Town Centre Shops: making a grand entrance…

Beyond the Street Scene works on Eastcheap and Leys Avenue, the Foundation is investing massive sums to improve Town Centre shop premises.

Letchworth Garden City Town Centre has many fine buildings. Yet over the years, the combination of inappropriate alterations, low-grade materials and garish signage has taken its toll on the attraction of some parts of the Town Centre.

Working with retailers and businesses, the Foundation is taking steps to arrest the decline.

Applications to improve a number of shop fronts have been or, at the time of writing, are about to be lodged with local authority planners.

The schemes vary in their scale and complexity, yet all seek to reinstate the building’s original character.

Shops earmarked for works include:

22-24 Leys Avenue Bed retailer, ‘Dreams’ [01462 684725] is now trading on the Retail Park, near Sainsbury’s. The planned restoration of their previous unit [see artist’s illustration, above] will emphasise the building’s strong art deco features.

38, 40 & 42 Leys Avenue ‘Halifax’ [01462 669321] is expanding to new premises in the Garden Square Shopping Centre, this summer. 40 & 42 are the former ‘McDonalds’ and newsagents.

45 & 47 Leys Avenue formerly ‘A Little Sin’ and ‘Squires’ men’s fashion shop.

34 Leys Avenue: Nationwide [0845 266 0678] is now operating from 16, Leys Avenue.

3-5 Eastcheap: The former New York Fried Chicken fast food outlet.

56 Station Road: Model Images [01462 684859] has moved to 21 Green Lane Industrial Estate. Once completed, these refurbished shops will provide homes for businesses relocating from The Wynd and Arena development areas and new enterprises.

The Letchworth Podiatry Centre [01462 670900], which opened for business in The Gallery in June 1998, later moving to The Wynd, is a recent beneficiary of a completed restoration.

The business has just moved to 17, Station Road after a shop front refit.