Northampton Forward
Coming together to drive the town centre in the right direction
Just a few years ago, when it seemed there had been very little positive to say about the town centre over recent times, a group came together to focus on regeneration and securing a brighter future for Northampton. October will see the offi cial opening of the Market
Square, just one item from the wide-ranging list on Northampton Forward’s agenda, but certainly the one it considers its fl agship project, and the one that it hopes will mean the most to the people in the town. Northampton Forward was set up in 2019, bring-
ing together individuals from businesses and from the likes of the Royal and Derngate, the Grosvenor Centre, representatives from the police and fi re services, West Northamptonshire Council, the Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) and desti- nations such as Delapré Abbey. It is chaired by Martin Mason, Managing Director of
Tricker’s, the town’s oldest shoemaker, debatably the town’s oldest business, which still produces globally renowned shoes from its premises in St Michael’s Road.
“Back in 2019 a few of us got together just to see what
kind of support we could give to the town centre in terms of delivering regeneration,” said Martin. “Town centres everywhere had been hit by the decline in traditional retail and we’d lost some of the larger stores and it began to feel like there was no direction. “Northampton Forward was about ideas and driving
change, it was meant to be relatively informal and not political, just working in partnership towards something everyone wanted to see. People tend to blame the local council but it’s important to state that Northampton Forward hasn’t actually delivered anything. We’ve been the drivers, but the regeneration team at West Northamptonshire Council deserve the credit because they have been extremely eff ective at listening to ideas and then delivering to target.” From the start, the group combined their business
acumen and entrepreneurial spirit to begin successfully applying for available funding. Completed projects include the extension of 78 Derngate and improvements to Guildhall Road, and work is in progress on the likes of the Greyfriars site and 4 Waterside. But it is the Market Square that is front and centre at the
moment, and businesses, residents, local communities and other stakeholders are invited to gather on the weekend of October 19 and 20 for the offi cial reopening. T ere will be fun activities, cultural performances and heritage exhi- bitions, as well as the unveiling of the new water feature, designed by artist Mel Chantrey and taking its inspiration from the shoe industry.
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