Your views wanted on next stage of consultation for improvements to Yarm High Street

The public are being invited to give their views on the next stage of plans for improving public spaces and access to Yarm High Street.

The Council is asking Yarm's residents, businesses and visitors to have their say on proposals that show how the High Street could be improved as part of the allocation from the Government's Levelling Up Fund, where the Stockton South constituency received £20million of funding.

The main focus of the plans is to improve public spaces along Yarm High Street between Yarm Bridge at the North and Bentley Wynd to the south, as well as improvements to the riverside areas and Snaiths Field play area.

The first round of public consultation in the summer found that improving footpaths, reducing street clutter, adding more planting, improving connections to the river and more resting and seat spaces were of high importance to respondents.

The public will be asked for views on improvements that reflect the priorities identified in the initial consultation, including new paving throughout the High Street, de-cluttering of pavements, new landscaping and seating, additional cycle spaces and new electric vehicle charging points. These improvements will result in no loss of parking spaces along the High Street.

A range of potential additional improvements have also been developed in addition to the planned works, including more new areas of paving, extended landscaping, seating and larger public spaces, larger cycle storage areas and more electric vehicle charging points. The additional improvements would bring more enhanced and improved facilities but would result in a loss of some parking areas. 

Despite the recent opening of the new long-stay car park off West Street, which currently provides 30 long stay spaces and will increase to 55 spaces in early 2023, the Council continues to recognise the sensitivities around parking in Yarm.

The consultation will also seek views to gauge opinion on whether the compromise of utilising some car parking bays to enable improved spaces on the High Street is a favourable outcome before any final decisions are made.

The public consultation will begin on Wednesday 7 December 2022 and end on Friday 6 January 2023.

Councillor Nigel Cooke, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, said: "We are delivering on our commitment to invest in our six town centres and it's important that we take everyone on that journey with us.

"We want to make the most of this exciting opportunity to improve Yarm High Street and that's why we're bringing these plans back to the table to find out what people like and what they feel is an appropriate level of change on the High Street.

"We'll then take this feedback away and use it to develop the package of improvements for further detailed design, which will help to reflect the needs of everyone who uses the High Street."

Last year, the Stockton South constituency was awarded £20million of funding from the Government's Levelling Up Fund. This funding will combine with the Council's well-developed plans for its six town centres and longstanding ambitions to enhance sustainable travel activities and enrich visitor experiences across a series of interventions. 

Other interventions will include transforming Preston Park, the Tees Valley's leading tourist attraction, by extending the museum into an exhibition centre and gallery space and exploring opportunities to enhance connectivity through improved cycle links across the Yarm and Eaglescliffe areas.

All views collected will be used to inform future work, with the findings of this consultation and a final package of improvements presented in Spring 2023 and taken forward for delivery.

How do I have my say?

You can view the proposals online from Wednesday 7 December 2022 and fill in the online questionnaire which will be made live on this date.

You can also view the proposals in-person at Yarm Library and fill in a paper copy of the questionnaire from Wednesday 7 December 2022.

Who can I talk to about the plans?

Members of the Council's Town Centres Investment Team will be available to discuss the design options with you at Yarm Library on:

• Wednesday 7 December between 10am and 1pm
• Friday 9 December between 12noon and 3pm
• Tuesday 13 December between 10am and 1pm
• Thursday 15 December between 12noon and 3pm

Where can I find more information?

Find more information on how the Council is reshaping its six town centres.

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