Residents, businesses and visitors are being urged to have their say over updated designs as part of an ambitious £9million revamp of Dovercourt town centre.

Tendring District Council (TDC) successfully secured £6.7million of Government funding last year for the delivery of the Dovercourt Town Centre Improvement Corridor scheme, with the rest of the money being provided by TDC and Essex County Council.

The scheme will see road and public realm improvements from Dovercourt railway station to Kingsway, a refurbishment of the town’s library to include Adult Community Learning, new housing in Victoria Street and an overhaul of the outdated Milton Road car park.

After an initial consultation earlier this year, people are now being encouraged to have their say on the TDC-led parts of the scheme, including updated designs for the sites in Milton Road and Victoria Street.

Following the demolition and clearance of two eyesore sites in Victoria Road, the aim is to transform two empty parcels of land into eight new affordable homes and some resident parking.

In Milton Road, the proposal is to replace the disused car park structure, which is at the end of its life, with about 24 parking spaces, including three accessible parking bays, cycle parking and landscaping.

Councillor Mark Stephenson, Leader of TDC, said: “The updated designs have been developed following valuable feedback to ensure the project meets the aspirations of the community – and I’m delighted to be able to share them with residents.

“The overall project will see significant investment in Dovercourt, with the plans for Milton Road helping to boost town centre trade, attract visitors and encourage them to stay longer.

“The development of former eye-sore sites in Victoria Street will help to create a much more welcoming street scene while providing much-needed affordable homes for local people, improving residents’ quality of life.

“We’re now inviting people to share their views on the updated plans before a planning application is submitted later this year.”

The online consultation will run from October 23 until November 20, and will be available on the TDC website at www.tendringdc.gov.uk/consultations. Paper copies will be available at Clacton Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1SE, weekdays between 9am and 3pm.

As part of the four-week public consultation, the project team is running a drop-in consultation event in High Street, Dovercourt, from 10am until 3pm on Saturday, October 26.

Information about the proposals will be available and people will have the opportunity to view the scheme designs, meet the project team and ask any questions. Further details about the location of the drop-in event will be available on the consultation webpage.

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