Proposals to narrow Halstead’s High Street to make it easier to cross will mean up to 10 car parking spaces could be lost.

Braintree Council has drawn up initial plans to regenerate the town centre by allowing more ways to get from one side of the High Street to the other and creating a new focal point near jubilee fountain, which could include the relocation of the market.

Alison Jennings, regeneration manager at Braintree Council, explained to Halstead Town Council this month that there was a need to improve “pedestrian movement around the town” and “public spaces”.

The proposals include two uncontrolled pedestrian crossings on the High Street, between Chapel Street and The Centre and near the mini roundabout with Hedingham Road.

A Braintree Council report stated: “Depending on their location, each of these pedestrian crossings is likely to result in the removal of around four to five on-street parking spaces along the High Street."

See this week's Halstead Gazette for the full story.