Northampton: 'Friends thought we were mad opening a shop here'

High Streets across the country have suffered the loss of major retailers and Northampton, one of England's largest towns, is no exception. But its independent traders say they can see a bright future for the town.

Independent business owners in Northampton have plenty of colourful metaphors and analogies for their town.

They compare Northampton to a wounded lion or the victim of bullying by "negative people".

Yet they are holding firm in a shared belief their town still has plenty to offer, and clearly plenty of new companies agree.

Figures from the Town Investment Plan, which has successfully gained government grant money to revitalise Northampton, show 1,800 new businesses were set up there in 2019.

Selling high-end jewellery and watches from the likes of Gucci, Tag Heuer and Ralph Lauren, Steffans Jewellers is a mainstay of Northampton town centre.

The business turns 45 this year and with its in-store décor, gleaming display cabinets and a champagne bar, there is a hint of opulence about it.

Yet the interior of the shop, which sits on the edge of Abington Street and offers, according to its website, an homage to "the quirky, yet sophisticated eccentricity characteristic of Britain", stands in stark contrast to the empty units, litter strewn streets and rough sleepers nearby.

It's a familiar picture to those trying to improve the town's fortunes.

The Town Investment Plan describes the town centre as being in "decline" and "failing to meet the needs of residents and businesses".

A survey of residents carried out as part of the plan found people felt Northampton was beleaguered by "scruffy with vacant units, high levels of crime and homelessness".

Such issues, they say, have been compounded by the nationwide exodus of established chains from the High Street.

In Northampton, the likes of Debenhams, M&S and Woolworths have all gone.

Wes Souter, who owns Steffans Jewellers, is a realist about Northampton's problems.

Thriving in the town, he says, has meant his business has "had to up [its] game".

He says to make the town a success, those living and working there need to focus on what the town has to offer.

"We are not York, but we do have a very rich heritage," says Mr Souter. "We are a lion."

Mr Souter says the key to a brighter future is for innovative, independent businesses to work together and to have their voices heard by the newly-created West Northamptonshire Council.

He believes while some businesses have flourished, the local authority has not taken advantage of the knowledge those firms have accrued.

"That needs to be a lot better," he says.

Three years ago Julie Teckman started Vintage Guru, a sprawling two-storey emporium containing various independent traders selling everything from retro clothes to records to ceramic hanging tags.

She sees huge potential in the town. For a start, she says, Northamptonians love shopping.

"It's been amazingly positive," she says. "We get a wide range of people in the shop."

But she insists part of the problem the town faces is that the local authority does not always listen to those who live, work and shop in Northampton.

Instead, she claims, the council takes its lead from more vocal residents who criticise Northampton on social media and in consultation surveys.

She credits her own business success to the support of around 30 to 40 independent town businesses and customers "making the effort to buy from local shops".

"These are the people you don't hear about when others are moaning," she says.

"People say Northampton is full of charity shops and pound shops, but they don't accept it isn't Market Harborough.

"If this town had more brains it would market itself as being sustainable."

She claims the council has "given up on retail".

"They talk about culture, heritage," she says. "Those things have a place but we should have retail [in there] as well.

"People don't want to see the town being talked down.

"It has been bullied by a group of negative people. You can't keep harking back to how it was in the '50s."

West Northamptonshire Council's Conservative leader Jonathan Nunn says he is always happy to speak to town retailers.

He says the loss of traditional retail means there is a need to promote Northampton's history, heritage and culture to help bring in footfall.

But he adds the town is also "moving towards" more "individual, quirky places".

"We'd love the town to be defined by independents," he says.

Mr Nunn said some of the negative language used in the Town Investment Plan was necessary "to indicate to the government that there is a need".

"We've got to tell them what the problems are," he says.

One of Northampton's newest businesses is Saints coffee bar in St Giles Street.

A little over a month old, Saints was set up by Nicola Butler and her partner Ben Francoise as a social enterprise, which will give a quarter of any profit made to community projects.

Despite its recent bricks and mortar opening, Saints has been active online and in the community since November 2020.

Ben, who went to Oxford University, gives up his time to work in Northamptonshire schools to get "kids to follow their passions" and de-mystify access to "so-called elite universities".

Saints also runs a project helping students reinforce the importance of equality and diversity while its Coffee in the Community scheme targets people suffering from isolation.

"We don't see profit as a bad word," says Miss Butler, "but we want to give back."

Saints also wants to develop skills workshops, training and work placements which will be used to help under represented groups, including ex-offenders and homeless people.

When the couple told friends about launching a business in Northampton, some of them warned them against it.

But Miss Butler says being a start-up in the town was "fab".

"People talk down Northampton," she says. "Ben grew up here and his friends thought we were mad.

"There are things that are negative, but we believe the town has so much potential.

"It's something different and all those negative people are coming in.

"We've been blown away."

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