How is Wellingborough town centre faring? We take a closer look at shop openings, closures and what the future holds

Wellingborough town centre has been the subject of much change recently, and while it can seem like its historic streets aren’t as fruitful as they once were, there are plenty of businesses still thriving.

With the current economic climate it’s easy to think that local businesses are doomed and town centres are poised for an untimely demise.The Northants Telegraph took to the streets of the town centre to find out how well it’s holding up after Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

How has that change affected the High Street stores? What really is the current state of Wellingborough’s town centre? Let’s find out.

The results

With 305 units recorded and categorised, the findings present a snapshot of Wellingborough town centre and what it offers in 2023.

Data was collected from stores stretching across the primary roads that lead into the town centre with Midland Road, Market Street, Oxford Street, Cambridge Street, Silver Street and Swansgate Shopping Centre all being recorded.

Unfortunately the category that is the most represented is vacant, as a worrying 16.4 per cent of available retail spaces are not currently in use, be it on a short-term or long-term basis.

Vacant units are spread across the town centre, but it is perhaps the most noticeable in Cambridge Street and in the Swansgate Centre.

The second highest represented category is beauty/hair, which take up 12.8 per cent (39) of the space, followed in third place by mixed retail at 9.5 per cent (29).

Wellingborough clearly has an appetite for eating and drinking, as over one quarter (27.1 per cent) of occupied units are dedicated to food and drink in the form of cafe/restaurants, bars/pubs, takeaways and food retail shops.

Newsagents (0.7 per cent) are sparse in Wellingborough, but the lack of outlets dedicated to books, music, and games (0.7 per cent) is perhaps more of a surprise. Other categories include pharmacy/health (3.3 per cent), vape shops (1.3 per cent), clothing (3.9 per cent), and phone shops (2.3 per cent).

How does Wellingborough compare?

We’ve run similar tests over the past few weeks in Corby and Kettering, and Wellingborough’s current state isn’t significantly different from its North Northamptonshire counterparts.

Like Kettering, the number of vacant units and beauty/hair establishments are significantly higher than other categories, and Wellingborough’s number of estate agents (3.9 per cent) is roughly in-line with Corby’s figure of 4.2 per cent.

Where Wellingborough excels is in its eateries, as it has a higher volume of food establishments than both Corby (24.3 per cent) and Kettering (22.3 per cent).

Wellingborough’s drinking outlets are also aplenty, with 5.2 per cent of establishments serving on-tap alcohol compared to Kettering and Corby’s 5.4 per cent combined. La Luna and the Blue Room is the latest to make its mark on the town centre, taking ownership of the Silver Street space that was once occupied by The Sound Bar, and before that Temple, and The Litten Tree.

The trends in Kettering seem to be similar to the findings in Wellingborough, as there vacant units are also top of the pile with 12.7 per cent being closed and vacated. Beauty/hair and mixed retail also round out the top three. Corby’s vacancy rate is lower, sitting at 10.1 per cent.

The ‘other’ businesses that were recorded make up 9.5 per cent of the town centre, and includes tattoo shops, solicitors, recruitment agencies and travel companies.

When we were conducting research into Kettering’s High Street health, Philip Hollobone, MP for the town said: "The biggest challenges faced by Kettering High Street are online shopping and the decision taken to develop Rushden Lakes. It's taken years of economic growth out of the town centre.”

The same could perhaps be said of Wellingborough, as the retail park is situated just a short journey up the A45 and includes chain stores that cater to people of all persuasions.

Wellingborough’s town centre has seen a departure of national stores in recent years – as has been the case with Cuppa Coffee replacing a Tui branch in Silver Street, for example— and the influx of new stores to Rushden Lakes like Waterstones and Superdrug has given shoppers a reason to go elsewhere.

This combined with the efficiency of online shopping implies that town centres are not the essential source of retail they once were.

Shops are leaving the High Street, but the spaces are being filled

Unlike Corby and Kettering that fall under the national average for vacant properties of 13.8 per cent (according to a report by the British Retail Consortium and the Local Data Company), Wellingborough is above it with 16.4 per cent.

The national average has hovered around the 14 per cent mark all through 2022, and while across the country it’s in a steady decline, Wellingborough has a while to go even before its vacancy rates become more in-line with the rest of the UK.

