Council gives update on former Northampton town centre coffee shop empty unit

Saints Coffee in St Giles Street closed in January of this year, with the owners citing rising costs as making it “increasingly prohibitive” to trade and added they were unable to “reach a rent position that worked for both sides”.

After investigations by the Chronicle & Echo, it was revealed that the landlord in question was West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

At the time, the council said it could not comment on individual cases and gave no further justification for its stance.

The closure sparked a strong reaction from readers, with many criticising the council for increasing the rent.

Further investigations by the Chron revealed that the council had offered a new 10-year lease at £15,850 a year, an amount that the council said reflected the market value of the property.

The property – 62 St Giles Street – is currently on the market with Hadland Chartered Surveyors in Northampton for £1,500 rent per calendar month.

The Chron asked WNC for update on this unit and an adjacent unit also owned by the council which is on the market, also asking whether it would have made financial and commercial sense to reach a deal with Saints Coffee rather than having the unit stand empty.

A spokesperson for WNC to the Chron: “It is not uncommon for commercial premises to have vacant periods between lets. Rent on commercial properties is periodically reviewed to reflect the prevailing market rent and in line with inflation.”

The spokesperson also added: “We are working really hard with our partners including local businesses to attract shoppers and investment into our town centre and are keen to see the local media support us by highlighting the positive aspects of our town centre instead of focusing on the negatives.”

In response to the latter part of the statement from WNC’s communication department, editor of the Chronicle & Echo, David Summers, said: “The Chron is constantly covering the positive aspects of the town centre.

"This year alone, we have featured multiple town centre businesses in our We Mean Business campaign, and this comes after two other successful business campaigns called Back Our Business and Help Our Hospitality, again highlighting town centre independents.

"The Chron supported Northampton’s bid for the Town of Culture competition, we backed the ice rink promotion with front page coverage and numerous online articles and we’ve promoted the recent planetarium in Market Square – as well as giving coverage before and after to events held by WNC and Northampton BID, most recently Northampton Pride.

"We’ve reported on new traders on Market Square and shops opening in the town centre – and we gave over our front page recently to the future plans for the M&S site.

“What we won’t do is gloss over the issues Northampton town centre, like many other town centres, faces. So, yes, we will report on food vans being told to leave the market and car parking charges going up, yes, we will ask questions about empty shops and closing businesses and, yes, we will give traders a voice when they have concerns about the direction of the town centre.

"It’s not “negative” to raise these issues. It is often the only way they get addressed. And it’s not political. We take the same approach with every party.

“Our role as a newspaper is to be a critical friend – we want the town to be successful as much as anyone else. We will celebrate and promote all that is successful in the town and are proud to do so. But we will also never shy away from reporting on the issues some may see as negative.”