State of Kettering town centre on agenda as forum announces 'call to action' to businesses and community
Local businesses and members of the community are being invited to have their say on ways to revitalise and improve Kettering town centre.
The Kettering Town Centre Forum will bring together entrepreneurs, business owners, and residents from 6pm to 7.30pm on Monday (September 30) at St Andrew's Church in Lindsay Street, Kettering.
Focusing on business partnerships, the forum will discuss innovative business opportunities to breathe new life into the town through ‘rent shares’ to fill some of the empty units.
Organiser Cllr Emily Fedorowycz said: “The state of our town centre is something we all care a lot about - but it is not going to fix itself. We need to get local people and businesses together to collaborate and drive forward what we want to see.
“So if you are a local business or a local person interested in the future of our town - we need you.
"Town centre units are generally not owned by the council and the high rents are pricing out local businesses, but other units that are rent sharing in Kettering are finding good success.
“If you would be interested in partnering with other local businesses to share a unit, we especially need you at this meeting.
"We will also be exploring some outside the box options to rejuvenating the town centre, and really welcome everyone who has ideas or helpful perspectives to share.
"We need to be transparent, positive and constructive about where we are now and how we can go forward.”
Event attendees will be updated on current and future plans for key town centre locations, including the former Gala Bingo in High Street, markets and ongoing initiatives such as Business Improvement Districts and the innovative Citizen Coin scheme.
Simon Cox, head of policy at Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “There are concerns around the future of high streets and town centres and open forums such as the Kettering Town Forum will enable people to come together to discuss the town centre to create positive ideas to consider for the future.
“Town centres are also places for local people to live, shop and socialise and they play an important role in local communities.
“By coming together, collectively people can share their thoughts and ideas with a view to helping to support the town centre, supporting local businesses and supporting local people.”
Sarah Franklin of Franklin Solicitors, who helped form the Kettering Town Centre Partnership in January 2019, said: “The Kettering Town Centre Partnership (KTCP) was first created to share thoughts and ideas on how to make the town centre a better place to be and to support each other as businesses.
“The KTCP was vital through Covid supporting local businesses, and now it will be great to get meeting face to face again - we really need this and we all need to be involved.”
Admission is free, but spaces are limited. To secure your spot, visit the Eventbrite page www.bit.ly/tickets-kettering-town-forum.
This will be the first of a series of town centre forums, each hosted on the last Monday of the month from 6pm to 7.30pm. The events are being scheduled and shared on the Facebook page @EmpoweringKettering.