‘A good starter but needs to be maintained’: Stalwart town centre business reacts to ice rink breaking even

2025’s town centre Christmas events, including the ice rink, brought in more than 55,000 visitors – and with revenue from tickets and bar sales at the ice rink reaching £122,000, WNC says it broke even without placing additional pressure on core council services.

The festivities helped boost footfall in the town centre, with WNC stating the Grosvenor Centre was 19.3 percent busier compared to the previous year.

The ice rink was open from December 4 to January 4 and visitors travelled from as far as London, Birmingham, Devon, Kent, Coventry and Glasgow to utilise the offering.

The festive programme was delivered by WNC with support from Northampton Town Centre BID and others. Sponsors of the ice rink and wider activities included Northampton Town Council, London Northwestern Railway and the South Midlands Local Skills Improvement Plan.

‘It’s no good having great activities if people don’t want to pay for parking’

Julie Teckman, the founder and owner of Vintage Guru on St Giles’ Street which first opened in August 2018, was approached by the Chronicle & Echo to share her thoughts on the town centre’s latest festive programme.

“There was clearly effort put into the Christmas and December activities,” she said. “It was a big investment and it did bring more people into the town. We had a good December but we don’t know whether that was as a result of the rink.

“There were more people talking about it. It was an ambitious thing to do and that’s what the town needs – ambitious plans to bring people in.”

Julie commended the “positive atmosphere” in the town centre throughout the month of December but said: “The elephant in the room is always parking. People use the two hours of free parking and leave straight after, it’s disappointing.”

The business owner says December 2025 matched December 2024, which was their best festive month to date. Julie admits she was hopeful about December 2025 being as much of a success as the previous year, but believes it is hard to tell whether the festive programme contributed.

“Our customers are very loyal and do their Christmas shopping with us,” said Julie. “We attract families at the weekend and some were using the ice rink. I don’t know if we would’ve had worse trade without it as we’re off the beaten track.”

Julie encourages WNC to continue offering experiences that “excite and invigorate” the community, but believes it has to be a continuous cycle all year round to be truly effective.

“Immediately after the ice rink, there was the news of the proposals to increase parking charges,” said Julie. “People will get fed up and not come into Northampton.

“The town’s got to do things that can’t be matched in places where they don’t charge for parking. The ice rink was a good starter but it needs to be maintained.”

Julie was asked whether she would like the ice rink to return in December 2026, and what she would like to see from WNC’s festive programme this year.

She said: “There’s a lot of talk about markets, and foodie events do bring people into the town. It doesn’t just have to be at Christmas, and activities and events do depend on the cost of parking – which is going to impact it unfortunately.

“It’s no good having great activities if people don’t want to pay for parking. The council needs to invest in retail in the town. Events are great but at the end of the day, it’s about having something people regularly come in for.”