June

With many nationwide Town Centre improvement and redevelopment schemes being shelved at the moment because of the depressed financial situation, the world’s first Garden City has ‘bucked the trend’ and has just completed the first phase of its Town centre revitalisation plans.

The £8m Street Scene scheme - fully funded by Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation - and constructed by leading international construction company Skanska – was officially opened on Friday, June 18, by Stuart Kenny, the Foundation’s Director General.

To complement the Town Centre improvement works, the Heritage Foundation has embarked on a continuing programme of refurbishing or re-instating a number of shop frontages.

This image shows just one example of how restoring shop frontages can make such a difference to the quality of the shopping environment. Pictured are two retail units in Leys Avenue, ‘Past and Present’ and ‘Shoe Box,’ following completion of the works. The old squire’s Dairy used to occupy this site.

A symbolic ‘laying’ of the first York Stone slab in Eastcheap – as part of the new £8m Town Centre Street Scene Development in Letchworth Garden City – took place on Monday.

Work is on schedule for the Heritage Foundation scheme and it is hoped contractors Skanska will have finished the Eastcheap works in September, then move on to Leys Avenue for the next phase.