Summary of local people's feedback on proposed investment options for Kingswood town centre.

Engagement results summary report

If you'd like to print and send us a hard copy response, you can by downloading the pdf here

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Download and print your hard copy survey

You can complete the survey online from the link above, but if you would prefer to send us a hard copy response, you can download and print the survey below.

Check out the following documents

We have explored some options which have potential to deliver your priorities.

Regeneration of Regent Street - options

What you want for your town centre

You told us you want to shop locally, but some areas of Kingswood are not&nbsp;especially pleasant places to spend time.&nbsp;🗨️ Heavy traffic travels down the high street, making it noisy, congested and polluted.&nbsp;🗨️ You&rsquo;d like it to be a more attractive place to be with <span data-ccp-charstyle="ui-provider" data-ccp-charstyle-defn='{"ObjectId":"74669829-9f9e-4dad-b558-82df1ed32b23|95","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[469775450,"ui-provider",201340122,"1",134233614,"true",469778129,"ui-provider",335572020,"1",469778324,"Default Paragraph Font"]}'>better&nbsp;paving&nbsp;and lighting,&nbsp;more&nbsp;plants,&nbsp;trees&nbsp;and greenery,&nbsp;and&nbsp;places to sit and relax.&nbsp;🗨️ You value the local retailers who continue to ply their trade in the shopping centre and on the high street, but many shops and businesses have moved out, leaving behind empty premises.&nbsp;🗨️ Access is difficult for cars, cyclists and pedestrians, so you only tend to shop when you specifically need something.&nbsp;🗨️ You want to restore the sense of community, bringing back markets and events which attract new people to Kingswood and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;opportunities for local people to come together.&nbsp;

The potential for pedestrianisation

Many towns across the country have pedestrianised high streets or restricted vehicle access to high streets to help deliver many of these benefits. Taking away traffic can create space and opportunities for people to meet and spend more time shopping and socialising.We have considered the potential for pedestrianisation in Kingswood and in May 2020 took proposals out to public consultation. Local feedback showed that 69% of people were supportive of the principle of pedestrianisation. We investigated the options further and then in 2021, shared proposals for two potential diversions routes, a southern route, and a northern route.

The preferred option for local people was the southern route, opening up the existing westbound diversionary route along Cecil Road to eastbound traffic too.&nbsp;Since then, we have conducted further exploratory technical work on the two options, assessing road and junction capacity and gathering information on traffic counts and air quality. We have also conducted modelling exercises to explore where traffic might go based on both diversion routes.Unfortunately, this work has identified that the preferred southern route is not technically feasible. The main issue is with junction capacity &ndash; simply put, key junctions would need to be remodelled to accommodate the predicted traffic levels and there is insufficient space to build the necessary infrastructure.This technical work has also identified potential issues with the alternative northern route. It is technically complex to deliver, requiring significant traffic interventions, and we are concerned about the impacts - in terms of noise, air quality and accessibility - for people living in residential properties on this route.&nbsp;Additionally, for either potential diversion route, because of limited&nbsp;alternative access points to Regent Street, it would be difficult for shops and businesses to receive deliveries&nbsp;or have their rubbish collected.Furthermore, modelling shows that both options for pedestrianisation would largely shift air quality issues from Regent Street to other areas.&nbsp;

Recognising these challenges, we therefore also want to consider additional options to achieve the original outcomes. We are keen to understand public preference for the additional options to deliver what we all want for Kingswood.

<h2>Additional options</h2>We have considered the potential benefits of each of these options in the table below and are looking for feedback on these different alternatives through the current engagement survey.&nbsp;<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1699618061/projects/652fc513a95cb6dac6cc2535/t0oqeujfwmnvpepmwham.png" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Table showing potential benefits of the additional options">

The council purchased Kings Chase in 2021 and is progressing plans to enhance the facilities so that it attracts more people back and adds to the vibrancy and vitality of the town.

