Vision
SITI's vision is: -

"A town centre with enduring appeal as a shopping, tourist, cultural and commercial destination."

A town centre also has to be valued by the town's residents. It must provide a focal point for the community and be the physical expression of people's sense of belonging.

SITI's vision is: -

"A town centre which expresses civic pride and promotes active citizenship"

Neither SITI nor any other single group or agency has the capacity to deliver the two strands of SITI's vision so far stated. It will require a partnership approach involving consensus building, collaboration and pooling of resources. The final strand of SITI's vision, therefore, is

"A town centre managed by a partnership sharing the common goal of making St Ives a better place to live, work and visit"

Outcomes
SITI has identified three key outcomes which it believes must be achieved if its vision for the town centre is to be realised.
In summary these are: -

The delivery of these outcomes is not wholly within the control of the Initiative but a detailed Action Plan has been prepared for the five years 2007 to 2011. Speed of progress will also be dictated by the resources available to SITI during the plan period.
The outcomes themselves are explored briefly below: -

Town Centre Environment
The town centre boasts many fine buildings which mainly are in private ownership and generally well cared for. The challenge is to ensure that the pavements, roads and other public areas complement these buildings whilst meeting the needs of people using the town centre. A conflict sometimes exists between the convenience of unrestrained vehicular access to the town centre and making adequate provision for pedestrians, particularly those with limited mobility.

SITI will work with Cambridgeshire County Council (the highway authority), Huntingdonshire District Council (the principal provider of funding for environmental improvements) and other agencies and interest groups to secure improvements both to the quality of the physical infrastructure and its standards of maintenance.

Retail Sector
SITI is already active in a number of areas including the Pride retail skills training scheme (receiving second place in March 2007 from Association of Town Centre Management), the Ambassador course to promote retailers' awareness of local attractions and research to support retail business development. In addition to this direct input SITI promotes a number of events to increase footfall in the town centre including the Dickensian Christmas Market and the spring Nomandy Market.

Maintaining networks between existing businesses helps to promote joint initiatives, for example HBAC (Huntingdonshire Business Against Crime) and generates capacity to support and encourage new entrants into the town centre's business community.

Leisure Opportunities
SITI was the prime mover in re-introducing the Riverside Regatta to St Ives (in conjunction with the St Ives Rowing Club). This is now part of an annual Summer Riverside Festival, including dragon-boat racing, music and family entertainment. While SITI will maintain its association with this event it is now largely self-sustaining. In July 2007 a new weekly Arts and Lifestyle Sunday Market will be launched, bringing visitors to the town and opportunities for some retail outlets.

Other ways to extend the cultural diversity of leisure opportunities in the town will be identified and we will continue to seek the views of all parties.

If you are interested in helping the Initiative or becoming a Member, please contact our Town Centre Manager, Alistair Theobald, by clicking here.