'Why people in villages have stopped visiting Northampton town centre...and what can be done about it'

With reference to the borough council’s consideration about moving bus stops in the Drapery because of congestion, might they at the same time think about why less people from rural areas now use Northampton as a shopping centre.

The location of rural departure points in the Drapery is a strong disincentive for anyone who is exposed to standing in the wet and cold to go to Northampton in the first place.

These buses are usually the ones latest to arrive and reason tends to suggest they are the ones better placed in the bus station. It does seem the councillors in Northampton gave little thought to rural shoppers when deciding to relegate them to exposure to the elements and are left wondering why they are treated as second class citizens. It is a further indication of the stupidity of blowing up the previous bus station, which was perfectly placed next to a purpose built internal shopping arcade. When footfall from that station stopped going past shops in the Grosvenor Centre, the town immediately lost probably the best outfitters in town at the time, to be followed by others a few years later.

It is to be hoped that when we get a unitary authority in the near future, the representatives from rural areas might point out these errors of judgement to the borough.

They might also ask them to raise their vision beyond the borough boundary and get them to realise its in their best interests to give consideration to their wider catchment area when making decisions.

They then might see an improvement in the number of people seeing the town as a place worth going to for their shopping experiences.

John Curtis

Bugbrooke