Public realm improvements to Yarm High Street set to begin this month

Work on a series of improvements to Yarm High Street, including impressive new public spaces, paving and planted seating areas, is set to begin this month.

The work will take place across six areas of the High Street, creating attractive new public realm for people to sit and enjoy their surroundings.

It will improve the look and feel of the High Street by creating separate pedestrian areas from large sections of car parking through seating, greenery and planting. This will also improve accessibility to public transport on the High Street.

New cycle parking will be created and interactive 'play on the way' items will also feature for children, providing a new offer for families to experience on the High Street.

The six improvement areas are:

• Northern Gateway (Yarm bridge end)
• Northern and southern bus stops (outside Bang & Olufsen and Ketton Ox)
• Silver Street crossing
• Yarm Town Hall crossing point
• Central Area
• Southern Gateway (Yarm School end)

The improvements will also include references to points of historical interest to enhance visitor experience. This will combine with recent restoration works to Yarm Town Hall, which have transformed the Grade II listed building into a heritage centre.

As part of this scheme, footpath improvements along the River Tees were completed in September and upgrades to Snaith's Field playground are nearing completion.

The High Street scheme will be delivered in phases and will take approximately nine months to complete. The first phase will deliver improvements to the northern gateway, northern and southern bus stops and will begin on Monday 20 October for approximately six weeks.

The Council will be engaging with residents and businesses to explain how the project will be phased during construction and how it will impact them. A series of public engagement sessions for residents and businesses will take place in Yarm Library every Thursday between 10am and 2pm.

Further targeted engagement will take place ahead of each phase of work beginning.

The work will avoid key public dates, such as the Christmas period and the Remembrance Day service. Access to businesses and properties will be maintained at all times.

Councillor Richard Eglington, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, said: "Yarm is a popular town and these improvements will help to enhance the attractiveness and accessibility of the High Street and create a pleasant environment for people to sit, enjoy and spend more time in the area.

"I want to assure residents and businesses that we will be reaching out to them to explain how each phase of work will progress. We want to keep them informed every step of the way."

The scheme reflects the findings of two public consultations in 2022, which showed a desire to improve footpaths, reduce street clutter, provide more planting and seating spaces and improve connections to the river.

The design and location of the new public spaces have been refined to reflect the concerns and support raised in respect of loss of parking across the High Street, with nine car parking spaces being removed to accommodate the new public spaces.

The improvements include a more subtle and refined finish to the planter material, in keeping with the character of the High Street, following feedback on the appearance of the proposed planters.

The programme of work is being funded as part of the £20million of funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government secured for Yarm and Eaglescliffe by the Council (previously known as the Levelling Up Fund).

View a full list of the High Street improvements and expected start dates.