Bid to revamp Gold Street shop fronts in Northampton town centre offers grants of £10,000

Northampton Borough Council is offering money to businesses to improve the street-facing exteriors of shops and restaurants with the council funding half of the cost. Businesses are expected to fund the remaining the rest.

Six years ago, the council attempted to secure Heritage Lottery funding of more than £1 million but now the grants are being offered through the council’s Business Incentive Scheme.

Councillor Tim Hadland, cabinet member for regeneration, enterprise and planning, said he hoped that both landlords and tenants would invest in giving the area a facelift.

He said: “Gold Street is one of the town’s key gateways, leading pedestrians from the railway station into the town centre.”

“We want to make this area as attractive and inviting for visitors as possible and shop-front improvements is something that a lot of businesses have spoken to us about in the past and are keen on seeing take place.”

“We are just about to begin an improvement scheme for Gold Street and want to make sure that the area becomes even more attractive and inviting for visitors.”

Businesses can claim a grant of 50 percent of the total cost of their improvement works but they can only claim a maximum of £10,000. If the overall cost of the project is higher than £20,000, businesses would need to fund more than half of the cost.