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People’s views will guide and influence the future of the retail offer in Northampton town centre as proposals are compiled to provide a catalyst for change.
Working closely with Northampton Borough Council and other key stakeholders at Northamptonshire County Council and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, Legal & General Investment Management has been working to bring forward its plans for transforming the town’s Grosvenor Centre. As part of the planning process, the owners have been consulting with local residents to explore their views of Northampton - what they like and dislike, and their thoughts on its future.
The masterplan looks at a redevelopment to provide a shopping offer at least double the size of the current Centre, with approximately 60 new shop units within a largely ‘open street’ environment. New entrances would be created from Market Square and Abington Street allowing more natural light to permeate into the Centre; a new bus interchange offering a modern and accessible facility; and car parking improvements.
Unfortunately people should not expect to see cranes on site anytime soon - Legal & General are now drawing up proposals to submit a full planning application later this year. Work on the £350 million extension is expected to commence in 2014/15 and will take up to three years to complete.
The coffee giant, Costa has just opened a new branch in the existing Centre. The firm which already has a large store on Abington Street and several others across the town has now taken over the former Morelli’s cafe on the upper level of the Grosvenor Centre. Costa is believed to have signed a 10 year lease on the 80 seat café.
Over the past couple months the Centre has also attracted other national retailers including Superdry and the shoe retailer tReds, along with House of Fraser and Ernest Jones who have completed existing store refurbishments.
The Peacock Place Shopping Centre has also been subject to a ‘rebrand’ by its new owners in a bid to become the town’s new ‘fashion destination’. As part of the change, the historic Peacock Place name which harks back to the Peacock Hotel that once stood on the site, has been scrapped and replaced with the name ‘Market Walk’. It is hoped that a new marketing strategy and investment will draw in ‘boutique’ retailers, and the owners Bursha Holdings have announced that talks are already underway with some ‘big names’ that will further draw people into shopping in the town.
The largest empty store in Northampton town centre has recently been filled with the opening of a new Tesco Metro. The former Woolsworths unit had stood empty since 2009 when the chain went into administration but has now been leased for a term of 20 years. The property comprises some 22,200 sq ft and features an in-store bakery and entire section dedicated to lunchtime snacks.
Tesco is also in discussion with the local planners over its proposals to expand its Mereway store. Its expansion plans were first revealed last year and would have seen the supermarket extended from 115,000 sq ft to 161,000 sq ft, but have since been scaled back by 20 per cent. The plans also included a proposal to build a new community centre but following concerns from the Borough Council have now been abandoned. However, in a bid to secure planning, this proposal has instead been replaced with improvements to the area around the supermarket including upgrades to the local road network and landscaping. It is thought that the new plans will be put forward to the Council’s planning committee later this year.
Whilst Tesco is pushing ahead with its expansion plans, the German budget supermarket Aldi seems to be having some doubts about its commitment to Northampton. Just months after being given planning permission to build a new store on the site of a former car showroom on Wellingborough Road, the firm has revealed new ‘scaled back’ plans. Aldi has decided to reduce the size of its new supermarket from 12,000 sq ft to 10,600 sq ft, resulting in the site being divided into two. The remaining land will be developed under a separate planning application and thought to be for housing.
Network Rail is pushing ahead with its plans for the redevelopment of Northampton railway station to sustain the town’s economic growth. The proposals include a new station building, a multi-storey car parking, new footbridge and platform canopies. Later phases of the scheme could include some 215,000 sq ft of offices.
There is some doubt amongst local agents that this scale of offices will be needed within the next couple of years. Recent figures show that over 570,000 sq ft of offices are currently vacant in Northampton and take-up during first quarter of 2011 only stood at 16,000 sq ft. Whilst this is disappointing, if the remainder of the year continues at this pace, activity will be up by approximately 13% on last year.
Like all towns across the East Midlands, Northampton is suffering from an on-going reduction of stock in the industrial/distribution sector. With no immediate speculative development on the horizon, rents should harden with possible competition for some buildings. Some occupiers could be forced to commit to design and build packages, with developers likely to be insistent on longer term leases to minimise their risk.