Redhill residents, workers and visitors are being asked to give their views on vital plans which will shape how Redhill town centre will develop in future, as a consultation on the Redhill Town Centre Area Action Plan gets underway.
The Action Plan will be used to help guide the town’s physical regeneration, and will set the rules against which future planning applications, for shops, supermarkets, offices etc will be decided.
Cllr Natalie Bramhall, one of your Redhill councillors and Executive Member for Priority Places, said:
Area covered by the Action Plan
“Your Councillors are committed to regenerating Redhill town centre to become a thriving town centre which is a prominent commercial location, a competitive retail destination and great place to live.
“This plan is the culmination of several years’ background work and builds on feedback from previous consultations and updated research. Now is your chance to tell us whether you agree with our proposals.”
The Action Plan explains how the Council wants to improve the town centre, including proposals for redeveloping specific sites, like:
- new leisure uses and shops at Marketfield Way car park
- the redevelopment of Redhill Station to provide a new station building, hotel homes and shops
- improved open spaces at Memorial Park and in Station Road
- renewed community facilities at Colebrook and/or other sites
- expanding and improving the shops at the Warwick Quadrant
- a new supermarket, cafes and restaurants on Cromwell Road
Cllr Rois Amiah, another Redhill Councillor, said:
I know the Council asks residents for their views on many occasions, on lots of subjects, but this really is the most important consultation we have had in Redhill for many years, so please take some time and give us your thoughts.
“Decisions made now will affect the town for decades into the future. We, as councillors, will not approve the plans unless we have residents’ approval of them; if this draft needs changing, please tell us how it needs to change and we will do so.”
How to make your views known
The Action Plan homepage, containing all of the materials and details of the consultation, is at: www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/redhilltcaap
The individual ways of having your say are as follows:
- An exhibition about the proposals will be on display in The Belfry shopping centre on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 January, where staff from the Council will be on hand to talk to visitors about the plans and answer questions.
- The exhibition will then move to the Harlequin Theatre from Monday 23 January to Friday 24 February.
- You can view a summary document here: http://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/Images/Redhill%20A3%20flyer%20Dec2011_tcm9-46459.pdf
- You can view the full Action Plan document here: http://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/Images/RedhillTownCentreAAP_tcm9-46452.pdf
- You can review the document and complete the consultation through the dedicated portal, at http://reigate-banstead-consult.objective.co.uk/.
- You can fill in a Word questionnaire and email it to LDF@reigate-banstead.gov.uk.
- You can pick up a feedback form from the exhibitions, Help Shops and libraries and send this back to the Town Hall.
- If you are part of a residents’ group or other community group, contact us and we will try to attend one of your meetings to hear your views direct.
- You can leave comments here, which we will take into account and reply to where we can.
- You can contact us direct, using the details from the links at the top of the page.
The formal consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 24 February 2012 – please try to get your comments back before then, although your Councillors will gladly receive comments for a short time after that date.
Following the consultation, feedback will be used to update the plan for a further consultation in the autumn before it is submitted to the Secretary of State. The Council will then take steps to adopt the documents which will require a public examination next spring (2013).
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I don’t suppose there is any chance of a park and ride facility for the new Redhill. Parking in local streets is becoming a major problem and if we want to attract people to Redhill for shopping, work etc.. such a facility would not only help with parking but would enhance the lives of the people who live in Redhill.
Thanks Ian – this has been considered and feasibility work has been done in the past, but has consistently shown that it would be difficult to make a park and ride work in Redhill. I certainly agree that parking on roads is a major problem, so much so that there is currently a lot of spare capacity in the car parks.
Thankfully the County Council are now looking at residents’ parking schemes for residential areas, which would get rid of the commuter/office parking in local streets.
Please do submit comments formally, especially as parking is one of the more important and contentious issues.
Went to the ‘exhibition’ in the Harlequin but was dissapointed that there was no one to talk to!
Very complex plan and too much for me to absorb.
The present town center has always been one of my concerns:
a) It seems to be always full of dubious looking characters (both sexes) making a noise, smoking. littering etc and dangerous looking yapping dogs.
b) No control over cyclists inspite of signage. For the sake of pedestrians make cycleways and make sure support officers enforce the laws.
c) Litter always a problem – make sure adequate supply of bins.
d) Level of pavements to be maintained and not left to become uneven as they are at present.
Make sure any of the exisiting public car parking spaces that are developed are replaced probably by an even greater number to allow for all the extra people drawn in to the new development.
John
Thanks John – yes, it is a long document, which is frustrating, but it needs to be comprehensive otherwise we are at risk of inappropriate development in future. The summaries from the exhibition are now available on the Council’s website (link above), which enables you to look at them at greater leisure, and we hope soon to confirm some more opportunities to discuss the issue with planning officers. I’m also happy to pop around to discuss it.
I will pass your comments on, and personally speaking, I agree on the parking point which I think is of fundamental importance to the town.
All,
I am ashamed at the planning. Especially for the train station car park.
There MUST BE MORE car parking.