Investing in Kings Chase

Reinvigorating Kings Chase

The council purchased the Kings Chase Shopping Centre and car park in Kingswood in 2021. The shopping centre continues to be an important and well-loved community and social hub for local people, and we believe it will be central to the long-term vision for regeneration of the town centre.But we recognise it needs investment. The shopping centre was built in the 1970&rsquo;s and unfortunately, its development has not kept pace with what people are used to when they shop elsewhere. Following our purchase, we plan to modernise the centre, so that it attracts more people back and adds to the vibrancy and vitality of the town.

We have set out short-, medium-, and longer-term transformation plans for Kings Chase.In the short term, we are focusing on addressing some of the most pressing aspects to improve the look and feel of the arcade. This includes:&nbsp;<ul><li>An uplift of the fa&ccedil;ade and entrance from Regent Street. We plan to improve the external appearance of the shopping centre, by introducing green walls, and introducing new signage.</li><li>Measures to make the centre more accessible from Regent Street.</li><li>Improve the lighting of the arcade,&nbsp;</li><li>Upgrading the internal decor to create more space and enhance seating and furniture.&nbsp;</li><li>Introduce new kiosks and pop ups&nbsp;</li><li>Complete essential repairs to the roof of the building</li><li>Consider opportunities for the wider redevelopment of the rear yards and car park of the shopping centre.</li></ul>

What we've learned from our conversations so far

Your priorities for the High Street

Central to the regeneration plans for Kingswood is to improve the vitality and sustainability of the town centre. To thrive, high streets must be more than just a collection of shops.&nbsp;Our vision for Regent Street and the wider town centre area is that it should be an attractive, vibrant, safe and family-friendly place where the community comes together to socialise, to eat and drink, to shop, work and enjoy our leisure time.&nbsp;Kingswood high street is already home to a range of shops, community facilities and businesses, including chemists, banks, health and beauty salons, nurseries, estate agents and accountants. It also has a long and proud history of hosting events which brought the community together, major parades, Saturday morning cinema showings, an outdoor market and flower shows. Today it also has its issues with empty shops, graffiti and anti-social behaviour and faces challenges from online retailers.&nbsp;You are proud of your area and care about your high street. We want to preserve, restore and celebrate the history and story of Kingswood whilst supporting a high street that is fit for the future.

What&nbsp;you&rsquo;ve&nbsp;told us about the high street&nbsp;We have gathered a great deal of feedback from local people about what you want for the high street.&nbsp;&nbsp;🗨️ You told us you want to shop locally, but some areas of Kingswood are not especially pleasant places to spend time.&nbsp;🗨️ Heavy traffic travels down the high street, making it noisy, congested and polluted.&nbsp;🗨️ You&rsquo;d like it to be a more attractive place to be with <span data-ccp-charstyle="ui-provider" data-ccp-charstyle-defn='{"ObjectId":"6d3d06d0-1d7a-4f2d-b638-91faa7e0bd8a|101","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[469775450,"ui-provider",201340122,"1",134233614,"true",469778129,"ui-provider",335572020,"1",469778324,"Default Paragraph Font"]}'>better&nbsp;paving&nbsp;and lighting,&nbsp;more&nbsp;plants,&nbsp;trees&nbsp;and greenery,&nbsp;and&nbsp;places to sit and relax.&nbsp;🗨️ You value the local retailers who continue to ply their trade in the shopping centre and on the high street, but many shops and businesses have moved out, leaving behind empty premises.&nbsp;🗨️ Access is difficult for cars, cyclists and pedestrians, so you only tend to shop when you specifically need something.&nbsp;🗨️ You want to restore the sense of community, bringing back markets and events which attract new people to Kingswood and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;opportunities for local people to come together.We&#39;re keen to understand more about what is important to you and are undertaking further public engagement.

