What you told us in December 2023

The last time we asked for your feedback, we presented our emerging vision through the lens of 5 key principles: to amplify nature, creativity, play, living and linkages at Greyfriars.

Your response has highlighted your support for the following key priorities, for Greyfriars to become:

• a creative hub for the town, that showcases local ingenuity and weaves together culture, performance, craft and youth facilities;
• the home of a new town park in the heart of Northampton, a place to gather, sit and relax in nature;
• a playful space with interactive games areas, play areas for children, outdoor gym spaces for adults, and public art displays;
• a place for intergenerational living that brings together a spectrum of home types and households, including student and later living;
• a neighbourhood that is fully stitched into Northampton, accessible by foot, cycle, and better served by buses, to make it easier to get around the area.

info Click on the map markers to read some of the comments we received from the local community. This is just a small selection from the thousands of comments you provided!

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	Area of engagement
	Feedback from previous stage of engagement

Arriving at Greyfriars... Emporium Way

Greyfriars sits forgotten, north of the Market Square, yet barely accessible. Your feedback showed we needed to rethink the arrival experience and the quality of the journey to the site.

info Click on the map markers to see a photograph of Emporium Way today, and an artist's sketch of how we could open it up as an exciting new connection to Greyfriars.

Emporium Way is the existing link that runs through the archway on the northern side of the Market Square. It provides a shortcut to Sheep Street, and Mayorhold and Newlands Car Parks. It is temporarily closed due to anti-social behaviour.

Our pedestrian-first approach has led us to enhance this connection between the Market Square and Greyfriars. Many of you have suggested better signage and lighting to support better pedestrian and cycle access.

Our plan proposes to reopen Emporium Way and craft it into an exciting connection. Leading into a cultural destination defined by the revamped Belgrave House, Corn Exchange, and Amphitheatre.

The reinvented Emporium Way will have natural light, new street trees, and places to sit. We will remove the flyover road section of Greyfriars and the under-utilised buildings fronting the Market Square. This will transform this dark and isolated passage into a more welcoming way into the town centre.

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	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Photographs and artist's sketches

The Amphitheatre

At the end of Emporium way, we arrive at the Greyfriars Amphitheatre. The the West Island, creating a perfect outdoor venue and meeting place. The Amphitheatre could host outdoor performances and serve as a natural lunchtime meeting spot.

info Click on the map marker to see an artist's impression of how the Greyfriars Amphitheatre could look.

On the upper level, a sculptural play experience marks the start of Greyfriars Park. This will become a new destination to dwell or play in the town centre, a space that complements the functional role of the Market Square

Map Key

	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's impression

Belgrave House revamped

Today, Belgrave House is a vacant building that looms over Greyfriars. We want to revamp the building and transform it into a catalyst for creativity and craft in Northampton, to unlock jobs and opportunities for local people and businesses

info Click on the map markers to see a photograph of how Belgrave House looks today, and an artist's sketches of how we could revamp this space.

We are re-imagining Belgrave House as a creative, cultural and community building of many layers. It will be a co-working hub that celebrates the makers and doers in Northampton. Belgrave House will provide a unique and flexible space for established and emerging businesses to grow and showcase what they make. This will differ from the more conventional commercial and co-working offerings found in Northampton.

The size of Belgrave House will allow for mid-sized enterprises to have a location in the heart of Northampton. These types of businesses have traditionally been pushed to the edges of town. Belgrave House will feature hybrid spaces that welcome a blend of manufacturing and retail uses.

The vision for the building includes:

• A new pedestrian connection from Greyfriars into the ground floor of Belgrave House, and then into the Grosvenor Centre;
• Flexible and affordable workspace for both emerging and established businesses in the town;
• Publicly accessible areas of the building that showcase the products and skills of Northampton;
• A potential location for the HQ of the British Shoe & Boot Institution;
• A colourful external staircase, allowing the public to access the rooftop of the building. This will give impressive views over the town centre and the wider Northamptonshire area;
• Rooftop pods that serve as meeting spaces with outstanding views;
• A refreshed facade, brightening and enhancing the building's silhouette;
• By reusing the shell of the existing building, we can commit to our mission of sustainability and preserve this piece of Greyfriars history.

