Go ahead for Northampton’s £6.5m Cube but workers will have to use nearby car parks
innovation cube railway station northampton
THE DEVELOPMENT of a landmark glass cube near Northampton town centre has been approved by officials, despite concerns about where the 325 people who will work in the building will park.
The West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) first revealed plans for the six-storey Innovation Cube to be built opposite the town’s railway station in November last year.
The building is designed as a home for small businesses, including ones created as a result of research and development at The University of Northampton.
Plans for the building were approved by the WNDC’s planning committee for Northampton last night, despite officials revealing the completed building would only have three parking spaces, which would be reserved for disabled drivers.
Explaining how the parking problem would be tackled, the WNDC’s regeneration manager, Paul Quinn, said people working at the Cube would be able to park in the nearby Chalk Lane public car park.
He said: “We know people will come to the building in their cars, but there are a number of under-used car parks that are not far from the building.”
Explaining the ethos behind the cube, he added: “It says Northampton is ready and open for business and we believe it’s an important step forward for the economic regeneration of the town.
“It’s a bold proposal when the economy is at a low ebb, but we believe the time is right for Northampton.”
The building will cost a total of £6.5 million, with funding coming from a number of sources, including the European Union.
Welcoming the plans, planning committee member Councillor Richard Church (Lib Dem, Kingsley) said: “It’s good news for Northampton that we’re going to have a building of this quality and during a time of economic difficulty it will bring jobs to the town centre, which is very good news.”
Plans for the Cube were unanimously backed by the planning committee.
The Cube will be built on the site of the former United Social Club, which was demolished by the WNDC in 2010.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 23 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
HOS
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 11:21 AMPrediction: They will end up running this as a loss just to put companies inside there so it doesnt look completely empty.
HOS
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 11:18 AMSo out of 350 people working there they will be only 3 disabled people who will be able work there. Thats very inconsiderate ! Mind you I gaurantee no disabled people will be able to use the 3 parking bays because they will always be full of delivery vans. I think the Cube will work in one sense for any new businesses? They will look at all of the towns available rental office space and accept other cheaper units which have plenty of parking space for clients, staff, visitors and customers. As for the Cube? No chance ! A landmark failure.
tony conran
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 09:46 PMepstrobes. Doooh! This is precisely the point. The councils get no better as the years go by. Your comment on previous councils is bleating. This idea is rubbish and the bleating will continue for years to come. It won't utilise and underused car park and neither will it bring in a profit. No thought, no gain.
epstrobes
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 04:24 PMSeems like a good idea to utilize an underused car park and generate more income for NBC. Much better than digging up a load of old stones and placing them on a green area where the car park once was One day Northampton will come into the 21st century instead of constantly bleating on about its past, most of which was demolished by successive councils of all political hues I think the Cube looks great and I'm sure the University will benefit and bring new blood into the town
lady muck
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 08:47 AMThis was originally announced as 'iconic'....ie...simply viewing an image of the building would immediately make the viewer identify with Northampton (similar to Tower of London being shown in foreign countries to denote that the 'action' has switched to London). This project obviously fails because by definition an 'iconic' building must be unique and not replicated by a similar building (eg Corby Cube). After long consideration, I suggest that we have a 'Northampton Sphere'.
onetotheeast
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:06 PMi know its a glass building which you can see everthing happening...but does this inc toilets? one thing i would find off putting as a business man is having my moning coffee reading the FT and looking across the office at my fellow worker dropping the kids off at the pool. this building has to have other plans in the pipeline for parking or even a transport system, with the enterprise park being built down the road and other plans on the horison...might and only might..we have a proper ring road around northampton at some stage.
Links
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 08:04 PMThis isn't anything more than idealistic band wagon jumping. Ooh, look at us, no parking spaces, public transport blah environmentally friendly blah alternate transport methods blah. It all sounds very nice and ticks the appropriate box next to each buzzword but is totally impractical.
Reginald Molehusband
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 06:56 PMBut you have to have a Cube, everyone has one. Corby has one, Daventry has one, it's the decade of the Cube. Just as in the noughties everyone had to have meaningless lumpsof metal art on every approach road and public space. Remember those lumps of concrete on the Racecourse? Or the infamour needle? It's what Development Corporations are for. We rent them nice offices from benefactory landlords, on whom we bestow the title of "chairman" of said development corporation in return for their patronage. They then pontificate on grandiose salaries and occasionally ring the "develepment council think tank" down in some leafy suburb of London. "We need to give the impression we're doing something by way of regeneration, any ideas?" "yep, we've just the thing for you, you can choose, the voter plebs will be ecstatic: we have sustainable development, integrated inter-modal transport, park and ride, environmental art, innovation Cubes (don't forget, Cubes per se does not work, you must stress "innovation"), fountains that look like broken water mains, lighting for the broken water mains, building lighting, mobility access schemes, diversity and gender enhancement, waterside improvement, riverside regeneration, guided rail transport, trams, technology parks. Oh I could go on forever, and just think of the job creation". "Great. We'll take them all. How much?". "We just charge 10%, but you can claw that back in community improvement incentives from the developers". And so it goes on....
sorry i'm from southfields!!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 06:02 PMGoing by the picture, the entrance level is at pavement bridge, level, note railway structure in corner. Therefore could there not be a substantial underground car park?. Or is this too simple a solution? Or is this on the site of some prehistoric tribal settlement, could make a new home for WNDC....
FranklyFrank
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 05:53 PMI can't for the life of me see what the problem is of a large glass in the White Elephant - Cheers!
HrolfK
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 05:06 PMNice to see the WNDC planning committee paid by the WNDC, giving planning permission to the WNDC for a building paid for by the WNDC on land owned by the WNDC. Conflict of interest? Nothing wrong with the building itself, it's standard above average fare (Carlsberg take note), and will fill a large hole that has been left in the town too long. But the highways officer pointed out while providing no parking spaces follows current guidelines, no one had shown where those using the building might be travelling from or how they would travel - that's why they still have a holding objection and why this building has NOT gained planning permission yet. The complication over the S106 agreements (there's no money available for them) will be dealt with internally too and not discussed in public - how convenient. The WNDC do not regard the planning committee as an important stage, merely something to get out of the way. The vast majority of applications passing through have an unusually long list of conditions that have to be met (and sometimes even are), conditions that would normally be subject to public consultation. In this case the travel arrangements have been of most public concern, yet won't be discussed publicly any further despite being unresolved. Also interesting to see the site was earmarked for housing, but suddenly this isn't important to the WNDC - I do hope they don't try to claim housing is desperately needed in the town in any future applications.
steve rodhouse
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 04:55 PMAs a lifelong Liberal I despaired at the damage done by Councillor Richard Church (Lib Dem, Kingsley) during both the last General and Local elections with his ego-fuelled approach to anything irrespective of the public's views. Before he gives his support to this perhaps he should ask the opinions of the people who voted him into office. Lib Dem my backside!
jimmys end
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 04:53 PMthe Chalk Lane car park is not accessible from the railway station St james road without going round in circles because of the bus lane & turning restrictions. More gridlock in already screwed roads !
pandegee
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 04:39 PMWhat happens to disabled people who have a job in one of these offices?? Guess only able-bodied people will be able to actually work in the Cube. Very good thinking - NOT!!!!
hecto
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 03:56 PMSadly these type of structures can be deadly for flying birds who get confused by the reflections. Studies have calculated around 1 billion birds a year are killed in just the United States by flying into plate glass. A glass skinned skyscraper has a mortality rate of around 200 birds a day.
Page 1 of 2
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.