Up to 50,000 shoppers have visited Corby town centre weekly during lockdown

‘Anyone coming into this centre has to respect my staff’
Dan said his staff, including his cleaners, have been magnificent.Dan said his staff, including his cleaners, have been magnificent.
Dan said his staff, including his cleaners, have been magnificent.

“I’m so proud of how my staff have responded to this. Every single one of them. My team have been magnificent.”

It’s been three tough months for Corby town centre. At the end of March, all but 30-odd shut down. The streets grew quiet for the first time since the first concrete was poured on Corby New Town centre in the 1950s.

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Since then, some shops have reopened but most have stayed shut.

Dan Pickard, Corby Town Centre managerDan Pickard, Corby Town Centre manager
Dan Pickard, Corby Town Centre manager

Now they’re poised to reopen their doors on June 15 when the government has allowed non-essential stores to reopen to the public.

Town centre manager Dan Pickard, speaking exclusively to the Northants Telegraph, says he’s confident Corby is in a good position to weather this storm, like it has weathered so many in its history.

”We’ve never not been open,” he said.

”We have lots of essential retailers that have not shut their doors throughout this. We started off with 34 shops open and more are opening in the coming days.

An empty Willow Place during lockdownAn empty Willow Place during lockdown
An empty Willow Place during lockdown
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”We’ve had footfall of between 40,000 and 50,000 per week which is about a quarter to a third of what we’d normally have,” said Dan.

”Most people have been brilliant. Unfortunately there’s always an element that don’t listen. We taped off the benches for people’s own safety with some really sticky stuff and we’ve had to replace that tape four or five times every day.

”That’s pretty stupid behaviour,” said Dan.

As in every high street, there will be some traders that will not be able to reopen on June 15. Jeweller HM Samuel will not be renewing its lease and has shut its doors in Corby for the final time.

A quiet Corporation StreetA quiet Corporation Street
A quiet Corporation Street

But unlike many beleaguered town centres, Corby has plenty to celebrate.

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Sports Direct, which had been due to open at Easter the redundant TJ Hughes shop in Queen’s Square, has been seriously delayed, but work will shortly restart and it is expected it will open in July.

Posh Paddy’s will open in the former Glasshouse next door, and there’s a planning application in for a Shipleys amusement centre and a tanning shop in Corporation Street. The old laundrette in Everest Lane is set to become a takeaway if planners agree.

And there will be a new trader on Henley Balcony.

Taped-off seats in Corporation StreetTaped-off seats in Corporation Street
Taped-off seats in Corporation Street

With all this going on, Dan says safety is the most important priority when more shops reopen on June 15, and town will look very different to how it does now.

”We’ve been in touch with all of our retailers to make sure they’re putting safety measures inside the shops.

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”A significant number are going to reopen on June 15 and quite a lot have teams in preparing already.

”Of those shops that have been open throughout, managing queues has sometimes been quite challenging.

”So we’re going to have a marked area in front of each shop with people queueing in that designated area.

”Where it’s narrow in Willow Place we are going to put a barrier down the middle.

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”Henley Balcony will be one way with an entrance at the Poundland Stairs and an exit at the B&M stairs.

”The rest of the town is wide enough to have two-way traffic but we’ll be reviewing it as we go and if we have to put a new system in then we will.”

Bosses have put in place information posters throughout town and numerous hand cleansing stations.

Corby is in the unique position of being almost exclusively privately owned which means bosses can chuck out those who don’t obey the rules.

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Dan said: “Nobody wanted coronavirus or expected it but it’s here and anyone coming into this centre has to respect my staff and the shop staff.

”That will be the minimum expectation.

”I will not tolerate anybody abusing any staff here. We’re trying to make it as pleasant an environment as possible. But it’s also important for people to remember they have a duty of care to themselves to be sensible and obey the rules. We can’t do it all for them.

”We will be monitoring people’s behaviour very closely.”

Corby Council has been given a pot of government money to help the town centre reopen safely and discussions have begun with town centre owners on the best way to target that money.

Relations between the council and the town centre have thawed significantly since the days when both wanted to open rival cinemas at opposite ends of the town. New ownership in the form of Sovereign Centros has helped.

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For shoppers returning in numbers to the town centre, a limited number of toilets in Willow Place will be open, as they have been throughout the crisis and there will be restrictions on lifts to allow very regular cleaning to take place.

The car park charges, which have been lowered for three months, will return to normal on June 15.

Dan said: “We didn’t charge people for the first hour because, to be honest, we wanted people to spend as little time as possible here for their own safety. We didn’t want them here all day. I wanted to make sure there were as few people as possible here every day.

”There will be no cash payments on the car park and we’re strongly encouraging people to use contactless.

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Dan said he cannot underestimate the hard work of his staff that have risen to every challenge presented to them by the pandemic.

“My team have been absolutely magnificent,” says Dan.

”The security, housekeeping and maintenance staff have had such an incredibly difficult job but they’ve not stopped.

”I can’t sing their praises enough. They’re incredible.

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