CORBY TOWNS FUND BRINGING BENEFITS TO THE AREA

Corby will see numerous benefits in the town centre and surrounding areas thanks to the £19.9m investment secured through the Towns Fund enabling the completion of four projects approved by Government:

• The Sixth Form College
• Multi-use Building
• Train Station to Town Centre link road
• Smart and Connected Corby

Not only will these projects have a positive impact on the local economy but will ensure diversity of use and future viability of the town centre. The programme will support skills and education by facilitating the provision of new learning space in the town centre and will provide a new cultural and community hub and also improve the local infrastructure to enable the town to grow.

The Sixth Form College has completed on time and welcomed the first intake of students at the start of the academic year in September 2023. This education facility is managed by an experienced team from The Bedford College Group and will accommodate students from Corby and surrounding areas. This number will steadily increase over time and be capable of welcoming over 660 students per academic year to study in this newly refurbished modern building in the heart of the town centre. These students will make a significant contribution to the local economy over their working life. Over the next 5 years this project will create over 36 new positions in this sixth form college.

Improvements on Oakley Road will provide an attractive and safe pedestrian/cycle connections between the town centre and the railway station through the Train Station to Town Centre – link road project. It will connect the station directly with the Chisholm House and Multi-use Building project area, making a significant contribution to the active healthy travel agenda and help to reduce congestion and emissions across Corby. This critical connection has been an ambition in many different formats and routes for 20 years, since it was first identified in the 2003 Corby Development Framework.

During the construction of this project, 20-30 full-time equivalent positions will be created. Around 1.8 kilometres of new or improved cycle paths and up to five and a half kilometres of new and improved pedestrian paths are among some of the improvements along this route. Over 1000 m2 of public realm will be improved, with new trees and shrubs planted to make this more attractive for users along this route. Pedestrian crossings both controlled and uncontrolled will be upgraded, seeing up to 18 different improved crossings.

The integrated sensor network of the Smart and Connected Corby project will establish Corby as a ‘smart-and-green’ town centre by harnessing connected technologies, enabling us to monitor and manage the flows of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists to understand the present, assess the impact of interventions and predict the future; especially as the town’s population increases over the next decade. This sensor network can be extended in the future to increase this structure across the area.

The Multi-use Building project being planned at the moment will be located in the town centre, this multi-purpose facility will provide accommodation for a modern Cultural and Community Hub, as well as meet the identified demand for creative, media and the third sector uses. It will help to increase trips, pedestrian flows and spend across the town, and will improve the town’s overall permeability