£14 million town centre transformation celebrated for offering support to businesses of ‘all shapes and sizes’

On Wednesday (April 19), a launch event was held for a new creative hub in Northampton town centre – which has undergone a £14 million transformation.

Vulcan Works, which is now open to businesses who want to utilise the space to grow and develop, has been labelled a “springboard” for the town centre.

The Grade II listed building is in a prime location in Guildhall Road and has plenty on offer for companies of “all shapes and sizes”.

From rentable offices, co-working spaces and meeting and events rooms, to the ability to ‘hot desk’ for as little as an hour if that is all you need, there is something for all businesses and entrepreneurs looking to grow in the town.

The project was years in the making and opened its doors on February 1, but Wednesday’s launch event was a time for everyone to come together and celebrate its success.

The works were funded by West Northamptonshire Council and South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership, who facilitated a Local Growth Fund contribution of £6.3 million.

Together with a £3.06 million contribution from the European Regional Development Fund and management from Oxford Innovation Space, Vulcan Works has come to life.

Talking to this newspaper, centre manager Garrick Hurter said: “As an outsider from Rugby, I’m blown away by what Northampton has and is working on at the moment.

“It’s fantastic to see this sort of regeneration and rejuvenation, but also the help being offered to businesses of all shapes and sizes in helping them to find their roots here in the town centre.

“They can grow without the concern of what the energy bills are going to be and if they have to look after the cleaning. We take care of those headaches and you can focus on taking care of your business with our help and support.”

Garrick says they want businesses to eventually outgrow the space and move elsewhere in Northampton, as this will ensure they have done their job in helping companies grow.

“We want to get to a stage where we aren’t big enough for your business needs,” he added.

It has been estimated that Vulcan Works will support 150 start-up businesses in its first 10 years, but Garrick says he “believes it should be a lot higher with all the space they have to offer”.

The centre manager spoke through the different options available to individuals and businesses, which they can pick based on their requirements and the nature of what they do.

Garrick described the “entry level” offer – besides meeting rooms which can be used on an ad-hoc basis and hired by the hour, half day or full day – as ‘hot desking’.

Individuals can come and work in the creative hub for as little as £17 plus VAT per day, which allows you access to the space from 8.30am until 5pm with tea, coffee, an internet connection, and the space to collaborate with others.

The next level is coworking membership, which provides discounted meeting room rates and access to business support – one of Vulcan Work’s unique selling points.

Businesses can also rent a dedicated desk if they need 24/7 access to a space where their belongings are kept safe and securely, while also giving them the opportunity to work collaboratively.

The bigger option is rented office space, which companies can call their base and grow their teams from.

Whether it is a one or 30-person team, Vulcan Works caters for all group sizes – as well as giving people the opportunity to utilise meeting rooms and event spaces.

Jo Stevens, managing director at Oxford Innovation Space, addressed the attendees and explained just how much the business support element of Vulcan Works sets it apart from anywhere else.

There is the hope that the creative hub will be a space for early stage companies to test, prototype, launch and scale from the ground up.

“Today is just the start of what we hope will be an amazing future for Vulcan Works,” said Jo.

“We already have 12 businesses here and we’re hoping to have lots and lots more.

“None of this would have been possible were it not for the vision of West Northamptonshire Council, who are the owners of the building and we have worked with in delivering the project.”

Councillor Daniel Lister, cabinet member for economic development, town centre regeneration and growth, was invited to speak on behalf of WNC.

He was “delighted” to be in attendance to celebrate the launch of the building and said: “It’s really a signal from West Northamptonshire, the council and our predecessors that we really want to see businesses thrive here.”

Cllr Lister, who labelled Vulcan Works as being at the heart of the town centre, went on to say: “We have a really high business start up rate in West Northamptonshire, which is great, but we also have a high failure rate.

“Partnering with someone like Oxford Innovation is key for us to be able to say to people ‘come here, start your business, we will help you thrive, we want to help you develop and go out into new units in the town, employ more people, and bring quality jobs here’.

“That goes for all businesses.”

The council looks forward to working with the tenants in Vulcan Works to see them “grow, thrive and develop into big successful businesses in the future”.

For more information, visit Vulcan Work’s website here.