Maddock Way Regeneration

The TRA has been working with the Great Estates team to develop some ideas to improve Maddock Way. Ideas suggested so far have included the addition of seating & planting, the regeneration of derelict retail units, the installation of some public art pieces, hosting a weekend Farmers Market, replacement of the paving underfoot, improving the look of the entrance to the library & Brandon Youth Centre, and making the area more of a destination space.

Please take a look at some of the visualisations below, to get an idea of how the space might be transformed. In the visualisations, we have included a ‘Parklet’ concept outside the library with some planting and seating, and also visualised the empty retail unit as a cafe, with seating outside. We have also placed some murals on the library & Brandon Youth Centre spaces, to show how these could easily be smartened up. We would love to hear your comments on these ideas.

Public Art Workshops

We have submitted a ‘Getting Involved Grant’ (GiG) application to engage an ‘artist in residence’ to lead some resident workshops to develop ideas for improving the look of Maddock Way visually. We are hoping that these workshops will focus on improving to look of the Brandon Youth Centre & Library. Especially the entrance which currently looks more like a ‘youth detention centre’ than an inviting space for young people to visit. We hope that we can bring the library & Brandon Youth Centre management on-board with these ideas.

In the visuals attached, there is some themed artwork, which was a little influenced by Yinka Ilioria who is just everywhere at the moment but is immensely popular for brightening places up. I hope that these visualisations give people a sense of what could be achieved with some good design. It is also important for residents to have a stake in designing whatever themed artwork is created, and this is the reason that we are proposing to hold some ‘artist led’ workshops with local stakeholders, to develop some design ideas.

High Street Recovery Fund

We have also submitted an application to the ‘High Street Recovery Fund’ to look at obtaining funding for some of these improvements to take place, and we are waiting to hear if our application has been successful. One of the ideas that we have pitched is to develop a weekend ‘Farmers Market’ that could be held in Maddock Way. This would bring extra footfall to the existing retail businesses, deliver a wider range of retail opportunities to residents, and change Maddock Way from being a ‘pass through space’ to becoming a ‘destination space’.

Empty Retail Units

There are currently three retail units that are either closed or unused. The unit beside the pharmacy has been derelict for the previous seven years (see link here), and has fallen into serious disrepair. The dry-cleaners is currently closed six and a half days a week, and the unit beside the Canterbury Arms is currently being used as a storage unit by the Best One shop. We are hoping that our local counsellors can bring some pressure to bear on ensuring that the retail units deliver to residents needs.

Next Steps….

We are awaiting the outcome of two grant applications to deliver some funding to develop this further.

We are working with the Great Estates team to have a resident consultation on these ideas.

We are hoping that our counsellors will assist us in convening a meeting of all the stakeholders (TRA, retailers, Brandon Library & Brandon Youth Centre, local housing team, etc.) to work together to make these plans come to fruition.