Stretford Town Centre Forum | October 2023 Meeting

Meeting docs

Event time

October 3, 2023

Type

Forum meeting

1. Agenda

Item	Doc	Lead
Welcome, introductions and recap	Meeting slides	Simon, FoSPH
Design considerations for Town Centre Forum - Geography & membership - Governance - Terms of reference - Funding & resources		Simon, FoSPH
Update on Town Centre Redevelopment		Bethany, Bruntwood
AOB and plans for a subsequent meeting		Simon, FoSPH

Welcome, introduction and recap Simon provided a quick recap on the last meeting

Feedback from Table 1 - facilitated by Shelly: (Tom Ross, Steve Adshead, Georgie Gresiak, Mark Bamford, James Tootle, Emma Finn)

Discussion was had re: Town or Town Centre? This was before the slide showing the remit of the group and as such the group said we should be Town rather than Town centre – but when the remit was shown there was a shift to town centre.
All agreed – not to include residents at this time.
Suggestions that the following groups might be invited [perhaps as Associate Members] – Police, NHS, One Trafford Partnership, Director of Cultural change Trafford Council, Schools, Library.
Happy with unincorporated association and committee as suggested
Thoughts regarding the chair – perhaps looking at nationals such as Nationwide Bank – asking for CSR.
Needs to be clear remit / role and responsibilities.

Feedback from Table 2 - faciltiated by Simon: (Mags Branney, Andrea George, Bethany Adam, Nigel Young, Kate Burgess)

Support for the Forum to start with a focus on the town centre
It should be business / organisation led rather than involving residents
Support for the objectives / responsibilities
Purpose should focus on engaging local businesses and community organisations and encouraging them to consider how they can get involved in improving / developing the town centre
Should consider how to best engage young people

Bethany Adam from Bruntwood provided an update on town centre development progress. Specifically she highlighted:

We’ve produced this video to reshare the vision for King Street
We've shared a wayfinding video online to support movement throughout the centre
Stretford Canteen has been nominated for the Manchester Food & Drink Awards. The awards take place in January. Please vote online here.

Stretford Public Hall have been successful with their Community Ownership Fund application for £288,000 to fund essential repairs and energy efficiency improvements. They will be inviting residents and local organisations to invest in their forthcoming share offer (launching Nov 2023), to raise the final 20% of funding needed.
The next meeting will be a social / networking event in December with Uplift to provide catering 😄