Northampton could net another £25million for town centre regeneration

A number of proposals have been drawn up looking at how Northampton town centre can be regenerated

Northampton is among one of 100 towns and cities which could now receive a £25million boost to help fund its regeneration.

It means the town is firmly in the race for two different pots of government money, and with each offering a maximum of £25million, it could see ambitious plans such as an indoor food market and a regenerated Greyfriars be backed with funding of up to £50million.

The town has been shortlisted for a bid of £25million for the Government’s Future High Streets fund. But it was given a further boost today by being announced as one of 100 towns and cities which could get a further £25million windfall from a different government pot.

This latest scheme, known as the Towns Fund, is offering £3.6billion for a series of new ‘Town Deals’. And it is hoped the potential funding will help the Northampton Forward board – made up of the council and various other town stakeholders – deliver on its plans for the town, which were put forward in the Future High Streets bid.

Northampton Borough Council leader Councillor Jonathan Nunn, who is also the chairman of Northampton Forward, said: “This is clearly very exciting news and something we welcome wholeheartedly.

“Our outline masterplan for the town centre was largely well received by the public and we are in the process of developing a detailed proposal, incorporating the responses we received as part of the consultation. We plan to publicise details of the responses in the near future.

“We’re looking forward to further detail about the latest tranche of funding available and what we will need to do to access it.”

Plans from Northampton Forward have included proposals for five key areas: Marefair and Gold Street, the Market Square, Greyfriars, Fish Street and St Giles Street, and Abington Street.

Secretary of State for local government, Robert Jenrick MP, added: “We want to level-up our great towns, raising living standards and ensuring they can thrive with transformative investment in transport, technology, skills and culture.

“I will now work with local people from the 100 communities announced today to agree proposals to invest up to £25 million in each place. I hope these deals will provide the investment and the impetus for long-term renewal ensuring each town can look to the future with a new optimism.”