Map Key

	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Belgrave House
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Photographs and artist's sketches

The Corn Exchange reinvented

It was clear from your survey responses that culture and heritage were important to you. This is why we have continued to imagine a new life for the Corn Exchange.

info Click on the map markers to see the artist's sketches of how we could reinvent the Corn Exchange.

This historic building, now abandoned, is a key connection between Greyfriars and the Market Square. It is a unique piece of architectural heritage. For many years, this hidden gem was a space of leisure and entertainment. We believe it can become a multi-purpose venue that will celebrate Northampton's affiliation with art, culture and music.

The Corn Exchange frames the Greyfriars Amphitheatre and gives this new public space a unique character rooted in the history of Northampton.

The sketches that pop up on the map show a possible re-programming of the Corn Exchange. We imagine that it could become a culture-led hub that hosts performance and classes. This will complement existing venues in town, focusing on emerging and education-based arts and culture.

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	Our journey through Greyfriars
	The Corn Exchange
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketches

Greyfriars Park and Lady's Lane

During the first stage of engagement, your support for the creation of a new town park was very encouraging. Northampton deserves a destination town centre park.

info Click on the map marker to see an artist's sketch of how Lady's Lane could look.

Today, Lady's Lane is a hostile environment for pedestrians. Our vision for Greyfriars will create a leafy and green linear park that connects Greyfriars Park and the Greyfriars Amphitheatre.

The new route will introduce a segregated cycleway and wider pavements. We will achieve this by reducing the width of the carriageway. This in turn will reduce the negative impact from fast-moving vehicles. New development nearby will create an attractive frontage overlooking the space.

Our analysis shows a lack of green spaces within the town centre. This vision will change that by bringing rich landscaped areas to Greyfriars. These will provide both quiet spaces and break-out activity zones for table tennis, basketball and other games.

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	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketch

Homes

Northampton needs high-quality homes to support its growing population. We know that living in the town centre is a more sustainable option for many people. For those who wish to live closer to work, leisure, and public transport.

Greyfriars provides a good opportunity to deliver a mix of homes for a range of households. We are looking to provide homes to buy, homes to rent, student living and later living in this location.

We are also looking at more innovative solutions such as cooperative housing. This variety caters for all, from young professionals to families. It is important to ensure that Greyfriars welcome an inter-generational housing offer. This means being inclusive for all tenures and lifestyles.

We can strengthen Northampton's role as a university town with attractive and innovative student living. The site of the former Greyfriars Bus Station is a strong location for purpose-built student accommodation. It will form an anchor that brings the energy of student life right to the heart of town.

There are clear links between student living and other aspects of our vision. Such as cultural uses at the Corn Exchange and flexible spaces for start-ups and enterprises in Belgrave House.

info Click on the map marker to see an artist's sketch of how the later living provision could look.

On the site of Victoria Street Car Park, a natural opportunity for Later Living emerges. We imagine a courtyard that enables communal life and engages with the street and café along Lady's Lane.

Further west, we would like to introduce a small cooperative living building. This will offer an opportunity to experiment with a tenure form that is less common in the UK. This means having a flat in a block where some facilities, such as dining areas and laundry rooms, are shared.

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	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Proposed new homes
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketch

Optimising and expanding the Bus Station

An important element of feedback from you has been the need to improve bus operations.

In response to your concerns, we have expanded the vision to include the site of the Northgate Bus Station. Studio Egret West and Civic Engineers have developed a plan to futureproof the Bus Station.

We understand the importance of the bus network in connecting people to the town centre. Northgate Bus Station faces a number of challenges due to its limited capacity and constrained circulation. This is why we have explored options to enhance and expand the existing facilities. The priority is to ensure the quality, frequency and reliability of bus services in the town centre, while enhancing user experience and ease of travel.

info Click on the map markers to see an artist's sketches of how the existing Northgate bus station could be enhanced and expanded.

