Town centre shops and businesses are open as usual as work to improve the public realm around Sheep Street and the Market Place in Kettering nears completion.
A major part of the work to improve Sheep Street involves laying a final finish to the road surface. This will require the temporary closure of Sheep Street between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for up to four days from 30th August 2011. During this time, vehicle access along Sheep Street will not be possible.
However, diversions will be put in place before the works begin to allow full access to all properties in the area:
- To access George Street, or roads off George Street, a short diversion will be in place through Stagecoach’s bus access route. The access route is just up the hill from the Stagecoach bus station on Northampton Road.
- To access West Street, roads off West Street and the Market Place, a two-way temporary diversion route will operate via Market Street.
Kettering Borough Council and the contractors for the scheme, Balfour Beatty, have worked closely with engineers from the County Council and Stagecoach to facilitate the temporary diversions and minimise disruption for local residents, businesses and shoppers. Signage will be put up to divert traffic around Sheep Street during the course of the works and pavements will be open at all times to provide access to shops and businesses on Sheep Street.
Kettering Borough Council’s Paul Thomas, the officer responsible for the regeneration scheme said:
"We are working closely with local businesses and our contractor to ensure traffic and pedestrian flows will run as smoothly as possible. I would like to thank businesses in the area for being understanding and focussing on the longer term benefits of the scheme. We would also like to thank Stagecoach whose cooperation has been critical in delivering this final element of town centre public realm works"
Councillor Mark Dearing, portfolio holder for regeneration said: “I would like to thank local businesses and residents for their patience whilst we carry out these works. It is really exciting to see the improvement works to Kettering’s town centre nearing completion. If you haven’t been into Kettering’s town centre recently, why not come along and see what’s been happening for yourself?”