Gig venue may move in bus station site renovation

2 hours ago

Kris HollandNorthamptonshire

News image — The Roadmender could be on the move as part of the Greyfriars redevelopment project

Peter Cooper/BBC The glass and painted white brick exterior of Northampton's Roadmender music venue as seen on a bright sunny day — The Roadmender could be on the move as part of the Greyfriars redevelopment project

One of Northampton's "most important cultural venues" could be moved as part of plans to transform the wider site of an old bus station that was demolished a decade ago.

According to planning documents, the town's Roadmender may require a "potential relocation" as part of plans to develop the 25-acre (10.1ha) site where the Greyfriars bus station stood until 2015.

It is anticipated that the long-awaited development will include more than 1,000 homes, an amphitheatre, shops and restaurants.

Plans for the largely derelict brownfield site in the town centre are being developed jointly by West Northamptonshire Council and the English Cities Fund (ECF).

As first reported by the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, documents on the Reform UK-controlled council's planning portal also reveal plans to:

Demolish "the majority" of existing buildings, including the Mayorhold mult-storey car park
Removal of seven storeys of the vacant Belgrave House office building to service level access to the Grosvenor Shopping Centre
Redevelopment of the Upper Mounts and Newlands car parks.

Peter Cooper/BBC A multi-storey car park positioned next to a vacant office building site - Belgrave House - which is of a similar size in height. The buildings are viewed from Lady's Lane in Northampton on a clear day and viewed across the derelict site of the former Greyfriars bus station — Belgrave House, pictured to the right of the Grosvenor Centre car park, will have its top seven floors removed, plans suggest

The report suggested that Roadmender's potential relocation would be as a result of the redevelopment of the car parks.

It added that parts of the Grade II listed Parade buildings, including the Corn Exchange, built in 1851, would be retained but altered and brought back into use.

Brick-built bus station, partly covered in blue sheeting, with a large cloud of dust on the left side following the detonation of demolition explosives. There is a multi-storey building to the right and a car park to the left. — The site includes the space left by the demolition of the old bus station in 2015

A possible total of 1,200 homes could be delivered, alongside up to 500 student accommodation units, as well as "commercial and community space".

There would be changes to roads and existing public space, including new bus routes, lanes and widening of pedestrian areas - particularly along Sheep Street.

The planning application revealed that the work would be carried out in phases and could take about 11 years to complete, though a date for the commencement of the work was yet to be disclosed.

The council previously claimed that 7,000 full-time equivalent jobs would be created during the construction phase and "over £1bn in economic value" would be "unlocked".