Havering Council Steps In To Save Hornchurch Town Centre As Regeneration Begins.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration Councillor Graham Williamson today writes in the Havering Daily on the bid to regenerate Hornchurch Town Centre.

Retail businesses in Hornchurch Town Centre like others up and down the country is under pressure from changing shopping habits i.e. online purchasing, a tightening of belts and the ever-present curse of shoplifting. The last thing we need would be a proliferation of shops closing.

To try and breathe life into the centre Council has initiated a number of positive actions. 

Firstly, we were able to secure funding for this year’s Xmas lights and the switch on event was well attended.

Secondly, we are applying to make Hornchurch a Business Improvement District (BID) early next year to follow on from the successful ones we already have in Rainham and Romford. It will likely focus on security and promotion of the town centre. 

Thirdly, there is always a lot of chatter concerning car parking charges and whether that puts people off staying longer than 30 minutes. We are therefore reducing the charges on the Fentiman and Appleton car parks from Monday 15^th December to £1 for up to 2 hours and £2 for up to three hours as a pilot scheme to see if that encourages shoppers to park longer. The 30 minutes free will be retained in the other car parks in Hornchurch and on-street parking. The change will be reviewed next year and may be subject to change.  

We have heard the calls for action and we hope we can regenerate the town and learn valuable lessons.

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