Richmond Council have announced they will be running a public engagement project to explore a new vision for Richmond town centre.

The project will involve pop up events, online webinars and an online survey.

Cllr Katie Mansfield, the Council's Lead Member for this project said: "Richmond town centre has long been held as an iconic destination – people from all over the world want to live here, work here and visit.

"We have a unique offering that others cannot compete with – history and heritage, stunning green, blue and built spaces, top-class retail, and hospitality, all in close proximity to central London.

"But Richmond, like many other town centres, is seeing the effects of changing public habits like online shopping, home working and evolving modes of transport, as well as changing health, social and safety needs.

"If we want to avoid Richmond losing its vibrancy, we need to adapt. We need to look to the future and make sure it's a place that people want to spend time. A place that is convenient, social, safe, inclusive, clean, healthy and fun for everyone. A vibrant place for many years to come.

"To do this, we need to understand what this means to residents, workers, shoppers and visitors, so we are running an engagement project over the next two months to hear these views.

"The Council is approaching this exercise with no preconceived ideas about what is needed. We of course have our own views on the challenges, but this project is about understanding whether these are the right ones, as well as hearing about the individual experiences, needs and challenges of everyone who spends time here, be that every day or just once."

Charlotte Baker, co-chair of Richmond Living Streets, a organisation which campaigns to make walking the natural choice for people in the borough welcomes the project.

She said: "We're very pleased that the council are going forward with the consultation about the future of Richmond town centre.

"It's the number one thing that pedestrians in the borough raise with us, is how unpleasant Richmond town centre is to walk and spend time in.

She added: "They find it a polluted environment with too much traffic and too little space for pedestrians and we really hope that any consultation focuses on how to make it a better, more sustainable and healthy town centre."

The project will be led by We Made That, a team of specialist architects, designers and urban researchers, who will evaluate how the town centre is working for all, using data, working with community organisations and speaking to local people, businesses, workers and visitors about their experiences.

After this engagement phase,  We Made That will produce a town centre study with their findings and recommendations.

The Council will then share this report with the public and use it to determine next steps for developing the vision.

Find out more and complete the survey here.