Design process

The regeneration process was started by the North Norfolk District Council with the Fakenham Regeneration Partnership, which comprised bodies concerned about the overall regeneration of the town, including county, district and parish councils, local business, community, voluntary and amenity groups.

A sub group was formed to look at possibilities for regenerating Fakenham town centre, over a 4-year period starting in 1996. The joint design team was appointed by the district and county councils, taking the views of the Partnership into account, and contractors were appointed by tender. The project brief was prepared in house by the Conservation and Design team at North Norfolk District Council, with separate briefs for the public art elements.

As Fakenham is a historic town, advice on the brief was given by English Heritage, and funding for public art elements was subsequently sought from the Lottery Fund and received via the Arts Council. This funded the appointment of artist Simon Watkinson to work with the design team. All Clear Designs were retained to cover access, safety and disability issues for the team.

Public consultation played an important role, and questionnaires, surveys, public exhibitions and meetings were all initiated by North Norfolk District Council and Fakenham Regeneration Partnership at early stages of design. This was well attended, with 25% of the population of 8,000 making their views known, and was continued by a post-occupancy evaluation which demonstrated 60% approval from initially unconvinced traders and businesses.

Several urban design assessments and design options were prepared, the main differences between the options being use of townscape features as a basis for urban design options. Changes were incorporated into the proposals to relate the design more closely to the setting and character of a historic market town, as well as for budgetary reasons and in response to views gathered during the public participation.