Northampton Vulcan Works: Extra £1m approved for centre

The borough council said the Vulcan Works will create 300 new jobs

An additional million pounds of funding has been approved to fit out and repair roofing at a £14m town centre cultural hub.

Northampton Borough Council agreed on Wednesday to spend £1.1m to complete its Vulcan Works project.

It is expected the works will be finished by October this year.

The borough council said furnishing and renovating the workshops would be "the last major step of this significant development".

Plans to convert a disused iron works and several run-down buildings into a cultural hub were originally earmarked for spring 2015.

Work has been taking place to refurbish the Victorian workshops at the works

Following a number of delays, work commenced in March 2019.

The hub, based between Guildhall Road and Fetter Street in Northampton's Cultural Quarter, will contain up to 68 units.

According to planning papers, it "will attract highly skilled entrepreneurs".

Contractors have continued to operate at the site, including its Fetter Street workshops, throughout the pandemic

The new development is in the heart of the town's Cultural Quarter

Contractors have been working throughout the Covid pandemic, with demolition and refurbishment work, along with the construction of two new buildings, largely complete.

However, plans to fit out the building, including signage, furniture, carpets, kitchen white goods, fire safety equipment and a bespoke printing lab, will cost an additional £670,000.

On top of that an extra £500,000 is needed due to the "poor condition of the roof and trusses".

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The borough council's Conservative cabinet agreed to pay out the extra money from a pot of cash ring-fenced for development projects.

It had been warned any delay in completing the works would have resulted in a loss of income of £50,000 every month the Vulcan Works remained empty.

The council said: "Furnishing the Vulcan Works will be the last major step of this significant development, and a step which will allow us to rent out the units as soon as possible once the hub is completed."

It added the development was "absolutely vital as the town works towards economic recovery from the Covid pandemic".