Fabulous free fun day was eggs-ellent Easter event for all the family

A free family fun day has been hailed a success while providing another boost to Dovercourt town centre. Hundreds of families enjoyed the fantastic event at Orwell Place Event Space on Easter Saturday, which was presented by the High Street Partnership and organised by Tendring Council’s Tendring4Growth group.

It featured a range of top-quality family entertainment including street performers, fairground rides, live entertainment, face painting and an Easter egg hunt.

Funding came from the government’s High Street Accelerator Fund which aims to boost ten town centres around the country, including Dovercourt’s.

Ivan Henderson, veteran Harwich councillor and Tendring District Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, described the day as terrific, providing fun for families while increasing footfall in Dovercourt High Street.

He said: “It was an absolutely brilliant day. We were delighted by the number of people who turned out to enjoy this terrific event and we could see by the smiles on their faces they had a wonderful time.

“It also meant thousands of people were in the town centre which gave an extra boost to the shops.”

He added: “The High Street Accelerator Fund is all about boosting the town centre, rejuvenating what it has to offer and making it an attractive and vibrant place to visit. We certainly achieved that and were thrilled by the success of the whole event.”

The High Street Accelerator Fund has seen £737,000 allocated to boost Dovercourt town centre making it a more attractive location to visit.

So far initiatives have included revamping shopfronts, the creation of a new website as a comprehensive database of businesses and organisations and the commissioning of new banners to give Dovercourt a distinct identity.

In addition to the High Street improvements, funding will be used to strengthen transport links between the seafront, the High Street and park spaces, while green spaces will be added to the town’s retail areas and access routes into the town centre.