YOU can learn more about plans to revive Hounslow town centre, including the creation of a huge public square hosting ice skating and beach volleyball contests, at a meeting tonight.
The proposals - dubbed 'Made in Hounslow' because they have been put together by town residents rather than consultants - are an alternative to the council's own town centre masterplan, consultation on which ends this Saturday (June 8).
The council's own blueprint for reviving the neighbourhood's flagging fortunes claims it will turn Hounslow into a cosmopolitan, 24-hour town centre by creating a series of smaller public squares, making the High Street more pedestrian-friendly and introducing a cinema and more restuarants and cafes.
But the Hounslow Town Centre Neighbourhood Forum Group, a small but vocal collection of residents, has dismissed the plans - especially proposals for a new buliding of up to 12 storeys on the ASDA car park site - as unimaginative.
Central to its rival proposals is the creation of a huge public square and two smaller ones linking ASDA with the High Street, which would host a permanent market and seasonal events like ice skating and beach volleyball tournaments.
It also wants to see the High Street opened up to traffic at night in a move it claims would showcase the town centre to drivers and make it a safer place to be in the evening.
* A public meeting about the plans will take place at Holy Trinity Church, in Hounslow High Street, tonight (Thursday, June 6) at 7pm. You can also see the group's plan here .
* You have until Saturday (June 8) to have your say about the council's masterplan for the town centre.
