Council's vision for Kettering Station Quarter revealed

Radical regeneration plans for the area around Kettering railway station could create car parks, housing and a transport hub on council-owned sports pitches.

North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) executive members are due to discuss the masterplan at a meeting next week.

The masterplan sets out ‘improvements’ to the exiting eastern entrance to the station, creating an improved multi-modal transport interchange and new access to the station from Lake Avenue.

An area currently occupied by tennis courts, bowling greens and a sports pavilion could be developed for housing and ‘commercial and community uses’.

Cllr David Brackenbury, the council’s executive member for growth and regeneration, said: “It is great that we are able to discuss the Kettering Station Quarter Masterplan. The area has real potential, especially following a recent increase in the number of trains travelling from Kettering to London St Pancras, as well as to towns and cities in the north.”

Members will be asked to approve the Kettering Station Quarter Masterplan and agree on the next steps of the project, including consultation and engagement with stakeholders and funding.

In 2019, the Northamptonshire Property Partnership, which included Kettering Borough Council, was successful in an application to secure up to £115,000 of capacity funding from One Public Estate Phase 7.

Funding was used to prepare a joint ‘Services and Assets Delivery Plan’ – referred to as the Kettering Station Quarter Masterplan – to establish detailed options for housing sites, commercial spaces, and car parking to serve Kettering railway station.

The Masterplan proposal looks at land to the east and west of the station:

– A ‘quality’ gateway to Kettering - improving links between the town centre, surrounding town and the station.

– An integrated transport hub - creation of a station forecourt and reconfiguration of the station car parks and transport connections.

– Providing accessibility across the railway by extending the existing station footbridge.

– Potential for ‘releasing’ public land and ‘enhancing the green corridor’.

The document states that the community impact would include the loss of recreational space – bowling greens, tennis courts and sports pavilion – would need to be ‘replaced elsewhere’, or other land ‘intensified for leisure use’.

Cllr Jason Smithers, leader of NNC, added: “I look forward to discussing this report with fellow members of the executive. This project was first brought forward under the former Kettering Borough Council and I am glad that we are now able to look further at the Masterplan. If the report is agreed, we can start to look at the next steps and develop this exciting project.”

If given the go-ahead the vision would be implemented in five phases.

The award included a sustainable grant of £25,000 which had to be returned before the end of the spend period, leaving £90,000 for investment in the project. The One Public Estate programme is a joint initiative between the Cabinet Office, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Local Government Association. The period of the project was 24 months (starting in June 2019) with multiple partners involved including Network Rail, East Midlands Railway and Northamptonshire County Council.

The Executive will meet on Thursday, October 13, from 10am at the Corby Cube.