Borough council submits final bid for £12.2m of government funding to help kick-start town centre transformation

The borough council has submitted a final bid for more than £12m to transform the Market Square while teasing details of its "masterplan" to transform Northampton.

Earlier this year, Northampton's residents were asked what they wanted for the future of the town in a public consultation by Northampton Forward.

Now, the board - made of the borough council, Northampton BID and other groups - has submitted its final pitch for £12.2m of Government money.

In a conference today, council leader Jonathan Nunn called the Market Square the "beating heart of the town" and garnered the most attention in the public consultation.

Chief executive Royal & Derngate Jo Gordon - a member of Northampton Forward - added: "This will help create a sense of ownership about the town that will really lift that sense of pride.

"We want to create an environment that can be a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the town. It will increase independent traders, enhance the footfall and attract new demographics."

It comes as research shows year-on-year footfall in the town has dropped by 14 per cent.

In the press conference today, Northampton Forward also teased a number of large-scale developments for the town as part of its "masterplan".

For a look at each of the developments in detail, see the Chronicle & Echo's gallery of how Northampton might look under the vision for the future.They included:

- Multi-storey car park for Northampton Railway Station

A proposal is in the works to build a new 1,300 space car park for Northampton Railway Station, which NBC would lease and operate.

Councillor Tim Hadland said: "This development has been a long-time coming as it is difficult to negotiate with national organisations. Our major consideration is to bring this about with as little disruption as possible and will be developed alongside the existing parking rather than disrupting it.

"It should be coming out of the ground in the not-too-distant future."

- "Four Waterside" - made up of a 125-bed hotel and 60,000 square foot of Grade-A office space along St Peter's Way near to the railway station

Interim head of paid service George Candler said: "We have tested the appetite in the market in our leisure study and we know there's demand for this in a town centre location.

"We are developing a business case that we are taking to the Enterprise Zone board this summer."

- Residential developments - Belgrave House, Beumont House and Riverside House

The dilapidated former officers on Greyfriars are set to become 120 flat for 'key workers', with priority for people who can reach their place of work within a 10-minute walk.

Meanwhile, there are plans to also convert both Beaumont House on Billing Road and Riverside House on Bedford Road into 60 apartment units each. Both need to be acquired for around £10m each.

Leader Jonathan Nunn said all three developments had progressed during the lockdown where many other projects had to "lie dormant".

- Marefare housing development

The Marefare site along Chalk Street will be redeveloped to create 83 new home, made up of 11 town houses and 68 apartments.

There were few details to share, but councillor Tim Hadland said the plan should soon be "seeing some significant progress" and called it "very exciting".

- The Old Black Lion

In 2013, over £1.6m of Heritage Lottery Fund money was awarded to the former Old Black Lion Pub, but it has never come to fruition. Now, the borough council bought the freehold for the Old Black Lion last year for £400,000 and plan to renovate it into a combined pub and visitors centre for the town.

Councillor Tim Hadland assured it will remain somewhere you can "have a pint poured", and called it "one of the gems of the overall masterplan presentation".

- Replace former Marks & Spencers unit with mixed-use residential units, made up of flats and potentially small shops

The conference revealed a first look at what the new scheme could look like - but co-chair of town centre BID said progress to flesh out the details has been hampered by asbestos in the former Marks & Spencers unit.

- Vulcan Works expected to open next year

The council's flagship project to create a space for up to 60 start-up businesses.

Councillor Tim Hadland said: "The first part of the building will be in place by Christmas. It is still very much a building site but the new build on St John's Street is well advanced.

"This is a very exciting addition to the town centre that will provide a hub for young, dynamic new businesses."

- Completing and opening the Northampton Museum & Art Gallery by the end of 2020.

Exhibitions are expected to include the Northampton shoe collection, a 360-degree projector display room and a "memories of coronavirus" exhibition about Northampton's experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Leader of the council Jonathan Nunn said: "The main contractor has finished work and handed over the building, and we are now completing some of the finer details. In terms of opening, we will confirm a date in due course but we will try to get it open before the end of the year.