The People & Places Partnership is working with North Herts Council, Royston Town Council and Royston First BID in planning for recovery in Royston town centre, post-pandemic. This page provides access to up-to-date resources created as part of this work, as well as links to related guidance.
Engaging with local stakeholders
The process began in February 2022 through engagement with key local business and community stakeholders, alongside a review of existing strategies for Royston town centre. Such stakeholder engagement will be central in planning for recovery in Royston town centre.
The work in Royston is part of a wider approach to planning the recovery of neighbouring towns in North Herts including Baldock, Hitchin and Letchworth Garden City too. Key local partners include Royston First BID, Royston Town Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire LEP. This short video gives a summary of the processes involved in planning North Herts’ town centre recovery.
The next step is the creation and publication of a town centre business survey and town centre users’ survey. This will help understand the perceptions and priorities of these two key stakeholder groups. Analysis of the survey findings alongside a study of the town’s business mix and accessibility, will be shared with key local groups to help consider possible steps for a partnership approach for planning for recovery of Royston town centre and its longer-term revitalisation.
National guidance on town centre recovery
This work in Royston is using the approach developed by People & Places for the Local Government Association’s revitalising town centres toolkit. This toolkit includes practical guidance on post-COVID 19 recovery planning including a case study on People & Places’ support for reopening & revitalising Selby town centre and reopening East Suffolk’s towns.
For up-to-date information on how town partnerships can respond to the COVID-19 crisis, keep an eye the beyond COVID-19 page of this web site.
