NEW VISION FOR TOWNS REVEALED

BOSS’S PLANS FOR NUNEATON AND BEDWORTH

BRINGING in more restaurants and improving public opinion form part of plans to boost Nuneaton and Bedworth town centres.

There’s a new man at the helm of town centre promotion and management – and he has lots of ideas for what he hopes will become the ‘heart of the community’.

Jonathan White has been in his post as head of town centres and marketing for just over two months and he is feeling positive about both the future and the present.

He said: “My first impression about both of the town centres is what we do have here is a strong foundation.

“We have a strong retail offer – I have spent the last nine years in Hinckley town centre and the retail offer here is far greater with the likes of Debenhams.”

Mr White notes that the way town centres are used is changing, as more people shop online a big draw to town centres is leisure.

Restaurants, cinemas and other attractions bring people into towns even if those residents are opting for internet shopping.

Mr White added: “The important thing for me is for people to understand where we are nationally in terms of the high streets, it’s quite clear that the high streets are changing and it’s the biggest shift in how people shop.

“For town centres we cannot rely on retail as a prime driver.” Mr White is keen to stress that most of the businesses that have left the town centre in recent years have not only left the borough. “BHS was a national decision, it was the same with the Co-op, none of those are a reflection of Nuneaton town centre but the important element is what we can try and do to support that.” Mr White has seen success elsewhere – he was previously manager of Hinckley’s Business Improvement District (BID), which is seeing a boost in footfall after the Crescent development offering new restaurants and a cinema opened in 2015. “Hinckley faces the same issues as Nuneaton, they are experiencing changes where there is a slight difference they have been able to manage people’s perceptions. In some ways that’s where we have got to be, we need to understand the offer we have got here is far superior, I would have given my left arm to have this in Hinckley,” said Mr White.

“Where they have got something Nuneaton doesn’t, they’ve got a new leisure development.

“We are always down on our town because we have seen what it has been.

“I can assure you these towns are much better than many across the country.”

Residents in Nuneaton and Bedworth are often talking of a so called down turn of the town centres and a need for regeneration. Mr White is looking to work with the community to make them feel more positive about their town centres.

He added: “In previous roles I have experienced the same thing, it’s managing people’s expectations.

“If we consult effectively with people about what’s going on then they feel part of what’s happening.”

Getting feedback from residents and other people who use the town centres is important to Mr White who is hoping they become embedded into people’s lives.

“The key element of this to me is community,” Mr White said.

“I would like to see both town centres seen as the heart of the community for people to really come along and socialise, a place where people do feel comfortable about coming together and enjoying their time.”

There is a strong foundation... I can assure you these towns are much better than many across the country. Jonathan White