Northampton's Greyfriars bus station to be transformed under plans

The council says it wants to reconnect Northampton town centre by regenerating the old bus station site

Initial designs for a massive town centre regeneration project have been revealed.

West Northamptonshire Council hopes to turn Northampton's former Greyfriars bus station into a "new urban neighbourhood", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The local authority said the site has contributed to the decline of the town centre and has "severed off" areas.

The new plans include a park, office space and housing.

New plans include a "linear" park that would link up both sides of the town centre, and include ping-pong tables and an amphitheatre

About 1,400 people responded to an initial consultation over what to do with the former bus station site, which was demolished in 2015.

Among the ideas proposed by the public were an amphitheatre and outdoor spaces for sports.

Those suggestions have been taken up by the council and architect firm Studio Egret West (SEW) which is leading the project.

Initial plans include a so-called "linear park" running from east to west along the Grosvenor shopping centre, which would "weave playfulness along the journey", through outdoor ping pong tables and an amphitheatre.

Designs show what the inside of Belgrave House could look like once transformed

The aim is to reconnect people living north of the site to other regeneration projects in the town, such as Market Square and Market Walk.

The council proposes new commercial office space alongside the existing public buildings on Victoria Street and suggests redeveloping the Mayorhold multi-storey car park into a leisure facility.

Other areas flagged for rejuvenation were Belgrave House, Emporium Way, Victoria Street car park and the Corn Exchange.

A map shows the areas marked out for regeneration in Northampton

SEW has led on the design of other major regeneration projects around the UK, including Mayfield in Manchester and Earls Court in London.

The masterplan also proposed "multi-generational living" consisting of a mixture of build-to-rent, build-to-buy, student accommodation and later living options.

The full plans are due to be showcased to the public in the spring.