1. THE TOWN TEAM CIVIC BRIEFING

2. AGENDA  Introduction and Town Team – Aim and Objectives  Business  Retail survey  Empty shops campaign  Town Market Management  Environment  Road and pavements repairs  Litter and cleanliness  Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan  Historic buildings at risk  Projects  Parking refund scheme  Town signage  Tourism signs  Art on the trailway and in the town  Railway arches  Stour Meadows exercise equipment and running circuits

3. Community Groups that Sustain and Promote the Town and What they Do Civic Society Blandford + Town Team Town Museum DT11 Forum Community Partnership Blandford Business Group Heritage Group Community Clean Up Blandford Campaign Regeneration Group Town Accountable Councils Blandford Forum Town Council North Dorset District Council Dorset County Council

4. Town Team: Aim Support the development and enhancement of a vibrant town centre, including its unique Georgian heritage, community spirit, profitable and attractive businesses and tourist attractions - in and around the Town, the River Stour and the wonderful local countryside - for the benefit of those who live, shop, work, have local businesses and visit Blandford.

5. Town Team: Objectives Develop an Action Plan for the Town Centre that builds on existing strengths and is endorsed by the local community and local government; Develop project and funding plans to secure funding for agreed and endorsed proposals; Consult with Accountable Councils to ensure consent is obtained before any actions are carried out; Monitor the activities of the Accountable Councils in relation to the progress of endorsed Town Team projects, and hold to account where appropriate; Where agreed, support Accountable Councils and Community Groups initiatives and policies; Collaborate with Accountable Councils, other local community groups and working groups where there are areas of mutual interest and benefit, and ensure there is no duplication of effort or funding; Communicate regularly with stakeholders and the wider community about progress; Ensure open debate, so that local people can input their views and ideas and get involved, and be open to new ideas and proposals; Follow best practice for local and national Town Team initiatives; The Town Team may as an entity not run specific Projects, these may be delegated to designated Town Team working groups.

6. Empty Shops Campaign ‘Blandford wants your business’

7. Management of the Town’s Markets Feasibility of the BFTC taking over the market – what is the decision? BFTC will take over from NDDC once some legal issues are resolved.

8. Litter & Cleanliness Town Centre generally being kept very clean by DWP DWP failing to clear the commercial waste in a timely manner – it is hoped they will brief the Blandford Business Group (BBG) why this occurs, Still issues with: take-away waste and cigarette ends (BBG) but comment that cigarette butts collection boxes prevented by NDDC, and dog fouling

9. Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA) and Management Plan (CAM) NDDC - Kevin Morris produced the CAA and CAMP Brief in February to enable the Heritage Group to proceed with the appraisal and the plan

11. The Our Heritage open programme is for any type of project related to national, regional or local heritage in the UK. You can apply at any time for a grant of more than £10,000 and up to £100,000. Assessment takes eight weeks. Under this programme, consideration is given to applications for programmes from: not-for-profit organisations; private owners of heritage, including individuals and for-profit organisations; and partnerships of the above. Partnerships require a lead applicant. The lead applicant is responsible for overall management, including accounting.

12. Participants Town Team Blandford Museum Civic Society Blandford Railway Arches Trust Blandford Forum Railway Club The Cupola Project Heritage Building Project All of these groups are working on aspects of Blandford’s heritage. Working together, a combined application to “Our Heritage” could help us fund the work we are doing now, and create a legacy that will allow us to keep heritage preservation moving into the future. While only needing to meet 1-2 outcomes in each category – together we meet almost ALL of the outcomes!

13. Blandford Museum and Cupola Project : We are currently working on a project with two university students who are from Blandford. Working with John and Val Imber, Donald Melvin and Judith Ford, two young people, Chloe Treasure and Ollie Tulk, have been filming the streets and buildings of Blandford

14. Chloe and Ollie and working with Donald, John, Val and Judith to document the building and their current states of repair (in this case, disrepair)

15. Blandford Museum: Judith Ford is working with Toby Gent to list, transcribe, and analyse the seals from old documents held by the Blandford Museum. This work will add greatly to knowledge about the seals and what they mean, and the documents will add greatly to our knowledge of Blandford.

16. Blandford Museum: Judith Ford has completed a large work on the Owners and Occupiers of Blandford Buildings.

17. Blandford Museum: Val Imber has taken on the running of our Oral History Group and has highlighted a current path for the project…

18. Blandford Railway Arches Trust In addition to working to preserve the arches themselves, the Arches Trust supports events at the arches, and research, recording and interpretation of railway architectural remains in Blandford. They also promote the preservation and interpretation of the natural environment surrounding the arches, which sit on a floodplain next to the River Stour. This photo shows the arches after recent restoration and during a recent flood.

19. A possible nature viewing platform for the arches.

20. Owners and Occupiers of Blandford Buildings (Judith Ford) Seals Project (Judith Ford, Toby Gent) Owners and Occupiers of Blandford Buildings (Judith Ford) Blandford Museum Heritage Filming (Sylvia Hixson Andrews ) Civic Society (Val and John Imber) Civic Society (Terence Dear) Heritage Building Group (Val and John Imber and Donald Melvin) Cupola Project (Sara Loch) Blandford Museum (Sylvia H-A, Michael Le Bas) Cupola Project (Sara Loch) Blandford Museum (Oral History – Val Imber) Blandford Museum (Peter Andrews, Michael Le Bas) Blandford Museum (Sylvia H-A) Railway Arches (S. H-A and Nicci Brown) Blandford Forum Railway Club (David Cash)

21. Participants: Town Team Blandford Museum Civic Society Blandford Railway Arches Trust Blandford Forum Railway Club The Cupola Project Needed from each participant: 1)What you want to do 2)The budget 3)The activity plan for the community that the project will produce (this can be done in collaboration..) 4)A bit about how it fulfils any outcomes 5)The legacy

22. Types of Activities or Events: Filming and documentary work done by young people Working with schools to schedule events (“maths for the outdoors – architecture”); heritage art Workshops on Georgian architecture; Courses on palaeography Evenings with the community/building owners and occupiers Events at the Arches Training sessions on leading architectural or historical tours; Drama about the town – in the town Nature walks Etc……..

23. Historic Buildings at Risk NDDC enforcement orders report: 52 Salisbury Street – state of repair – some encouraging progress 26 East Street – state of repair – some progress Ocean City Chinese Restaurant - façade colour – no progress and has been painted Iceland - the shop sign – no progress

24. Parking refund scheme Parking refund scheme seems to be progressing Who – Beatons – M&S – Morrisons – Who else? NDDC action – More to follow – Launch date?

25. Town signage Finger posts – BFTC has allowed one more to indicate the Post Office Langton car park – all agreed, including BFTC, to put one in with a map

26. Tourism signage Blandford St Mary & Blandford Forum Georgian Town Trailway Museums River Stour and Meadows Railway Arches Leisure Centre This is progressing. All stakeholders have agreed Survey funded Hope to see on the main approach roads to Blandfords

27. Stour Meadows Running Circuit

28. Stour Meadows Exercise Equipment 28

29. Fording Point