To support the growth and regeneration of Kettering, Kettering Borough Council has prepared a Town Centre Area Action Plan (AAP) which will guide development and change across the plan area.
The AAP Preferred Option Document has identified the creation of a number of themed “quarters” within the town centre:
- A Cultural Quarter
- An adjacent restaurant quarter around an improved Market Square
- Niche and independent shops around the Yards
- An improved high street brand offer around the Wadcroft and Newlands area with substantial redevelopment
- An employment and transport hub in the station quarter
The Station Quarter
The AAP promotes the Station Quarter as a high quality sub-regional destination offering a mix of employment and retained leisure uses alongside complementary new homes and a hotel.
The objective is to create an attractive, pedestrian friendly environment that respects its heritage whilst accommodating new development and promoting high quality design.
The delivery of the Station Quarter, which will be supported by Growth Funding, will provide an improved sense of arrival for rail users to the town centre.
The project is an opportunity to deliver a new integrated transport interchange with rail, buses, coaches, taxis, and car parking.
It will help promote Kettering as a business location by using the land around the station to create a concentration of employment uses.
The “Restaurant Quarter” based upon the Market Place is destined to become a vibrant public space where people want to stop, sit and spend time.
As a result of Government Growth Funding, the Market Place has recently undergone significant public realm works including the creation of an amphitheatre, tree planting and public art. These works are anticipated to be the catalyst which attracts the new uses and regenerates this currently under used space.
A further £3.85m of Growth Funding has been allocated to the next phase of the Market Place regeneration. This will help to improve public areas in surrounding streets and provide new buildings on the southern side to create space for new restaurants and town centre living opportunities.