a summer and a winter festival in Clemens Street.

Mr Ireland said the project is hoping to support a social arts enterprise that is looking for a space in Old Town, while the team is also encouraging businesses in High Street to create an overall ‘browsing’ feel to the south of the town.

He said: “We are also hoping to get reduced parking prices at Court Street because we want to encourage people to park here so that they walk through the area on their way to the main town.”

Mr Ireland hinted that the team would be releasing some “big news” in the next few months.