New manager of Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre says ‘This is the beginning of a new era’
New Grosvenor Centre Manager Paul Haynes.
THE MAN who will lead Northampton’s main shopping centre through its biggest ever change has said the redevelopment of the mall will help improve the entire town centre.
After being on the cards for years, work to expand the Grosvenor Centre is due to start in 2014 and be completed by 2017.
The scheme will see a large extension to the centre built over the site of the current Greyfriars bus station and the centre’s new manager, Paul Haynes, has said the redevelopment will improve the entire town.
He said: “In my experience if a shopping centre is redeveloped, that can work as a catalyst for future investment both inside and outside the centre.
“So it’s a great time for me to come into this role. I’m at the beginning of a new era for the centre and hopefully for the town.
“I think Northampton has got superb potential for the future with the Grosvenor Centre being the prime retail location.
“It’s got a massive part to play in the future success of Northampton.”
Mr Haynes previously managed Bury St Edmonds shopping centre in Suffolk and saw it through a regeneration project similar to the one proposed for Northampton.
He has been brought into Northampton to manage the Grosvenor Centre following the retirement of previous centre manager, Sheridan New, after seven years.
The new centre manager, who is from Long Buckby, has shopped at the Grosvenor Centre for the past 20 years and said he believed the big name stores which are already in the centre would help attract more in the future.
He said: “House of Fraser is an anchor store for centres like this, so to have it here already is brilliant.
“Retailers like to be around quality brands like that.
“Costa and the Superdry concession in House of Fraser are also new brands in the centre and ones we are proud to have.
“We want more of the same.”
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Comments
There are 21 comments to this article
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SteveRiches
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 01:38 AMAh, bless him! We'll soon knock all that optimism out of him, though. Can't have optimistic types round here, it shows us all up.
WagTheDog
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 11:50 PMMr Haynes sounds very optimistic. So I assume he hasn't met the Borough Council yet. Good luck to him when he sees what he's up against.
ForGodsSakeStopBeingSoMiserable
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 05:14 PMDear Mr Haynes, Congratulations io the new job and everything, but judging by the jaded cynicism displayed below, you may as well not bother. It seems the good citizens of Northampton prefer to moan and snipe, so you would do best to go get a job somewhere that people might be pleased to see you.
KevSmith
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:11 PMhate to say this but wasnt beatties bought out by House of fraser............I dont know who else will put a new store in the town...perhaps yet another starbucks could rent a unit.... what the grosvenor needs is total demolition the whole lot and starting again....with an integral transport interchange built in the middle of it........to cope with public & private transport....with the foresight for a tram interface.... perhaps when they get the transportation interface correct in northampton the grosvenor will work until then.....who knows...just more roadworks...more demolition and more rice pudding politics
LAJNorthants
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:25 PMI don't tend to go into the town centre if I can help it as I really don't like it but I did venture in at the weekend and was amazed by the number of empty shops in the town but particularly in the shopping centre itself. So i may be missing something but my concern is that if they can't fill all the units now, how are they going to fill all the new units the expansion will create? I personally would prefer to walk around a smaller centre with all units filled (hopefully with a range of different shops!) than a larger centre with lots of empty units.
forgetnot
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:11 PMI think all who comment on here want the town and its people to prosper, as for those whom one commentator describes as keyboard warriors, the keyboard warriors are not fooled, its soundbite after soundbite year in year on, where is the thousands of jobs, new investment etc etc , where is the openness, transparency, accountability? The makers in this are the soundbiters, the politicians, councillors on the well paid quango,s , bureaucrats etc etc PATTCOBB2 nailed it on the button, the soundbiters are harder to nail down than a jelly.,
Majabl
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:58 PMI for one wish him the best of luck - it's in all of our interests (I think...) that he's successful! Northampton's biggest problem (aside from the negativity) is that if everybody that said 'I'd shop in Northampton if it had shops like Milton Keynes' shopped in Northampton and not MK, then Northampton probably would have a retail offering similar to MK. Except with more character.
MrsJones
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:57 PMIkea does not make a town, it does make money for Ikea though. Most people driving to Nottingham or Milton Keynes Ikeas do not them goto the shopping centres or town centres. I appreciate a small percentage do but a high percentage don't as that was not the intent for their journey, and a car half full of flat pack does sit well parked outside a shopping centre. So an Ikea planted on Grange Park would have only served to bring people off of Junction 15 into the store and to leave again, absolutely no benefit to the Town what so ever so the premise that Northampton lost out on a goldmine is a little far fetched. The Grosvenor development will service the Town and bring long needed footfall to the centre and that will hopefully bring in the pounds and pence for the many great stores (both nationals and independents) that we have. Good Luck to Mr Haynes, lets hope now we have a driver, we at least start moving forward.
PATTCOBB2
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:23 PMJACKSON makes a valid point too MK does have an Ikea a shop whoose preferred location was in Northampton, yet another opportunity wsted by my beloved home town...
PATTCOBB2
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:21 PMâIn my experience if a shopping centre is redeveloped, that can work as a catalyst for future investment both inside and outside the centre" I'm sorry Mr. haynes but I'm afraid the opposite will happen to the town centre outside the centre. Lots of shops will look admiringly at the new centre and upsticks to join in the bonanza no doubt helped along by cheaper leases in the initial years. all this will lead to is a lot of empty shops outside the centre. Take Derby for instance, a fantastic new shopping centre is built. John lewis chooses not to anchor the centre, so in panic Debenhams are included, trouble is Debenhams were already in the city centre result = a great big behemoth of an ex Debenhams store left empty... Lots of so called "learned" people like to spout these soundbites usually without any or much substantiation.
ForGodsSakeStopBeingSoMiserable
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:21 PM#8, thats probably higher than normal Steve. The guy comes to try and do a good job, to improve things for us all, the keyboard warriors shoot him down.
forgetnot
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:18 PMZaphod with all these mythical jobs, northampton will be all a buzz, didnt the then tory leader David Palethorpe not claim that SEMLEP will have 10,000 jobs by 2015, Hrolfk, can you explain the wrong mix of housing please..
Tom Paine
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:15 PMby 2017 - no one will be shopping in "shops"
Steve-FC
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:41 PM1 positive response out of 7.
.~* JEZ *~.
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 12:33 PMComment removed by moderator
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