The much-anticipated Town Deal proposals to revitalise Long Eaton Town Centre are finally here. This ambitious project promises to inject new life into the heart of Long Eaton, making it a more vibrant and attractive destination for residents and visitors alike.
High Street Reimagined: A complete makeover will create a captivating visitor attraction.
- A new central square will provide a gathering place for community events and activities.
- Architectural features, lush greenery, and comfortable seating will enhance the street’s aesthetic appeal.
- Features celebrating the town’s rich furniture-making heritage and the acclaimed local artist Dame Laura Knight will add cultural depth.
Enhanced Accessibility: Making Long Eaton town centre a more accessible, inclusive and people-friendly space.
- Dedicated blue-badge parking spaces in convenient locations will ensure accessibility for all.
- Wider pavements along Tamworth Road and Market Place will improve pedestrian flow and comfort.
- Catering to a mixture of travel methods, with the inclusion of new secure cycle stands.
- A new centrally-located taxi rank ensuring the safety of High Street users at night.
The plans also include proposals to celebrate Long Eaton’s globally important upholstery industry, including street furniture in the design of sofas and armchairs, whilst groundbreaking war artist Dame Laura Knight, born on New Street, is to be the subject of a featured trail.
The improvements, funded by the UK government, sponsored by Erewash Borough Council, managed by Derbyshire County Council, designed by leading highway engineers Galliford Try and BWB Consulting, and landscape architects DSA aim to make the town centre a more attractive place to visit and spend time.
It is also expected to improve the viability of existing town centre businesses and help attract the new generation of high street entrepreneurs, helping to serve Long Eaton into the future.
The project is based on consultations with the local community in 2020, which found support for improving the town centre through more planting and improved seating. This formed part of the Long Eaton Town Deal Board proposals submitted to the UK Government in 2021.
Getting to this point has been a long process, including further targeted engagement with taxi drivers, street traders, market traders, high street retailers and blue badge parking users, which has informed the design.
The online proposals are now open to public comment from 6 January to 16 February 2025, with two drop-in sessions at Long Eaton Town Hall from 2pm to 8pm on Thursday, 16 January and Monday, 20 January.
Anthony Hart, Nottingham Regional Director, said:
“We are proud to be a part of this project, helping to deliver meaningful change to the East Midlands. We can’t wait to learn more about what the communities tell us in this engagement, and we are looking forward to making their suggestions a reality.”
Naomi Cook, Associate Director at BWB, said:
“This has been a challenging project creating a design that captures all the objectives of the project, but it’s great to see our hard work coming to life. Living only a 15 minute drive away from Long Eaton it’s a local project which always keeps things interesting. And, having worked on similar projects, such as Maid Marian Way, we have been able to put our experience to good use for the people of Long Eaton.”
Joshua Dickerson, Director of Place at BWB, said:
“We have already helped many local authorities deliver placemaking projects. putting the local communities’ voice at the centre is a speciality of ours. Our relationship with Galliford Try will also help deliver this work, working cohesively to create an amazing place for the local community.”
Councillor Curts Howard, Lead Member for Town Centres, said:
“It’s very exciting to finally be unveiling our £10 million high street upgrade. A new look and feel for our town centre will be good for local business, and for local residents. I’m looking forward to getting work started in the town centre this autumn.”
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration, Councillor Tony King, said:
“I’m pleased that we can now share the plans with the people of Long Eaton. What is planned will make a major change to the town centre for the better. I would urge everyone to come along to the events to find out more, and let us have their views.”
You can view the plans and provide feedback: https://my.engaged.space/longeaton.
More information on the Long Eaton Town Deal can be found at www.longeatontowndeal.org/en/projects. These include improvements to the walking and cycling network, Galaxy Row on Derby Road, Stable Block adjoining the Town Hall, and the development of visitor attractions in West Park.