As you may remember, North Northamptonshire Council and I were delighted when Corby was awarded £19.9 million through the Government's flagship 'Town Fund' in June 2021 and with this year drawing to a close, I wanted to provide a short progress update on how things are coming along in delivering the various 'Corby Town Deal' projects, that were first drawn up by the former Corby Borough Council. Our successful bid was set out in 'Corby’s Town Investment Plan' and detailed four projects to encourage economic growth in the local area, namely the Sixth Form Centre at Chisholm House, which has been largely vacant for the best part of ten years, a multi-use building at Grosvenor House, the Corby Town-Station Link and the implementation of integrated technologies to create 'Smart-and-Connected Corby', which will provide vital data as Corby’s population continues to grow.
I am pleased to say that the projects have now moved into their delivery phases, with a number of public consultations ongoing to ensure that local views are being taken fully into consideration. Notably, there has recently been a public consultation regarding the station cycle link which is currently being reviewed. This link will aim to improve the public space and provide safe pedestrian/cycle connections between the town centre, Tresham College and the train station along the southern route of Oakley Road, as well as the other proposed projects that are part of the 'Corby Town Deal', including the Chisholm House renovation. I am particularly pleased about the progress being made at Chisholm House, which will be re-purposed and renovated to be a carbon neutral building, using the latest innovative technologies to bring this ground-breaking and modern building to the heart of the town centre. It will attract young adults from around Northamptonshire, providing them a modern hub for growth, learning and education - and new first-class opportunities. These are all very exciting developments and here's to more concrete progress being made in 2023!