Ghost walks and a new leisure centre have been suggested as ideas to revitalise a town centre – but the retail consultant behind the ideas insists there is no 'silver bullet'.

Like many town centres, Oakham's shopping hub has suffered since the pandemic and a report by Placemake, commissioned by Rutland County Council to explore how to give the town a boost, has now been made public.

The 18 page town centre action plan has set out a series of five objectives to attract more visitors to the town.

They are:

• establishing a clear identity
• enhancing the visitor experience
• reinforcing the town's gateways
• encouraging access to public transport and
• growing the night time economy and visitor offer.

The plan sets out a list of short term and long term possibilities, while accepting there is no 'silver bullet'.

The condition of Oakham's high street has been criticised (Image - LDRS)

It states that Oakham is the 'bustling heart of the county' and is well connected and added: "There are also challenges for growth and activity in a compact, historical settings and unless checked, these threaten to hold-back the immense scale of opportunity that exists in the town centre."

It added: "It is the aim of this action plan to build a toolkit that can be used to minimise and if possible, reverse the impact of negative trends overtime.

"Given the complex and multifaceted nature of town centres, there is no silver bullet for place shaping that will have an immediate and everlasting effect.

"However, through this action plan approach and the support of all public, private and community stakeholders, it will be possible to gradually improve conditions in a sustainable way."

Suggestions made include the trial of pedestrian-only access to Market Place on Sundays to understand the impact on footfall and sales and trying ghost and literary walks on summer evenings, starting and finishing the Butter Cross.

Traders say Oakham's high street is a great shopping experience (Image - LDRS)

It suggests establishing a town centre steering group made-up of individuals from public and private organisations with a focus on stimulating the retail, hospitality and commercial offers and says a long term plan could be to identify potential operators and sites for a subsidised health and fitness club at the edge of the town centre. 

It also suggests a public realm audit of street furniture, removing all redundant signs and creating new signage with the same colour scheme and motif.

Another idea put forward is the production and sale of products celebrating figures of national interest such as Oakham castle, Sir Jeffery Hudson (who was in the court of King Charles I and considered to by the inspiration for the Tom Thumb stories), the Hornby signal box (modelled on the Oakham version) historical figures Samuel and Titus Oates and the Ichthyosaurus, a prehistoric fossil discovered at Rutland water during the pandemic.

Oakham town council has been given £40,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to progress some of the projects and the cash must be spent by March next year.