Major improvement works to Rushden High St that will make the town centre more accessible, convenient and safer for pedestrians and encourage more shoppers and new businesses into the town centre. Improving the public spaces will create a more attractive environment helping to regenerate the whole town. As well as new street furniture, new heritage-style lighting will be installed.
Almost £1.5m has been committed to creating a new look High Street for Rushden residents and stimulate further private sector investment in the town centre. Working in partnership with the North Northants Development Company (NNDC) East Northamptonshire Council secured £712,500 from the Government’s Growth Fund, which not only enabled work to begin on Phase 1 but has delivered the design for the whole of the High Street regeneration project. East Northamptonshire Council is also making available £785,000 from its reserves in support funding to cover the shortfall and to enable the project to go ahead. In addition to this commitment, East Northamptonshire Council’s Policy & Resources Committee will now consider whether to approve a further investment of up to £250,000 to ensure no time is lost delivering the next phases of this important project.
Part of the funding has been used to prepare the overall designs for Rushden High Street. This work follows on from the Enquiry by Design process carried out by the Prince’s Foundation in 2010, and will kick start the regeneration of the centre of Rushden.
The works will be carried out in three phases:
- Phase 1: Improvements to the ‘gateway’ entrance to the southern end of the High Street (towards the Church) and approximately 50m of improvement works continuing to the north.
- Phase 2: A central public space 'square' directly in front of the Wesleyan Church and incorporating College Street junction to the south and Queens Street junction to the north.
- Phase 3: The link between the Southern Gateway and the Town Square in front of the Wesleyan Church.
East Northamptonshire Council, in partnership with Rushden Town Council, consulted businesses and residents on how to take forward the views on improvements to Rushden High Street gathered during the Enquiry by Design work. These are set out in the Rushden Regeneration Strategy, which can be viewed on East Northamptonshire Council’s web site.
For more information please visit www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/rushdenhighstimprovements