The Initiative, then the St Neots Town Centre Initiative founded in 1998, started with working on promoting the Town Centre. By 2001 we became aware of a large housing development, which was to become Loves Farm and which we judged would impact the Town Centre in terms of extra demand/footfall, adding to the already existing traffic congestion.
In 2001 we formed the Redevelopment Group to work with the Local Planners and the Developer, J J Gallagher. The team realised as they worked on the plans, that the environmental impact also needed to be reviewed. Over time, the Group added representatives from various other interested bodies plus specialists, such as always having an architect on the team. Under the law, then and now, any significant development has to allow and fund an archaeological investigation so we also worked with the archaeologists and eventually formed a link with the St Neots History Society. In 2003, the Group moved to its long-term base at Wyboston Lakes where we have met ever since. We greatly appreciate their wonderful support, especially when we have had our special big meetings with speakers.