CHANGE was in the air last week as scores of townspeople gathered to discuss the economic future and cultural legacy of Thornbury.

Residents packed out the Cossham Hall on Thursday, May 10 to share their vision for Thornbury with town leaders and suggest ways to boost vitality and improve local infrastructures, with a view to drawing up a community plan, a blueprint for the town’s development.

At the public consultation, they were divided into groups and asked to highlight the main sectors which they wanted to see improve or change.

Concerns about cuts to young people's services in the town, with South Gloucestershire Council’s proposing to stop funding the youth and Sure Start Centre, as well as the increasingly ageing population, the limited range of activities and shops were at the forefront of the debate.

Youth worker Dan Potter spoke of the need to come up with an alternative should the youth centre close.

He said: "If there is no Turnburrie’s then what’s out there for young people? I am passionate about provision for young people."

Some suggested the possibility of creating a drop-in centre for teenagers and disaffected youths.

The necessity to breathe new life into the town and attract young families to Thornbury took centre stage at the consultation. Many present blamed the lack of starter homes and affordable housing for the town’s current predicament.

The need for a big cultural hub also was heavily discussed as was Arts and Community in Thornbury’s project for a multi-million pound complex.

Speaking on behalf of his group, Nalin Parmar said at the meeting that an arts centre would increase the footfall in the town.

"We live in a beautiful town but what Thornbury is beginning to lack is vibrancy," he said. "We need a venue, a new performing arts centre. It would attract people to Thornbury."

Cllr Maggie Tyrrell said the council wanted Thornbury to drive and help compile a community plan, which would build on and be an extension of the existing 10-year Town Centre Strategy.

"We really want to get as many people involved in this as possible," she said.

"We want to get a consensus in the town to make sure that these ideas have support and that the plan represents a majority view.

"It’s going to be a huge amount of work but here are a lot of things we can achieve by setting up a plan."

To join the Community Plan working group contact the Town Hall on 01454 412103 or email info@thornburytowncouncil.gov.uk For more details visit www.thornburytowncouncil.gov.uk