Local people encouraged to help shape future of four Flintshire town centres

Residents are being encouraged to help shape the future of four Flintshire town centres.

Flintshire County Council is set to launch a series of public consultation surveys, where local people are being encouraged to help develop ‘Place Making’ plans for Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold, and Queensferry.

Place Making is a process taking place across each town centre in Wales; that aims to set a vision for the future and identify a range of activities that would benefit the place, local people, and local organisations.

Information gathered through a Place Making process will be used to inform the development of future priorities for the area which are detailed in a plan for a defined area such as a town centre.

The plan will provide details about what actions are needed and are likely to be undertaken within the next 5-10 years by a range of people and organisations to bring about positive change.

Work on Place Making plans began in 2023 for the towns of Buckley, Holywell, and Shotton in response to Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet agreeing a sequence for the completion of the plans.

Place Making Plan development activity is being led by Flintshire County Council’s Regeneration team in collaboration with a range of other council services and external partner organisations.

Councillor David Healey, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Economy, said: “As with a lot of towns across the country, Flintshire’s high streets have changed considerably over recent years due to changes in shopping habits and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is important that we continue with the development of Place Making Plans for towns across Flintshire as they are key to attracting future investment projects which will bring positive impacts to local people and our local economy”.

Place Making Plans will set out a future vision for each town, outline priorities that can help improve the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of the place, and seek to address the needs of people who live, work, and visit the towns. The development of the plans for each town creates opportunities for a range of stakeholders to work more collaboratively to deliver improvements.

Local people who live or work in or near to Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold, and Queensferry will have the opportunity to participate in an online survey about their town centres from 13th March 2024 to 1st April 2024.

Andrew Farrow, Chief Officer for Planning, Environment & Economy said: “Following more than 4440 responses to the online and in-person public consultations for Buckley, Holywell, and Shotton which were undertaken in 2023, work is ongoing to develop these three Place Making Plans.

“Once each of the plans are developed, they will be shared with the public for further consultation before being considered for adoption by the Council and its external partners involved in Place Making work. Given the progress made on the initial 3 Place Making Plans to date, consultation will now begin with the communities of Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold, and Queensferry.”

Following the upcoming online consultations, a series of face-to-face drop-in sessions will be held in each town. More information on dates and locations of these events will be released shortly.

For more information click here.