Flintshire Council is set to launch a series of public consultation surveys regarding the future of several town centres.

Local people are being encouraged by the authority to help shape the future of four town centres: Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold and Queensferry.

The planned consultation activity is part of a process to develop seven ‘Place Making Plans’ for town centres in the next 18 months.

Work on Place Making Plans began in 2023 for the towns of Buckley, Holywell and Shotton in response to Flintshire Council’s Cabinet agreeing a sequence for the completion of the plans.

Place Making Plan development activity is being led by the council’s regeneration team in collaboration with a range of other council services and external partner organisations.

This is in response to the Welsh Government’s request that all local authorities across Wales establish Place Making Plans for their towns. These plans are needed to ensure Welsh Government investment can be made available to support town centre regeneration projects in the future.

Councillor David Healey, cabinet member for climate change and economy, said: “As with a lot of towns across the country, Flintshire’s high streets have changed considerably over recent years due to changes in shopping habits and the covid-19 pandemic.

“It is important that we continue with the development of Place Making Plans for towns across Flintshire as they are key to attracting future investment projects which will bring positive impacts to local people and our local economy."

Place Making Plans will set out a future vision for each town, outline priorities that can help improve the overall vibrancy and attractiveness of the place and seek to address the needs of people who live, work and visit the towns.

The development of the plans for each town creates opportunities for a range of stakeholders to work more collaboratively to deliver improvements.

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Local people who live or work in or near to Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold and Queensferry now have the opportunity to participate in an online survey about their town centres. The survey runs until April 1.

Andrew Farrow, chief officer for planning, environment and economy said: “Following more than 4,440 responses to the online and in-person public consultations for Buckley, Holywell and Shotton which were undertaken in 2023, work is ongoing to develop these three Place Making Plans.

“Once each of the plans are developed, they will be shared with the public for further consultation before being considered for adoption by the Council and its external partners involved in Place Making work. Given the progress made on the initial 3 Place Making Plans to date, consultation will now begin with the communities of Connah’s Quay, Flint, Mold and Queensferry.”

Following the upcoming online consultations, a series of face-to-face drop-in sessions will be held in each town.

More information on dates and locations of these events will be released shortly.