Northampton: Behind schedule developments lack 'vision'

A series of behind-schedule and over-budget projects show there is "something radically wrong" with a town's development, it is claimed.

Northampton Borough Council opposition Labour leader Danielle Stone said the authority did not have "enough vision" or "enough drive".

The schemes include Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium, the old Greyfriars bus station site and Delapre Abbey.

Tory council leader Jonathan Nunn said he would not take "unacceptable risks".

The authority is to discuss the progress of two major projects at its cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

When the brutalist Greyfriars bus station was demolished in March 2015, it was supposed to signal a new beginning for Northampton town centre.

More than two years later, the site remains empty. It has now been revealed that developer Carter Endurance is unable to deliver the housing part of the scheme - meaning the plans could go back to the drawing board.

The £10.8m Vulcan Works plan to create a "cultural hub" on Guildhall Road has also been delayed.

The scheme changed last year to accommodate the University of Northampton's Creative Leather and Leather Conservation Centre.

The cabinet papers revealed issues around the project's financial risk has now led to the university seeking alternative accommodation.

The council will seek more money from the European Union to complete the project.

Ms Stone said the development of Northampton is "dead", citing more problems with the Northampton Museum refurbishment and the £6.3m restoration of Delapre Abbey.

She said there was "something radically wrong" with the overall development plan.

The museum scheme is already a year behind schedule due to problems with drainage and asbestos.

It closed in February 2017, but won't re-open until 2019 at the earliest.

The refurbishment includes an extension partly funded by the controversial sale of Egyptian statue Sekhemka,

The restoration of the 900-year-old Delapre Abbey was due to be completed last summer.

The scheme remains unfinished, while the cost of it has risen to more than £8m.

Perhaps the most high profile - and problematic - project is the redevelopment of Northampton Town's Sixfields stadium.

The borough council loaned the club £10.25m, but the funds have seemingly vanished, leaving an unfinished stand and no development.

One project which has seen some success is the town's new railway station, which opened in January 2015.

The main building was delayed for more than three months, but its modern exterior has proven welcoming to visitors.

However, a 1,550 space multi-storey car park due to open in 2015 remains unfinished, with no work currently taking place.

The BBC approached the council and Network Rail for an update but has yet to receive a response.

Other long-running schemes are the St Edmund's Hospital development, the former Chronicle & Echo site and Four Waterside in St Peter's Way.

The Grade II-listed St Edmund's building was closed in 1998. A planning application for a care complex for the elderly was submitted in March 2015, but work has stalled.

Aldi gained outline planning permission to build a store on the site of the old newspaper building, which was demolished in July 2014.

Work on the supermarket and 19 homes will not start until next year.

It is a similar story at Four Waterside, where plans for Northampton's first major office development in 20 years were submitted in January 2016.

The development - which it is claimed will create 500 jobs - was due to be completed this year, but no work is currently taking place.

Mr Nunn said the borough council has been "working through our key projects" to make sure they are structured appropriately.

"We are not prepared to take unacceptable risks around either the prospects or finances of these things purely in order to gain credit for seeming to make progress," he said.