An ambition to revitalise Northallerton town centre by restoring landmark buildings, conserving historic thoroughfares and updating shopfronts looks set to be kept on track after delays partly caused by the pandemic saw the scheme lose £165,000 of its funding.
Hambleton District Council’s cabinet will on Tuesday be asked to approve pumping an extra £120,000 into improvements to some of Northallerton High Street’s Georgian buildings as part of the £95m government-funded High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme.
Should councillors approve the funding the main elements of the £772,000 initiative would see £172,000 spent on revamping ginnels, a £160,000 augmented reality historical trail and app created and £150,000 of shopfront facelifts.
A further £37,600 would be spent on a feasibility study examining converting premises above shops into homes.
The revised scheme comes a year after it was announced Northallerton was among nine Yorkshire towns to receive funding from Historic England and the council’s leadership stating the “once vibrant appearance of the town is beginning to deteriorate”.
The officer’s recommendation to press ahead with the main parts of the initiative follows the council also securing £6 million from the government’s Future High Streets Fund, with the aim of creating a better night-time economy, more cultural and leisure opportunities and uncover hidden heritage.
It also comes as the council’s project to redevelop the former prison site on Crosby Road with shops, offices and a cinema is progressing.
While the schemes to promote the county town’s centre have been widely welcomed, councillors representing nearby market towns such as Bedale and Stokesley have called for investment there.
Nevertheless, an officer’s report to the cabinet states delays to the start of the four-year Heritage Action Zone programme were linked to Covid-19 and complex land ownership issues.
It states £51,200 of match funding, rather than £156,015, was now available from the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and a further £59,700 from the private sector has also been lost.
To plug the funding gap, it is proposed the council should increase its contribution from £35,930 to £154,530, get its officers to take on more of the project and bid for £27,710 more government funding.
The report warns if the initiative was scaled back it would lead to £239,000 less funding, severely reducing projects and ending plans to create
a reality heritage trail featuring local characters and interactive elements of the town in bygone days.
The report adds reducing the plan “may jeopardise the whole project and still require a substantial additional investment of council funds of £81,000”.
Officers conclude: “The original concept that the Heritage Action Zone for Northallerton identified projects that will positively contribute to the council priority of driving economic vitality remains true.”
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