The background
This project has its roots in three different public consultations going back to 2012. The consultations have informed the design decisions made by our expert team of:
- transport planners
- civil engineers
- town planners
- and landscape architects
Our team have carefully developed the design, with help and support from the Braintree Town Partnership and Braintree Museum.
The consultations
You can contact us if you want to find out about the details of the consultations we held on the scheme.
Results of the 2012 consultation
The main feedback from our consultation in 2012 was:
- 72% liked the suggestion of returning market place to a full market square
- 73% liked the idea of adding benches and trees
- 87% wanted occasional attractions and events like speciality markets to boost enjoyment of the town
- 91% wanted to improve the quality, range and variety of the market to attract more shoppers
Results of the 2018 consultation
In 2018, we asked residents, businesses and visitors what they thought about restricting vehicle access along Market Place and most of the High Street.
- 76% of responses were in favour of pedestrianising the town centre
- 21% were not in favour
- 3% had no preference
The top reasons for supporting the scheme were:
- safer environment for people
- allows more events and markets
- pavements will get fixed
- encourage more shops into the town
- reduce pollution
Results of the 2019/20 consultation
Between December 2019 and February 2020, we held a consultation to understand
- what residents, visitors and businesses wanted to see in their town centre
- how they thought we should relook at the way we use the new space as part of the scheme
The feedback from this consultation was included in the final scheme design.