Northampton Forward seeks views from the public over future of the town centre

Northampton Forward is set to consult later this month on how the town centre should change in order to meet the needs of the town.

Five zones have been identified as priority areas and these are outlined on a series of vinyl posters being installed at strategic locations around the town.

The first arrived opposite Sainsbury's in the Grosvenor Centre today (Thursday 9 May), giving details of what is planned for each of the five areas.

They cover:

• Marefair and Gold Street
• Market Square
• Greyfriars
• Fish Street and St Giles Street
• Abington Street

Grosvenor Centre Manager, James Roberts, who is on the Northampton Forward board. He said: "There is enormous potential to be realised within Northampton, this coupled with a fantastic energy to drive change by passionate individuals, community groups and the Northampton Forward board, means there are exciting challenges to transform the town."

Potential changes include delivering modern retail units, introducing more office space and encouraging higher levels of residential.

The plans could also look at improved public realm, shopfronts, and the creation of attractive links between the various parts of the town centre.

Cllr Jonathan Nunn, leader of Northampton Borough Council and Chair of the Northampton Forward Board, said: "We are extremely keen that people offer us their views on these proposals.

"We've asked specialists who have done great work revitalising other towns to take a fresh look at Northampton.

"Before we progress further one of the most important things is that we develop a plan which people can get behind and which delivers the absolute best result for Northampton residents and visitors.

"We have ambitious aspirations for our town and want to ensure that we can translate those into something deliverable."

Northampton Forward is a public/private partnership which was formed earlier this year to create a vision for the town and drive forward a strategic programme of improvements.

Its board is formed of a wide range of partners including:

• Northampton Borough Council
• Northamptonshire County Council
• Northants Police
• Grosvenor Centre
• Northampton Town Centre BID
• University of Northampton
• Royal and Derngate
• LiftNN Project (Community representative)
• South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP)
• Tricker's
• Northamptonshire Chamber

Consultation events already confirmed are as follows:

15 May, 10.30am – 2pm UoN – Learning Hub

18 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk

20 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk

21 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk

22 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk

23 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk

24 May, 11am – 3pm Grosvenor Centre, Unit 23 Newland Walk