We have been working with the town's bus operators and the local community to understand what makes a great bus service.

Our vision delivers two new elements:

1. An expanded provision for buses and layovers, increasing reliability of service.
2. New waiting rooms and facilities to improve passenger experience.

We believe there is an opportunity to improve the experience of walking along Sheep Street and re-connect it to the town centre. To achieve this, we would like to create a new building and frontage to the route on under-utilised land. In addition to this we will work to create new crossings and walkable routes from the Bus Station into the Market Square.

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	Our journey through Greyfriars
	Proposed Bus Station improvements
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketches

Changes to the roads and creating a pedestrian friendly place

Our vision is to reconnect the Greyfriars site and the town centre and overcome the severance inherited from the 1970s street design, which put cars before people and placed pedestrian routes underground or in passageways.

We will open Emporium Way and remove the elevated section of Greyfriars Road to create a pedestrian-friendly public space and uninterrupted route through to the Market Square.

info The dotted lines on the map show our vision to restitch the north-south routes, along Sheep Street, Emporium Way and Lady's Lane, and Wellington Street.

Lady's Lane will be transformed into a two-way street with segregated cycle lanes, sustainable urban drainage, wide pavements and active ground floor uses. By removing the one-way system along Greyfriars and Lady's Lane, we will link the East and West Islands. These will be used as public space, introducing green areas for the town centre. Access will be retained to the Grosvenor Centre car park and servicing zones.

info Click on the map markers to view an artist's sketches of how sections of these new routes may look.

There will be new signalled crossings at either end of the site. These will be at the Horse Market junction to the west, and the Lower Mounts junction to the east. These will make it easier for people to cross these busy roads and access the new facilities within the scheme.

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	New north-south routes through Greyfriars
	Proposed refurbished or new buildings
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketches

A mix of uses and a vibrant ground level experience

Across Greyfriars, we want to create a range of ground floor uses that open onto the street. These will complement the cultural uses of our vision and provide amenities for local people.

Uses could include cafés and retail at the bottom of buildings built for homes. It could also mean canteens and study areas on the ground floor of student living blocks.

info The map shows how these ground floor uses could be implemented across the site. Click on the map markers to view the artist's sketches of this exciting array of amenities.

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	Ground floor creative and perfomance spaces
	Ground floor community uses
	Ground floor mixed use, cafés, retail
	Ground floor living
	Ground floor student uses
	Ground floor bus facilities
	Buildings outside of our site boundary
	Artist's sketches of ground floor uses

Nurturing sustainable outcomes, social connection and economic prosperity

Sustainability and community will always be at the heart of what we are doing at Greyfriars. This means living in a way that protects our natural resources and opportunities for future generations.

Sustainability has social and economic aspects too. The challenges we face personally and within our communities fall into these categories. Therefore, acting sustainably can help us combat the issues we face daily.

We need to take our efforts further to protect our environment and communities. To make West Northamptonshire a great place to live.

Through our refreshed vision for Greyfriars, we are prioritising:

• preserving and creating habitats and biodiversity,
• improving the quality and integrity of green space and landscape,
• retaining buildings where possible,
• reusing material from any demolitions that may need to occur,
• making efforts to reduce embodied carbon and operational energy,
• and setting an example for how buildings built today can be repurposed and adapted in the future.

We want to create a new healthy and safe neighbourhood at Greyfriars. One that enriches and improves the health and wellbeing of residents and users.

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	Area of engagement
	Our priorities for Greyfriars

What's happening next?

Thank you for taking the time to read more about our refreshed vision for revamping Greyfriars. We hope you will join us in amping up Northampton by answering our survey by Sunday 9th June 2024.

info Click on the orange button to answer the survey, or click the icon on the map.

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Click to answer our survey

AMPLIFYING GREYFRIARS

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