CIVIC Pride is back on track and the wheels are already in motion for a multi-million pound dream to rejuvenate Cheltenham.

That is the message from the team behind the long-awaited revamp as it launches its refreshed master plan for the heart of the town.

The dramatic proposals to link Cheltenham's four "gateways" along the town's central axis are revealed for the first time in the Echo today, after councillors approved the initial stage of the plan earlier this week.

Click here to view a pdf of the plans.

Councillor John Morris, cabinet member for built environment, said: "The economic situation has changed over the last few years and we needed to make sure that we changed too.

"That is what we have now done. It will still be a long and protracted process – this is not the sort of thing you start on a Monday and finish on a Friday – but there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes over the last 18 months to get us to this stage."

Although it was launched more than a decade ago, Civic Pride failed to get off the ground throughout the 2000s as funding difficulties and political power-shifts at the borough and county councils frequently slowed progress.

In December last year, borough council bosses created a new task force of business leaders from across the town to reinvigorate the plan. Led by Civic Pride managing director Jeremy Williamson, the Cheltenham Development Task Force has now produced its blueprint for the town's future.

It includes renovating the lower High Street by creating a direct route to The Brewery complex and reviving plans to build 200 student flats on the former APD warehouse.

Long-standing ideas such as closing Boots' corner to cars and developing the derelict Haines & Strange Vauxhall garage in Albion Street are also still on the agenda.

On Tuesday, cabinet members approved plans to build a new bus terminal in North Place car park and remove rigid restrictions on what can be built there.

The task force hopes the move will encourage developers driven underground by the recession to come up with their own ideas for the site and submit a concrete planning application by September next year.

Graham Garbutt, task force chairman, said: "Since we began work in January, the task force has made some real progress.

"We have a clear idea of the main challenges and areas of unmet potential, and our plans are taking shape.

"We want to make the most of Cheltenham's history, character and culture, and bring new investment that will reinforce these for the future."

Regenerating Cheltenham along its central axis is at the heart of the new Civic Pride plans.

The blueprint envisages the town as a series of linked sites hanging on the core frame of the east-to-west medieval High Street and north-to-south Regency Promenade.

At either end of both thoroughfares are Cheltenham’s “gateways” – the main entrances to the town centre which the Cheltenham Development Task Force wants to improve.

Chairman Graham Garbutt said: “The task force has brought new energy and ideas based on real local knowledge and broad business and professional experience.

“There are real challenges – the wider economy and property market, pressures on public spending and some fairly widespread scepticism.

“We now need to balance a sense of urgency with a commitment to engage and consult those affected by any changes.”

The task force, comprising business leaders from across the town, was set up last year to reinvigorate the Civic Pride project.

It has widened the Civic Pride remit to include the southern edge of Pittville Park in the north to Montpellier and the Suffolks in the south.

The task force has also identified six key sites in the town which it wants to open up to fresh ideas from both developers and ordinary Cheltonians.

The list includes Boots’ corner, connections to The Brewery, Royal Well and North Place car park.

Jeremy Williamson, Civic Pride managing director, said: “The approach being adopted is based upon a standard commercial model.

“For any site, we are aiming to identify all of the risks such as contamination or likelihood of flooding, deal with those risks and then take the site to market.

“While all this work is being prepared, we will also be undertaking informal discussions within the market to build up some interest in the sites.”

As part of the plans to help decide what can be built on the sites, Gloucestershire County Council is carrying out an exhaustive traffic modelling trial.

The system will be able to predict where bottlenecks would build-up on the town’s roads under different circumstances. When the first results are revealed in November, they will be fed into the task force’s brief for developers.

As well as council chiefs and business brains, the task force also includes representatives from voluntary groups in Cheltenham.

Bernice Thomson, from Cheltenham West End Partnership, will be responsible for ensuring the voices of ordinary people are included in the Civic Pride masterplan.

“I am extremely pleased to be representing the voluntary sector on the board,” she said.

“It will enable us to use our extensive network of organisations as a support for the task force to communicate and consult across as wide a range of Cheltenham’s communities as possible.”

Below is a timeline for the first major scheme in North Place and Portland Street. Plans for the other sites will depend on Gloucestershire County Council’s traffic modelling results and interest from developers.

July 2010: Cheltenham Borough Council cabinet members approve plans to open up the brief for North Place and Portland Street car parks to encourage more interest from developers.

August to October 2010: Public consultation will be held for North Place and Portland Street scheme.

October 2010: Council officers will analyse the results of public consultation.

November 2010: Results of public consultation will go before cabinet members. Gloucestershire County Council reveals initial traffic modelling results.

December 2010: North Place and Portland Street plans will go before council.

January 2011: The council will start marketing North Place and Portland Street to developers.

April to May 2011: The task force will analyse the initial responses from developers and suggest improvements.

June 2011: Cabinet members and officers will select a short-list of preferred developers for North Place and Portland Street.

By January 2012: The preferred developer will be chosen by full council, followed by a planning application for North Place and Portland Street.

The Echo and Cheltenham Development Task Force are asking members of the public to fill in any gaps they can spot in the refreshed Civic Pride master plan.

As part of the aim to make the scheme as transparent as possible, the task force wants people to say what they would like to see at each of the key sites.

Councillor John Morris, cabinet member for built environment, said: “This is an opportunity for people to fly kites and come up with ideas.

“Remind us about the things we might have missed.

“Tell us how we can raise the standards of the lower High Street? How do we deal with Boots’ corner? What do people want to see there?

“It is about your views. We want people to look at it when it is done and say ‘we thought that up’.”

To get involved, email civicpride@glosmedia.co.uk with your ideas.

Alongside feedback for the task force, the council will conduct a standard public consultation on the revised brief for North Place and Portland Street car parks.

Officers will hand out survey forms to residents and create a section on the council’s website for people to post their comments.

Letters will also be sent to nearby homes and copies of the plans will be on display in public buildings.