Rutland County Council engages Placemaker Consultants to look at solutions for improving Oakham and Uppingham town centres

A planning consultant will look at the challenge's facing Rutland’s two town shopping centres.

Placemaker Consultants has been engaged by Rutland County Council to identify some solutions to the problems being faced by the shopping centres in Oakham and Uppingham.

Meetings have been taking place with councillors from across the county and town councils as well as council officers, although the authority says it is early days.

The authority has allocated £14,000 from money it received from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund to pay for the consultancy work.

A council spokesperson said: “We are at the very early stages of the programme, however we will keep residents, businesses and all key stakeholders updated on its progression as we move forward. Currently the core objectives are to identify the main constraints and opportunities impacting the character and function of each town centre, this work is currently being undertaken before developing and coordinating a road map for future investment, attention and consultation.”

Last month business owners in Oakham town centre were called together for a first meeting to discuss what measures could be taken to bring in more shoppers. It is anticipated their views will feed into the survey.

The new work follows on from the Rutland Retail Leisure survey which was commissioned by the authority last year.

Findings of the survey were: “Both Oakham and Uppingham town centres continue to benefit from strong levels of vitality and viability and are considered to have weathered the challenges from recent years well, for the most part. It is positive to note that greater amounts of retail spend are being captured locally compared to the position of 2016; the diversity of the offer in both Oakham and Uppingham town centres is generally strong, and the attractive and historic nature of both town centres represents a significant asset to their overall strong levels of vitality.

“Nevertheless, there are areas of improvement which can be sought in both centres, and a successful town centre relies on a regular programme of investment and enhancement to benefit from continued levels of patronage by residents and visitors.

Oakham town centre currently has a number of prominent vacant units, for which a strategy is needed to improve their visual appearance, and Uppingham has potential to make more of its attractive setting and assets.

“Both centres are seeing an enhancement of their food and drink offer which, in the context of the challenging retail market, is considered positive and has the benefit of increasing dwell time and supporting linked trips.”

The authority has also recently launched the Think Rutland brand. It says the online venture is designed to connect with local businesses and share opportunities.

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