A Northamptonshire town, which already boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, looks set to benefit from a raft of jobs creating developments.
Spanning just about every property category, from retail to prestige office space, Kettering’s latest expansion phase comes on the back of county council road upgrade plans, making the area even more attractive to distribution and logistics operators.
Kettering Borough Council, as part of its master plan, is also searching for investment partners to help it develop 12 key Station Quarter commercial sites. In a joint venture with Network Rail, the authority wants to transform land surrounding the town’s railway station into a prestige business gateway.
“The availability of Grade A existing office stock remains very constrained,” admitted a spokesman for Northants-based commercial agents Prop-Search. “As such, a lack of opportunities immediately available is constraining the ability of existing occupiers to expand and to attract new employees to the town.”
By preparing the brownfield and former rail land to offer “oven ready” development plots the council hopes developers will be persuaded to fund the building of a hotel, an upgraded transport interchange, a multi-storey car parking and at least 350,000 sq ft of offices.
With the largest town centre in North Northamptonshire, Kettering is also working hard to maintain its place in the area’s retail hierarchy by improving its shopping centre and attracting a wider range of retailers.
Earlier this year, developer Redleaf let a new 5,000 sq ft food store on the site of a redundant petrol filling station on London Road to the Midlands Co-operative. The £2m scheme included two additional 750 sq ft units pre-let to a fast food business and a bookmakers.
“The completion of this scheme is great news and as the site has been vacant for a number of years, comes not a moment too soon,” said Paul Bishton, of Redleaf “We have developed a modern, well-designed scheme on one of the busiest arterial routes in and out of Kettering with the intention of bringing useful amenities to local people and passing trade.”
The German discount retailer Aldi also wants to build a new supermarket on Stanier Retail Park, joining occupiers including Dunelm Mill and McDonalds, and complementing its existing store on the town’s Carina Road.
Four years after it received approval, ground work started last month on a multi-million pound scheme that will see the biggest change in the Northants town in almost half-a-century.
East Kettering is a “sustainable urban extension” spread over 800-acres that will provide 5,500 new homes and more than one-million square feet of commercial, healthcare and leisure space. The first phases of the residential element, including a primary school, is due for completion by next July.
Complementing the Kettering East scheme is Roxhill’s development of a 90-acre site, adjacent to Latimer Business Park where occupiers include Morrisons, Weetabix and Argos.
The site — known as the Junction 10 Business Park — has been flagged in the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit as suitable for business, industrial and storage and distribution units between 10,000 and 150,000 sq ft. When fully developed the new park could generate as many as 3,000 jobs.
Another Kettering site with outline planning consent for 400,00 sq ft of industrial and storage and distribution units is Cransley Park (pictured), adjacent to Junction 8 of the A14. The 32-acre former scrap yard site, owned by the St Francis Group, also has permission for a hotel.
“Kettering’s vision for the future is centred on the three main principles,” added the Prop-Search spokesman, “supporting new housing, jobs and infrastructure; developing the town centre, and providing a more skilled workforce through a better education offer.”
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