Public consultation launched for Holywell’s Place Making Plan

Flintshire County Council has launched a digital public consultation survey where local people are being encouraged to help shape the future of Holywell.

Initial consultation activity began in 2023, with the public asked to share their perceptions of Holywell as part of a process to develop ‘Place Making Plans’ for seven town centres over the next 18 months. Following more than 900 responses to the online and in-person public consultation, work has been ongoing to develop the Place Making Plan for Holywell.

Using UK Government Shared Prosperity Funds, the draft Place Making Plan has now been developed based on data, research and public opinion, and is now at final draft stage and is to be shared with the public for further consultation before being considered for adoption by the Council and its external partners.

This latest engagement will enable members of the public to see the draft plan, the key priorities that have been identified and the proposed approach to implementing the plan. The survey seeks to determine the public’s support of the priorities and the course of action to be taken.

Place Making Plan activity is being led by Flintshire County Council’s Regeneration team in collaboration with a range of other council services and external partner organisations. This is in response to the Welsh Government’s request that all local authorities across Wales establish Place Making Plans for their towns. These plans are needed to ensure Welsh Government investment can be made available to support town centre regeneration projects in the future.

Councillor Chris Dolphin, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Economy, said:

“As with a lot of towns across the country, Flintshire’s high streets have changed considerably over recent years due to changes in shopping habits and the covid-19 pandemic.

“It is important that we continue with the development of Place Making Plans for towns across Flintshire as they are key to attracting future investment projects which will bring positive impacts to local people and our local economy”.

Place Making Plans will set out a future vision for each town, outline priorities that can help improve the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of the place and seek to address the needs of people who live, work and visit the towns. The development of the plans for each town creates opportunities for a range of stakeholders to work more collaboratively to deliver improvements.

Local people who live or work in or near to Holywell will have the opportunity to participate in an online survey about their town centres until December 23, 2024.

Following the online consultation, face-to-face consultation will be held in Holywell. More information about this opportunity to engage with the plan will be released shortly.