Description: Halesworth is a small market town in Suffolk.

Issue: Important buildings and public spaces were in need of revitalisation, there was vacant floorspace and visitor numbers were low. Perceptions of the town needed to be lifted.

Strategy: The HERS has been running since 1999 and has been delivered in a context of significant European funding (Objective 5b and 2), through the Halesworth Town Trail Project and ‘Halesworth Connections’, both of which are regeneration schemes aiming to make Halesworth more sustainable as a visitor destination. The HERS has targeted resources primarily on secondary shopping streets on the fringes of the town centre, for example Market Place and Bridge Street, which were successfully pedestrianised in 1991. The HERS was funded by £130,000 of English Heritage grant money, which levered additional public sector funding of £124,600 and a further £200,000 of private sector funds.

Outcome: Since its inception the scheme has had a number of significant successes such as, renovation of New Cut Maltings, a new shopfront for the fishmonger’s at 5 Bridge Street and reuse of buildings for office space and associated landscaping. The investments have improved 35 buildings and 769 square meters of commercial floorspace. As a consequence, 42 new jobs have been created and 107 jobs have been safeguarded. In 2001, a bid was submitted for European funding to extend the regeneration benefits of the previous Halesworth Town Trail Project. The support of English heritage through the HERS made a significant contribution to the success of this bid.