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Final stage of council's £1.4m town centre lottery bid
Published Friday 16th September 11
Wellingborough Council is moving closer to securing £1.4m of lottery money to restore and preserve the town centre’s historical buildings.
The council's development committee is set to adopt a 15-year conservation plan as the final stage in a bid for the money at its meeting on 13 September.
The plan identifies buildings that make an important contribution to the character and appearance of the area and includes measures such as having stricter controls over alterations to town centre houses, as well as control over the design and size of signs on town centre shops. Once it's confirmed that that funding bid has been successful, a range of grants will also be offered to owners of these buildings for repair, restoration and improvement work.
The first part of the plan was to work out which buildings in the area are classed as 'buildings of townscape merit', which means buildings that aren't listed but play a significant role in the town's heritage. Once these were identified a further survey was carried out to assess which of these buildings could be at risk of deterioration or are already in need of restoration work. These surveys will be repeated every two years to monitor any changes. Grants will be available to the owners to help repair period features, reinstate historically accurate details, prevent deterioration, bring unused floor space into use, and enhance shop fronts.
Education will also play a big part in the success of the conservation plan, and as part of the funding programme the council will offer seminars to building owners on property maintenance skills. These will be given by local heritage-qualified craftsmen and will include subjects such as lime mortar, masonry, carpentry and metal working. Projects will also be set up with school children and students in craft skills will be offered the chance to be involved in restoration projects.
Cllr Graham Lawman, chairman of the council's development committee, said: "We submit our final bid for the lottery money at the end of September and having this conservation plan in place is an essential part of that. We have some really beautiful buildings in Wellingborough and this money will help us to restore and maintain them so that our heritage is preserved. The town centre will continue to develop, but by having grant awards, stricter controls, and educational opportunities we can make sure any development is done in a sensitive way that complements our historical buildings."