Kettering Borough Council is delighted to announce that it is the winner of two prestigious planning awards for work completed on Kettering’s Market Place from the East Midlands Royal Town Planning Institute.
The Market Place was shortlisted for the 2009 East Midlands Planning Award for Town Regeneration for work completed by Kettering Borough Council and its partners including North Northamptonshire Development Company and Northamptonshire County Council in transforming the underused space into the vibrant public place we have today.
On the day Kettering Borough Council also came away with the much sought after award for overall Planning and Achievement 2009 also for their work on the Market Place. This is a great achievement, beating competition from High Cross Shopping Centre in Leicester (which won the metropolitan / City Award).
Through careful and thorough planning the Council have been able to produce the transformation of the Market Place on-time and on-budget even when at stages it looked like the project would not be finished to schedule.
The Market Place has set the standard for future regeneration projects around the town such as the restaurant quarter where work has already started. It was identified by the council as integral to the town’s regeneration and as such designed to act as a ‘vibrant heart’ for the town.
Since its official opening by teen singing sensation Faryl Smith back in August, the new design has already proved to be a big hit, creating a more user-friendly and attractive space than previous incarnations.