Jonathon Wardman

Mark & Spencer in Aldershot Town Centre

The announcement made by Marks & Spencer at the end of June that they intend to shut their Aldershot Outlet store must have come as a real blow to the town’s management team. Rushmoor Borough Council have been pumping money into regenerating the town’s pedestrianised shopping area, the area in which the M&S Outlet takes centre stage. The unit itself is one of the largest in the town centre and sits in a key location half way up the high street directly opposite the town’s main shopping centre, The Galleries. As one of only a handful of clothes shops in the town centre, the closure of the shop would leave a gap in the town centre in not just a physical sense — there would be a severe lack of quality clothing outlets too. [read more]

Aldershot – the coucil’s response

I wrote back in August about a consultation put out by Rushmoor Borough Council regarding a £4.5 million pound regenration scheme of the Aldershot town centre. The response I posted on my blog was the response I gave to the council in feedback. I was apparently one of 280 people to provide feedback on the scheme, and last Monday I recieved an email from the council regarding the consultation.

The majority of you were very positive about the plans and you also took the time to share your own ideas to regenerate the town, which included everything from encouraging new shops to Aldershot, supporting businesses, tidying up shop fronts and building on the town’s Victorian heritage.

[read more]

Aldershot – our town centre coming together

Rushmoor Borough Council recently put out a consultation on proposed improvements to Aldershot town centre. The proposals cover three phases of work to improve the environment of the main shopping areas and pedestrian approaches to the town’s main shopping areas. Further details of the proposals can be viewed on the Rushmoor website.

Having lived and worked in the Aldershot area for going on 9 years now (some of the work work having even been related to improving the image of Aldershot town centre), combined with my amateur interest in town planning, I have more than a passing interest in these proposals so decided to respond to the consultation. Below are my thoughts, recorded for posterity. I will be interested to see the further discussion of these plans amongst the elected members of the council in coming months. [read more]