Our town centres and high streets are a real asset to our local area and our businesses, which is why I want to boost the areas and make them a space for people to be proud of.
In my first few months I convened a ‘Wellingborough Town Centre Taskforce’, inviting key stakeholders, businesses, members of North Northamptonshire Council and the police to join together to discuss ways in which we can improve the area. The group meets every 4 months so that people can update on their actions and plan what we are going to be doing going forward. From this, we have looked into new bus routes into the town, requested that street lighting be fixed and installed, ensured that the police do frequent drop-ins at problem areas, as well as much more.
As part of a Government scheme, North Northamptonshire Council is part of a trial for High Street Rental Auctions. The Local Data Company found that nationally, in the final quarter of 2023, 1 in every 7 high street shops were closed. This scheme will require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial properties to new tenants such as local businesses or community groups. I am glad to support this and to see some of our empty shops fill with new and exciting businesses.
Everyone deserves to feel safe when using our Town Centres. I have participated in two Town Centre canvasses in Wellingborough to hear first hand from business owners about any issues they have and to encourage them to sign up to the WARS app. The Wellingborough Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Scheme (WARS) was set up in partnership with Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership, the Police, Northants Police, the Fire and Crime Commissioner and Wellingborough Town Council to work together to deter and prevent anti-social behaviour as well as disrupting the root cause of it.
