C&C awarded £70m ‘game-changer’ mixed-use scheme
Two empty department stores in Northampton will be reinvented as a “buzzing” mixed-use scheme, after Capital&Centric was appointed as the council’s development partner for the project.
Demolition work on the site of the former M&S and BHS department stores in Abingdon Street, which began in June, is set to be completed by early next year, West Northamptonshire Council says.
In its place, a planned £70m scheme will see the creation of more than 200 new homes alongside retail units at the ground level, as well as a number of landscaped public spaces.
John Moffat, Joint Managing Director at Manchester-based developer Capital&Centric, said: “Northampton has massive potential, and this site is a game-changer for the town centre. We’re not interested in cookie cutter blocks, we’re creating a place where people want to live, work and hang out.
“This is about taking a tired part of town and making it somewhere that buzzes with life again. We’re pumped to be working with the council and the local community to bring this vision to life.”
The town’s BHS department store has been vacant since it closed down along with the collapse of the national chain in 2016, while neighbouring M&S shut its doors for the final time two years later.
The two stores, once considered cornerstones of the county town’s shopping landscape, accounted for around 150,000 sq ft of town centre retail space.
Plans to redevelop the vacant department stores were first mooted by the local authority in 2022, after it bought up the former BHS for redevelopment. The project, which has been funded by £9.7m from the government’s Towns Fund, is scheduled to be completed by 2032.
Cllr James Petter, Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture and Leisure at West Northamptonshire Council, said the appointment marked a “major step forward” in the regeneration of Northampton town centre.
“Capital&Centric are one of the UK’s most experienced developers when it comes to transforming complex town centre sites. They’ve delivered successful projects across the country, creating vibrant places where people want to live, work and spend time. Their expertise will help bring much-needed homes, jobs and opportunities to Northampton, supporting the wider regeneration of our town.”
