Look and Feel

Investment in the Market

This was another very popular nomination by local businesses.   There is a strong move to re-establish Hitchin as a significant market town again. Our aim is to raise the appearance, variety and appeal of the existing market, turning it into a substantial footfall generator. We will spend £25K immediately, with a further £20K in the second year.

Year-round Lighting Strategy

Christmas lighting has been provided by the HTCI for several years now and brings distinct advantages during the festive season. We want to generate a similar atmosphere all the year round by installing a themed lighting scheme to add life and colour during drab days and an extra sparkle for summer evenings, which will bolster our growing al fresco evening economy.

We anticipate spending between £25-30K initially with increases each year thereafter, by not having to pay for annual installation, dismantling and storage costs.

More Public Art

We suspect that with a bit of encouragement we should be able to find the cash to pay for more public art and planting. One possibility is to position interesting features or artwork on roundabouts leading into town and in the market area when the demountable stalls are not in use. We aim to install at least one new piece every year, using local talent wherever possible and by applying for grants from third party organisations. £5K has been identified in the budget to pay for annual maintenance.

The total spend on Look and Feel for the full five years of the BID will be a minimum of £195,000