Share your views on proposals for investment in the high street, strengthening Kingswood’s cultural and historic heart

Regent Street, Kingswood

Kingswood - Regent Street scheme 

Improving the vitality and sustainability of the town centre

Kingswood has a proud history and enormous potential for an exciting future. But the decline of traditional manufacturing industry hit the town hard and the trends towards online shopping exacerbated by the restrictions enforced during the Covid 19 pandemic present further challenges to Kingswood&rsquo;s prospects.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1699544471/projects/652fc513a95cb6dac6cc2535/q9hld2q9kycubkykgiew.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib">You told us it is about time that we took decisive action.&nbsp;We have secured significant funding to invest in Kingswood, and in consultation with residents, businesses and other local people, we developed a Masterplan, which sets out how we will focus that money to deliver the improvements which are important to you.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1699601162/projects/652fc513a95cb6dac6cc2535/cqfptqo0peqosqwls2cb.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Central to the regeneration plans is to improve the vitality and sustainability of the town centre. To thrive, high streets must be more than just a collection of shops.&nbsp;Our vision for Regent Street and the wider town centre area is that it should be an attractive, vibrant, safe and family-friendly place where the community comes together to socialise, to eat and drink, to shop, work and enjoy our leisure time.You are proud of your area and care about your high street. We want to preserve, restore and celebrate the history and story of Kingswood whilst supporting a high street that is fit for the future.

What you’ve told us about the high street

We have gathered a great deal of feedback from local people about what you want for the high street.&nbsp;🗨️ You told us you want to shop locally, but some areas of Kingswood are not especially pleasant places to spend time.🗨️ Heavy traffic travels down the high street, making it noisy, congested and polluted.🗨️ You&rsquo;d like it to be a more attractive place to be with better paving and lighting, more plants, trees and greenery, and places to sit and relax.🗨️ You value the local retailers who continue to ply their trade in the shopping centre and on the high street, but many shops and businesses have moved out, leaving behind empty premises.🗨️ Access is difficult for cars, cyclists and pedestrians, so you only tend to shop when you specifically need something.🗨️ You want to restore the sense of community, bringing back markets and events which attract new people to Kingswood and provide opportunities for local people to come together.<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/commonplace-digital-limited/image/upload/v1699601231/projects/652fc513a95cb6dac6cc2535/x2fwua0tpgm5ulaqo2o7.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h2 id="isPasted">The potential for pedestrianisation</h2>Many high streets across the country have pedestrianised high streets or restricted vehicle access to high streets to help deliver many of these benefits. Taking away traffic can create space and opportunities for people to meet and spend more time shopping and socialising.We have considered the opportunities for pedestrianisation in Kingswood and sought public feedback on options. Our detailed technical work has uncovered some challenges in delivering pedestrianisation (you can <a href="https://kingswoodtowncentreimprovements.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/regeneration-of-regent-street-options/step1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">read more about this here</a>) and we therefore also want to consider additional options to achieve the original outcomes.&nbsp;<h2>Tell us what you think</h2>We are keen to understand public preference for the different options. Please answer a few questions on the next couple of pages to tell us what you think.You do not need to provide an email address to share your feedbackPlease ignore messages which say you need to provide an email address - you can complete this consultation if you do not have an email address or if you would prefer not to share it with us.

Thank you for your feedback.&nbsp;You do not need to provide an email address to share your viewsPlease ignore messages which say you need to provide an email address - you can complete this consultation if you do not have an email address or if you would prefer not to share it with us.

Kingswood town centre

Engagement results report

This report summarises the key findings from the engagement work completed from November 2023 until January 2024 asking local people for their feedback on proposed investment options for Kingswood town centre. We have also produced an infographic for a quick view summary of the key results.Feedback from this engagement provides a wealth of evidence for the need for prompt, proactive intervention and investment into Kingswood.&nbsp;In response to this feedback, with our partners we have developed a new programme of work focused on local people&#39;s priorities. We are awaiting confirmation of funding to bring these plans to fruition. We expect a decision on funding in summer 2024.