Extra parking available for town centre shoppers

Town centre parking had been disrupted during the building of a new road from Oxford Street into the High Street development site, causing a temporary loss of spaces. Now there is a new 100-space car park at the back of the Drill Hall, which can be accessed from either the new road or from West Street, and the council has also opened up another 25 unused spaces behind the Star Bar. This means that there are around 40 more spaces available in that part of town than before the development work began.

Cllr Graham Lawman, chairman of the development committee at Wellingborough Council said: "We know that some shoppers and traders have been concerned about the amount of town centre parking during improvement works, and we're really pleased that now we can actually offer even more availability than before. And of course it's all free to use. We want to support local businesses and make it as easy as possible for people to visit Wellingborough."

Cllr Lawman added: "All the construction works and development that people can see going on around them is part of a long-term plan that will really improve our town centre. We have to go one step at a time, and it takes a while to get funding and developers, but things are really starting to happen now. Improvements have been made to several key streets and parks, we are close to securing £1.4m of lottery money to help preserve some of our historic buildings, and talks are starting with potential developers to potentially bring new houses, offices, shops, a hotel and leisure facilities to the town. We want what everyone wants - a thriving, attractive, accessible town centre to be proud of and these extra car parking spaces are just one more way we are working towards that."