Businesses will be encouraged to spruce up their shop fronts and bring Northampton back to its best as part of a dedicated ‘tidy day next week’.
The concerted clean-up campaign will see business owners encouraged to transform the look of their workplace and make shops, cafes, restaurants even more welcoming to visitors to the town centre.
The event, which takes place next week on Monday (August 23), has been organised by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) - an organisation working to make Northampton a better place to live, shop and work.
It forms part of a series of projects to tidy up the town, encouraging all business owners to take pride in their premises and get Northampton looking its best.
Mark Mullen, Northampton Town Centre BID operations manager, said: “The buzz has been back in Northampton ever since the return of non-essential retail and people are enjoying rediscovering their town centre. With a renewed energy around the place, now is the time for everyone to join together to help get the town back to its beautiful best.
“We want to get businesses taking a few hours out of their day to give their premises a mini-makeover, improving the town centre environment and making it even more attractive to shoppers and visitors.”
Businesses are encouraged to clean their windows, sweep the pavements, paint woodwork and carry out any tasks to tidy-up their doorways, taking before and after pictures to show the difference they have made.
August 23 will form the focal point of a week of action across the town. Other days will see similar activities organised by Northampton Town Council, with each councillor taking the lead for their individual wards.
Mayor of Northampton, Rufia Ashraf, will also be attending the ‘Northants Litter Wombles’ History Walk and Litter Pick on Saturday, August 21 while Cllr Andrew Stevens from Headlands, Eastfield and Phippsville wards is holding a litter pick in the area from 12pm on Saturday, July 31. Cllr Keith Holland-Delamere is holding a litter pick in Rectory Farm ward on Monday, August 23 and Cllr Jane Birch is leading a litter pick in Trinity ward on Wednesday, August 25.
Community groups are also encouraged to get involved and can apply for a grant of up to £3,000 to conduct their own activity through the Constance Travis Global Goals fund via the Northamptonshire Community Foundation website.
Other organisations involved in the event include West Northamptonshire Council, Veolia and NLive Radio.
Anyone interested in getting involved please call Northampton Town Council on 01604 349310 or email [email protected] or [email protected].
For full information about the shop front ‘tidy day’ event visit www.discovernorthampton.co.uk
But it's not just businesses who are being encouraged to take part. The Chronicle & Echo is backing the Town Centre BID's campaign but is also calling on everyone to take pride and play their part...and make sure the town centre is the best it can be.
Editor David Summers said: "We fully support the campaign by Northampton Town Centre BID and other stakeholders in the town. But it is down to everyone to play their part. We asked a photographer to visit the town centre yesterday to take a snapshot of some of the issues.
"The issue of rubbish in the town centre starts with the people who leave the rubbish in the first place. We hope that people who use the town centre see this campaign by BID, see the efforts that the town is going to and hopefully think before they decide to just drop the litter on the floor.
"As others have said, this is a time for people to rediscover the town centre - and everyone wants people to experience it in the best possible environment," he added.
The event, which takes place next week on Monday (August 23), has been organised by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) - an organisation working to make Northampton a better place to live, shop and work.