The closures that have hit Wellingborough have been significant, as otherwise stalwart stores like Clarks and GAME in 2021 have left the town over the past couple of years.

Independent stores have been hit just as hard, as Ugly Mug closed its doors in October and the Air Ambulance’s Wellingborough homeware branch closed after 11 years of trading just a few days ago.

La Luna and the Blue Room opened in February so we asked them how it’s going.

Rob Herbert, owner of La Luna and the Blue Room, said: "Honestly it's been fairly quiet, but that's partly down to the fact that we haven't really advertised properly because I want to get my staff properly trained before we're busy."

But he added: "I'm happy with how things are going, and I'm not expecting to make millions from it.

"It's more a goal that has been fixed rather than a business that is expected to tens of thousands of pounds a month in profit."

DebAce is a store that recently opened in Silver Street, and offers a selection of wax melts and other gift ideas.

Owner Debbie, local to Wellingborough, cited the lack of availability of her product as a reason to open the shop.

Speaking on the town's future, she said: "From a retail point of view town centres are struggling all across the country.

"The shopping mall designed to give open spaced areas for shoppers to move freely, yet they get cluttered with short-term traders when there are empty retail units around the town."

The number of closures is reflected in the findings, but new offerings in the form of Queen Aesthetics by Jade and Butterwick have done well to keep the centre afloat and give people options.

The turnaround seems healthy, and while there are some units that have been vacant for a while, the ones that have closed recently seem to quickly find new tenants.

Pritesh Ganatra, president of the Wellingborough and East Northants Chamber of Commerce said: “Although some businesses have been lost through this period, as has been the case in many towns, there is a core number of strong businesses, both retail and service sector which have adapted and have grown stronger as a result.

"The on-going cost of living crisis is still providing its challenges and businesses will need all the support that they can get both from government and from local communities to continue providing their services.”

They encourage people to support shopping local and spending with the local economy in mind.

The Northants Telegraph reached out to representatives of Swansgate Shopping Centre to gather insight into how it is faring in 2023, but it declined to comment.

What does the future look like for Wellingborough?

There are plenty of areas and attractions that contribute to Wellingborough’s identity.

Its historic buildings like Tithe Barn, The Hind Hotel and All Hallows Church, and more contemporary attractions like Croyland Gardens and Lazer Maze are essential to what it is today, but the High Street stores that people can pop into undoubtedly shape the way it evolves.

Wellingborough has the foundations for a bright future, as the Wellie Wombles help keep the place tidy and the Victoria Centre champions diversity and inclusivity.

Rob from La Luna and the Blue Room said: "The town centre is in desperate need of new businesses and people have stopped going to the town centres because so many shops are closed, so they're going to retail parks instead."

Rob believes parking is a key issue when it comes to the future of Wellingborough town centre, saying: “The deciding factor of why we still have a town centre is because we have got free parking, unlike the likes of Kettering, Northampton and Corby which is all 'pay to park'.

"If they introduce 'pay to park' in Wellingborough that would kill the town centre completely.

"What it could do with is more small independent shops.

"I'd like to see it go more oldy so antique shops, all it is at the moment is estate agents, charity shops and coffee shops."

And he added: "It's the small, independent and local people, that's really what every town centre should be made of."

Debbie of DebAce shared her views with us, saying: “"The market Square is never going to regain its glory and should be used as a short-term stay car park to encourage the satellite Wellingborough residents into town."

Acknowledging the ‘changing patterns of the High Street’ Pritesh Ganatra, president of the Wellingborough and East Northants Chamber of Commerce, said: “The chamber hopes that with the wider growth in population for Wellingborough from developments such as Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park that the centre grows in tandem and that these new residents see Wellingborough town centre as their primary destination for everyday shopping and leisure activities.”

Speaking on how it can be improved, Pritesh Ganatra added: “The town centre will also need to reposition itself and provide more leisure activities.

"Many towns are thinking creatively about how they can turn disused or underutilised areas into active places for young people or where groups of people can meet and spend some leisure time.

"If more people lived closer to the town centre or actually in the town centre then it's likely that they would be using the facilities more and spending locally.”

What are your thoughts on Wellingborough town centre? How can it improve?

You can share your views by joining the debate on our Facebook page or emailing [email protected].