Works to improve shop fronts and enhance Temple Street in Keynsham are under way as part of a regeneration scheme for the town centre.
The £65,000 Keynsham Shopfront Improvement Programme will see Temple Street Canteen – soon to be re-branded to Savour Cafe & Kitchen – and Savour Deli, Refill and Farm shop transformed with upgraded frontages in pastel colours in keeping with the street’s Victorian character.
The upper floors of the shops and those of the three adjacent shops will also be improved as part of the project.
Working with Keynsham Town Council and Keynsham Leisure Centre, Bath & North East Somerset Council also hopes to bring splashes of colour and fun to the opposite side of the street between February and March 2023 with three art installations that will reflect and celebrate the history of Keynsham.
One of these installations will be a light installation in the covered walkway from Temple Street to Riverside Square in the form of projected drawings co-created by children from local schools and artist David Mackie, depicting different periods in Keynsham’s history.
Residents will be invited to help shape the designs of the other potential installations through events taking place in the February, details of which will soon be announced.
Two flash artist residencies will be starting at the end of January with the successful artists and information about their public exhibition and workshops to be announced soon.
The improvements are part of the Keynsham High Street Heritage Action Zone (HS HAZ) and Keynsham’s Local Cultural Programme which provides cultural activities to engage people with their local high streets. Keynsham HS HAZ is a heritage-led renewal programme funded by Historic England that aims to continue to make the High Street a vibrant place to be.
The Temple Street Improvement Project to widen pavements, install planters and parklets and enhance views of the street in both directions was completed in spring 2023 ahead of the shopfront improvements.
The shopfront works have been awarded £65,000 from the HS HAZ and are being led by the landlord of 20 – 30 Temple Street and business owner of Temple Street Canteen and Savour, in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Councillor Paul Roper, cabinet member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development, said: “These high-quality shopfront improvements will continue to make Temple Street more welcoming for residents and visitors and contribute to a stronger sense of identity in this historic Keynsham street. The exciting art installations will widen the reach of the High Street Heritage Action Zone and Local Cultural Programme, bringing colour and vibrancy to the area near the leisure centre. I’m especially pleased that the light projections were based on drawings by members of our community and that residents will have a chance to influence the final designs of the street art. I hope lots of people will get involved.”
Rebecca Barrett, Regional Director at Historic England South West said: “The improvements to Temple Street’s shopfronts and the new art installations will celebrate the old and the new, revealing Keynsham’s historic character and showcasing the creativity of the people who live and work here now. We’re excited to see the results.”
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Image: Design for the row of shopfronts
Notes to editors
About High Streets Heritage Action Zones
The High Streets Heritage Action Zones is a £95 million government-funded programme led by Historic England, designed to secure lasting improvements and help breathe new life into our historic high streets for the communities and businesses that use them. Historic England is working with local people and partners to unlock the rich heritage on these high streets, through repair and improvement works as well as arts and cultural programmes, making them more attractive to residents, businesses, tourists and investors. https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/heritage-action-zones/regenerating-historic-high-streets/
More information about the consultation process (including further research, additional residents and business consultation) and design changes as a result can be found at hikeynsham.co.uk/event/temple-street-public-realm-improvement-project/ Information can also be access via Keynsham Library or Keynsham Town Council.
Keynsham HS HAZ Further Information
Keynsham is one of more than 60 high streets across the country that were successful in receiving funding from Historic England. It was awarded £1.1million as part of Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone (HS HAZ) Programme with additional match funding from Keynsham Town Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES). This four-year programme (completion date March 2024) has been match funded by Keynsham Town Council (£40,000) and Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) who have contributed £100,000 from the Community Levy Infrastructure.
HS HAZ is a partnership programme between B&NES, Keynsham Town Council and Historic England. HS HAZ is a heritage led renewal programme, making Keynsham High Street a place where people want to live, work and play. It will enable us to harness Keynsham’s historic environment to generate economic growth and improve quality of life in the town centre.
This will be achieved through four key programme strands: public realm improvements, shop front improvements, community engagement and cultural programmes.
Keynsham Local Cultural Programme Further Information
The £7.4 million High Streets Cultural Programme is part of the £95 million High Streets Heritage Action Zones initiative, which is currently working over 60 English high streets. It is funded with £40 million from the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport’s Heritage High Street Fund, £52 million from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Future High Streets Fund, and a further £3 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Cultural activity funded by the local grants scheme will take place over the next three years, in tandem with the national commissions organised by Historic England. For the national commissions, artists will work with communities and co-produce artworks inspired by England’s changing high streets. Together, the local grants scheme and the national commissions make up the Cultural Programme.
