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Get input from the private sector

By Brendan Bruder

Abbey Ross

NORTHAMPTON town centre is many things – a shopping centre, a home town, a place with cafes, bars and eateries, a focus for a county that has become inward facing in the past few years.

There is a sense of Northampton having lost its way, mistakes of the past and challenges that come from beyond our borough or county boundaries prey on people’s minds. The painful shift toward unitary authorities means that Northampton and its county will need to reset and not just in local government. The national picture overshadows us and yet we carry on. There are 220,000 people in the borough and all need a home, food on the table, a place to socialise, a community, healthcare, education, a job. Somewhere to love and be proud of would be even better.

When the politicians of the past have made decisions, not all have been good calls. There hasn’t always been an easy relationship between the public and private sectors and there is often a feeling of suspicion. That can be corrosive. In my view there is a sliver of hope on the horizon and in part because the people involved in the decision-making are not applying a political or profit bias to their deliberations. That sliver is called Northampton Forward. At risk of overestimating its potential and the inevitable raising of expectations beyond achievable goals, it could be the catalyst that begins the transformation of the town and the mind-set.

You don’t get a lot for £25m nowadays. What you do get is a focal point. Yes, we will need expertise from people based outside the area, yes their fees will take cash out of the pot marked Northampton Regeneration, there will be some people who will not be happy with some or even all this change. But change we must. If we want to progress and get ourselves back on people’s radars for new jobs, new shops, new homes we must ensure our cash goes as far as we can and that’s where the business sector comes in. If we venture with the private sector we get their expertise, their commercial knowledge, their cash and their desire to see their investment grow. Our money could be tripled, quadrupled. The quality of what we do is improved, the outcomes are better.

I don’t know if when you are next in town you could just look up. Actually look above shop fronts, peer into the many heritage buildings and ponder the future. Discover something new as if you were visiting the town for the very first time. If you see a rough sleeper why not simply say hi while you’re at it, better still talk to that person. Venture to the shops in the areas that you wouldn’t normally head for, surprises may await and not every town can boast a Norman church, an award winning shopping street, some really good cafes, award winning galleries and theatres. We have listed buildings and sites here of international significance. There are plenty of bins around too so how about picking up one piece of litter and disposing of it. While you are at it report that dog mess or a broken bottle, don’t leave it to someone else. Little ripples can eventually make big waves.

Brendan Bruder is a commercial property Surveyor with Abbeyross, co-Chair of Northampton Town Centre BID and also represents the BID on the board of Northampton Forward. Contact Abbeyross on 01604 629988 or email

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