Town Brand Heralds New Era
Original text supplied by E Collins
Haverhill, one of the Eastern region’s largest industrial towns, has revamped its image with a new brand identity and logo.
Pitched as one of the highlights of the popular Haverhill Festival, the new Haverhill brand identity and logo were unveiled at the town’s Arts Centre on Thursday 29th June. The event attracted a large audience, including Jeremy Pembroke new leader of Suffolk County Council.
Commissioned by St Edmundsbury Borough Council and developed
by talented local company, The
Design Office, the brand concept is the result of several months’
extensive research and consultation with business and community groups.
The triangular shape of the brand logo signifies the town’s unique
position on the borders of three counties - Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and
Essex – and its proximity to Stansted Airport and the M11.
Through direct reference, it also exploits the perceived power of the
CB9 postcode. In appearance the logo is lively, modern and friendly and
has been variously described as ‘zappy’ and irresistible.
The audience at the recent unveiling was shown a video sequence which
traces the evolution of the brand concept, exploring its power, potential
and proposed use in a series of striking and expressive images of the
town and its people.
The video short that accompanied Haverhill’s new brand
offered a dynamic glimpse of all that is really special about Haverhill.
Visual elements combined to foster the impression that the town is enjoys
a true sense of community, a first class business culture, vibrant arts
and leisure programmes, good educational facilities and faces a bright
future.
Warmth, resilience, resourcefulness and vigour emerged as key qualities
and values. The message was clear and uncompromising.
The role of the brand is to engender pride, galvanise aspirations and
build consistent recognition for Haverhill. Its purpose is to promote
the town, demonstrating its strengths and vitality as a place to live,
study, work, relax and invest in.
Strong hopes were expressed that businesses, organisations and local authorities
will align with the brand by using the marque with their own logos when
they promote themselves to their individual target markets.
The brand identity has been designed for free use. To establish itself
convincingly it must be used widely as well as consistently. The success
of this venture will depend on winning hearts and minds. It is not a campaign
that can afford to rely on 'buzz', chance or mere competence: it must
be inspirational.
The creation of the brand should mark the beginning of an exciting new
era for Haverhill.
History of Haverhill Town Council
Haverhill Town Council exists to help improve the quality of life for the people of Haverhill. That was the whole reason for the Council’s formation in 1989. Initially, it was a campaigning organisation, but since then has taken on wider responsibilities, especially for arts and leisure provision, and in supporting community organisations. Now based at Haverhill Arts Centre, the home of the town’s cinema and theatre, the Town Council’s work is handled by four main Committees:
HAVERHILL PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
The people of Haverhill have
recently been given the chance to
view designs of the £400,000 plan
to transform the town's Jubilee Walk
area. The proposed designs are part
of the first phase of St Edmundsbury
Council’s £10m Haverhill Masterpan.
The new-look will incorporate the
re-paving of Jubilee Walk, new bus
shelters and street lighting, the
removal of two small trees in Jubilee
Walk to provide more space for the
horse chestnut trees and more
green space and the relocation of
recycling facilities.The plans were
outlined by St Edmundsbury Council's planning policy and specialist services
manager, Ian Poole, urban designer Ramon Keeling and Cllr Jeremy Farthing,
lead member for the environment.
Cllr Farthing highlighted the changing face of Haverhill,
which could include a new supermarket and the possibility of the Gurteen's
factory moving to the edge of town and its current building becoming the
new focus of the town centre.Cllr Farthing added: "This is clearly
just the thin edge of the wedge."This is consultation on phase one
but because this is one of the major gateways into Haverhill it's very
important we get it right. "In order to get it right we need the
help of the public."Public consultation lasted until June 9 and 5,000
leaflets have been distributed around Haverhill explaining the scheme.Illustrations
and drawings of the scheme have been on exhibit at the St Edmundsbury
Council offices in Lower Downs Slade and in Haverhill Arts Centre.PUBLIC
CONSULTATION:
The council has been particularly keen to hear the public's views on four
specific points before any work, due to commence in early autumn, could
begin:1 Whether new seating should be provided in Jubilee Walk.2 What
the bus shelters should look like.
3 Whether a new footpath should be built from the bus
station to the High Street.
4 Whether public art should be included, and if so what it
should be.More information can be found at the web site: www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk.The
new plans come hot on the heels of the appointment of Nick Martin, as
reported in the Haverhill Echo, to the position of Haverhill town centre
manager.The Haverhill Masterplan suggested there was an opportunity to
create an attractive public space in Jubilee Walk. The period of consultation
lasted until May 25th 2006 and a large number of comments were received.
Further discussion is now under way before a final decision is taken.
If you require any more information then please consult the Council offices
at Lower Downs Slade.
St Edmundsbury’s Cabinet turned the spotlight on Haverhill recently when they toured the town to take a closer look at key sites which will play a vital role in the Haverhill’s Masterplan.