This is 2012 not 1950 People use cars as an accessary and as primary transport and not a privilege, you are not taking this into account.
more car parking is needed in Redhill for 4 major reasons
A) Shopping
B) Commuters
C) Office use
D) Ease the parking congestion for Local people
The concept of more shopping and better facilities is a good one, but you have not thought anything about the people and how they will travel and especially Cars.
A) If you want people to shop then you MUST provide a LOT of car parking. I am not going to carry my shopping on the bus there is NO room to carry all my things and the seats are small. and the bus driver will charge me more and bus does not go near my home and i have to carry shopping to the door. Why should I do this when I have a car. It takes all my shopping with no strain I can listen to my Music and not listen to the kids abuse for any one that is not with them, and finally the bus does not get me to my front door and home.
If there is no car park then you are going to have dead shops as people cant get there to Park and go home safely and at their leisure.
B) People use Redhill as a commuter point London. Every train from 0600 towards London is full. The car park is full at 0630 on weekdays
Buses are not direct to and from peoples homes, ,No-one wants to walk home from the bus stop in the rain.
Giving commuters more parking only makes Redhill a better place to come for commuting and more people will use the station.
Please put a MULTI STORY CAR PARK ON THE TRAIN STATION CAR PARK.
C) Local offices are not little one off’s they are multi national companies, AXA, RBS, Insurance companies… They hire nationally and expect people to get to Redhill. If you live any where off the main London to Brighton line then you are driving to Redhill. There is the M25 to bring you from anywhere in London/Surrey/Kent/Essex/Middlesex to bring all these people here but NO WHERE TO PARK….. Parking space at 0800 is like Gold Dust, and people in local offices use residential streets to park much to the annoyance of local people. (These are the people that vote for you, hint!) Put more parking in and the offices would be fuller as people can get her to work.
D) Local Residents & I am one, have been asking for Residents only parking for 20 Years. (it means that you have not listened for 20 years!!!) and with More Shopping and More Office and More Cars do you honestly think that the calls for Residents parking are going to go away.? Seriously. The residents Vote for you or NOT… As you expand Redhill to be better you are going to get more cars this is going to put more pressure on local car parking and residential “free” car parking which is at a premium and you are going to take car parking places away. Residents want parking for themselves and not for any one else and they don’t want pay for it.
I am ashamed of you, and quite frankly will not be voting for any one of you next time.
In all you have not thought through any Car Parking issues. there is no personal throughout of the way people move and travel in any of these plans. This is a expansion with out thought for the people that travel and use Redhill.
It is about personal freedom and Busses and Trains DO NOT give you that only a car can.
The solution is easy, put a MULTI STORY CAR PARK ON THE TRAIN STATION CAR PARK. The car park is on a slope any faces offices and blank concrete bank. having 5 or 8 layers of car park would not impact / have little impact on residents and increase parking. It would relieve parking on the side street and get local people off your backs. (20 years of asking for residential parking !!!) and give new shoppers a place to park and then wander Redhill and then go back at there leisure. (Buses and Trains are not leisure they are stressful and do not fill the needs of the shopper with families and shopping.
The land is sloping digging down to a low level and multi-layers of parking would
A) give shoppers a place to park, and shop at leisure with out having to worry about train and bus time tables.
B) commuters an extra places to park and provide more security.
C) give the office people a chance for those that drive to get here and park giving increased office use.
D) ease the parking congestion for Local people as less cars would park in residential side streets
Happy to chat and discuss
Yours
David
David – I tend to agree – I am working through the parking report (http://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/Images/008-GD31110-GDF-03%20Redhill%20Stage%203_tcm9-46418.pdf) and the proposals to reduce parking are high risk, especially as SCC are now finally working on residents’ parking. I will certainly pass on your comments to the others involved in the consultation process (note that this is exactly why we have consultation!)
Thanks for taking the time to comment in detail.
If insufficient car parks are not fortcomming it will mean quiet residential areas will simply become car parks. I agree with David Howels about the need for a multi story car park on the Rail station car park site somehow I doubt if it will happen. A park & ride sheme will not work because of the infrastucture required to operate it. However a muli story to the south of the town may be a possibility.
The development seems to be aimed at large national or multi national providers & not to local enterprises – so will Redhill be the same as Everytown? I hope not.
I don’t presume to have a solution but do recognise that this scheme is a golden opportunity to create a great town centre or alternativly to create one based on the design of the camel.
I am delighted over the regeneration of Redhill but extremely concerned over the emphasis placed on retail.
I would have hoped instead to see a vision shaped by good taste, architecture, eco-friendliness, technology, social and cultural growth. I would like to see an education led regeneration. I know nothing about urban planning but I think we need to see our children grow in a town that stimulates their thinking and makes them feel proud of their “smart” town. Filling up the space available with more shops, will just not do that.
We are at the dawn of an era where shopping activity is moving away from the high street and onto the internet. Yet our vision of the future of Redhill seems dominated by plans to create more supermarket spaces and shops. This is really sad, we are here missing a golden opportunity. I think the proposed expansion of Sainsbury’s is enough, we do not need another one in Cromwell street.
Lastly, I agree with the previous posts that the plan will put even greater pressure on the existing road and parking infrastructure. Already the congestion and difficulty to find parking on a Saturday has reduced my shopping to a “get in, grab what I need and get out” strategy in Redhill