The Yeovil Refresh programme
When developing the Yeovil Refresh programme, the town centre was considered under three key themes; these are ‘Public Realm’; ‘Development; and ‘Transport’. Each of these themes will be supported by an ‘animation’ theme which, in broad terms, will include a range of business activities, markets, events and activities within the town centre.
The town centre was analysed under these themes in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and constraints. From this, a refreshed ‘Vision’ was developed to articulate the primary objectives of the study. The analysis and vision then informed the identification of a series of potential interventions to bring about fundamental positive change to the town centre and sustainable benefits to residents, visitors, and workers. The aim was to deliver a town centre fit for purpose for the 21st Century.
The Programme Vision
During initial development of the Yeovil Refresh programme, it was considered that the Vision is best expressed as a number of key statements or ambitions equal in importance. These key statements are:
- Increase quantity and density of residential development in town centre
- Support the hospital and college’s objectives for innovation
- Celebrate the town’s cultural offer
- Strengthen and consolidate the town’s retail centre
- Improve the number and quality of public and green spaces
- Ensure Yeovil is easy to get to and safe, convenient and attractive to move through
- Engender an ethos of healthy living
- Increase breadth of offer of ‘things to do’ to encourage people to spend more time in the centre
- Increase mix of uses to create vitality throughout day and evening
- Increase the number of diversity of employment opportunities
Making the programme a success
There are a number of changes that are being implemented in the town centre which will help to make the programme a success. The work we are undertaking is best summarised under each of the three main themes of Public Realm, Transport and Development. Below is a general summary of some of the work that has been completed or is in progress.
In the central streets we have fundamentally changed how people can move around making it easier for pedestrians to navigate the spaces. At the Triangle and in The Borough, the quality of the public spaces has been improved, creating areas that can be used for gatherings and public events.
The intention is to make the central streets accessible for all users. This has meant changing the emphasis of the streets in favour of pedestrians, whilst retaining some traffic movements through the town. We are improving accessibility in to the town centre whether by road, bike or by foot. Parts of the road network are being improved by extending the cycle ways and making sure a range of parking options are available. The aim is to improve air quality by making improvements to the transport network.
Questions about the programme
If you have a question or something to say about the Yeovil Refresh programme, please use our online contact form to have your say.
