Views sought on district centre redevelopment concepts

***Deadline extended***

People in Redditch are being invited to have their say on possible future redevelopment concepts for the town’s Matchborough and Winyates district centres.

Redditch Borough Council is consulting on a swathe of improvements that could be made to the district centres, which were built just 800 metres apart during the ‘new town’ expansion of Redditch.

The results of the consultation will help inform future bids for the funding that would be required to regenerate the centres.

Cllr Matt Dormer, Leader of the Council, and whose portfolio includes planning and economic development, said: “Securing regeneration funding to revitalise these two centres is an ongoing priority for the council. That needs well-informed proposals firmly in the pipeline and then, when the funding opportunities come up, we’re ready.

“Understanding what people think about the proposals for each district centre is a vital part of that, and I hope lots of people will look at these concepts and give the council their views. Of course at this stage these are not firm plans – that would come later and be refined by people’s feedback throughout the process.”

The latest updated concepts follow on from a 2020 workshop that expanded on extensive consultation in 2016, to identify residents’ issues, solutions, and aspirations over the centres. They include improvements to community focus and facilities, shops, the local environment and biodiversity, green spaces, access, housing, and more.

Public consultation events are being held in both centres on Thursday August 10. There’s a session at Christ Church Centre, Matchborough, from 9am until 2pm, and at Winyates Shopping Centre Unit 12, from 2.30pm until 7pm.

For details, more information, and to give your views, visit www.redditchbc.gov.uk/consultations. The consultation now closes on September 30 (extended from the original closing date of August 27).