Council Leader John Griffiths and Portfolio Holders took a trip around the town centre before holding a Cabinet meeting at Samuel Ward Arts and Technology College. Included in the tour was the Gurteens site in the heart of Haverhill, due to be redeveloped as part of the town centre regeneration plans, and the land which is currently being turned into the 110-space Cleales car park. The group also visited Jubilee Walk – an important gateway into the town which will undergo a facelift after an extensive public consultation, launched earlier this week, is complete. The tour comes after the borough council announced £10 million will be pumped into the town centre over the next ten years to bring the ‘Masterplan’ – designed to regenerate Haverhill while encouraging new investment – to life. It also follows the news that Nick Martin, who spent his early career attracting fresh industry to Haverhill, is to return to spearhead a new town centre management scheme. Cllr John Griffiths, Council Leader, said: “Touring Haverhill provided Cabinet members with the perfect chance to gain an even better understanding of the town as well as the opportunities and challenges which lie ahead. Haverhill has a bright future and there is much enthusiasm and support within the community for the Masterplan, the implementation of which will be both exciting and a resounding success for a great town.”
Planning
The Town Council is invited to comment on all planning applications, as well as on draft regional and local planning design frameworks.
Community First
The Town Council provides over £20,000 annually in Grant Aid to local organisations. This Committee also oversees the town centre planters, as well as issues such as litter prevention, traffic speeds, and dealing with other nuisances.
Arts and Leisure
The Town Council manages Haverhill Arts Centre, as well as providing a range of outdoor activities including the Haverhill Festival in June, the Big Bash in July, summer outdoor theatre, Summer Saturday Nights in August, the Halloween trail and late night Christmas Shopping and fireworks.
Finance
The Town Council reviews its spending regularly to ensure that residents obtain value for money from their Council Tax.
All Town Council meetings are open to the public. They are held on Tuesday evenings, normally at 7.00 pm, and are advertised in advance on the High Street noticeboard.
To contact your local Councillor, call or visit Haverhill
Arts Centre during opening hours (10.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday tel:
01440 712858), or look your Councillor’s name up on the website.
www.haverhill-uk.com/towncouncil
A blueprint for "radical" town hall reform
including more elected mayors and a big cut in Whitehall-set targets is
due to be unveiled by the Government.
The long-delayed White Paper, being published by Communities and Local
Government Secretary Ruth Kelly, is designed to shift power closer to
local residents.
Increased powers for mayor-style council leaders and a right for communities
to call police, health and education chiefs to account will feature prominently.
Other measures will include the replacement of much centrally imposed
red tape and inspections with a right for local people to challenge decisions.
Ministers have also faced pressure to restore business rates to local
control to give town halls greater control over their own finances.
A comprehensive review of local government finance being led by Sir Michael
Lyons is not due to report to ministers until the end of the year.
Local Government Association (LGA) chair Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said an
"audacious and deep-seated reform" was required to
end a "crisis of trust" in local politics.
A recent opinion poll commissioned by the Government showed just one in
five people was satisfied with the influence they had over local decisions.
Sir Jeremy Beecham, who leads the Labour Group on the LGA, said: "This
White Paper proposes a welcome change in the relationship between central
and local government. Councils have had to spend too much of their time
reporting to government rather than to their communities. These new freedoms
give council leaders and councillors more space to focus on what their
citizens really want."
Under the proposals to give local residents more input, police chiefs,
NHS bosses and representatives of bodies such as Jobcentre Plus, Regional
Development Agencies and the Highways Agency could all be forced to account
publicly for their actions. Commons-style committees of local councillors
would conduct inquiries - triggered by public demands - and then publish
recommendations.
A long-awaited car park ideally positioned to ease parking problems in the heart of Haverhill town centre was officially opened recently when a classic car became the first vehicle to use the 110-space facility.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council Leader John Griffiths drove
a vintage Humber into the Town Hall Car Park at the Cleales site and become
the first person to park at the new development. The official opening
ceremony will took place at 11.30am on Monday 25th September.
The facility is now open to the public after a four month construction
period which saw a total of 1535 tonnes of recycled materials used. This
included 1250 tonnes of recycled concrete used as aggregate on the site,
230 tonnes of crushed glass used for pipe bedding and 55 tonnes of recycled
brown bin waste used for landscaping.
The new car park will act as an extension to the existing Town Hall car
park.
The development is one of the first key stages of the Haverhill
masterplan, which has been designed to transform the town centre over
the next decade. St Edmundsbury has pledged £10million towards the
project and that money will be used to attract extra funding from outside
bodies. Construction of the car park cost £460,000.
Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said: “The
completion of the new Town Hall car park is one of the first visible steps
in the realisation of the Haverhill Masterplan. It is ideally located
to give shoppers easy and convenient access to the town centre and has
been finished in good time for the Christmas rush.”