LOUGHTON: £3m redevelopment plan for shopping area (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

LOUGHTON: £3m redevelopment plan for shopping area

12:00pm Thursday 17th April 2008

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MILLIONS of pounds are to be spent breathing new life into one of the district's poorest shopping areas.

And as the £3.1 million cash injection will also be spent on leisure facilities, new homes, bars, restaurants and better transport links, thousands of families look set to benefit.

Approval has been given to press ahead with plans to revitalise Loughton Broadway, and traders said they were "overjoyed".

And a key part of the project could involve the BP garage at the junction with Chigwell Lane being demolished and replaced with a "landmark building" aimed at bringing the community together.

The district council spent £50,000 comissioning consultants Urban Practitioners to produce a design for the new-look Broadway.

And at a meeting with the district council, director Steven Walker insisted the new plans offered a "significant opportunity" to enhance the lives of people in and around Loughton.

He added: "We have set out a manifesto for the area and one of the key things we think is a real opportunity is the area around the tube station, which we need to integrate with the buses.

"We need to address the issue of parking, and there is a great opportunity to turn back streets into residential developments. It's a very substantial location with good transport links."

The public will be given a chance to have its say, and an eight-week consultation will kick off on May 1.

Independent Loughton councillor Stephen Murray said: "I was very struck by the consultant. I'm not claiming I'm the only one who knows this area, but I know it very well and I thought his analysis was absolutely right.

"This is the only part of the district that caters for ordinary people on average or below average incomes. It's got a lovely choice of shops and I'm pleased they don't see the need to change that."

Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing said: "I'm always very pleased at the revitalisation of any part of the Epping Forest District - it's good for the whole area. The more useful facilities we have and the more pleasant shops we have, the better for everyone.

Loughton Residents' Association member Ken Angold-Stephens added: "The Broadway has needed this for a number of years. It will improve the trading position and provide a much more attractive environment. It's got to be good for the area and good for the town."

Dave Stannard, the chairman of Loughton Broadway Town Centre Partnership, said: "We are overjoyed. We have been waiting for this for seven years. We look forward to an exciting new Broadway."

Owner of PA. Sparks & Sons grocers, and Debden Traders' Association chairman Peter Sparks, said: "I hope it will improve what we have got and bring some customers back to the Broadway. Because It's gone on so long we have lost some good shopkeepers. We have people here who can offer whatever you want, but we also need some different types of shops. Let's hope it promotes the Broadway."

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