Corby is ‘fastest-growing’ town

The town of Corby in Northamptonshire has the fastest growing population in England and Wales, according to new figures.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) based its findings on the number of council taxpayers in the borough.

They show that the number of average Band D council taxpayers in Corby has risen 9% between 2006/07 and 2009/10.

Kettering showed the third highest increase (6.4%) of any local authority.

Pat Fawcett, leader of Corby Borough Council, said: “The council’s ambition is to double the population of Corby by 2030 and so the news that our growth rate is the fastest in England and Wales is just excellent.”

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Fresh bid planned for university

A fresh application to create a university in north Northamptonshire is likely to be made in the new year.

Education leaders rejected a bid from Tresham College to set up the university in Corby.

But supporters of the plan say that with regeneration and a growing population, pressure is building for a new proposal to be approved.

They point to the success of the campaign to open a station in Corby as an example of what can be achieved.

Borough council chief executive Chris Mallender said: “Corby is a fast growing and fast improving place.

“We are aiming to double our population of about 57,000 people by 2030. Regeneration is already well under way with almost £2bn of investment secured for regeneration projects.

“We are also well on-track to deliver the homes we need with 12,000 of the 16,800 homes needed by 2021 either built or with full planning permission.

“An even bigger challenge is to deliver the 13,000 jobs needed to grow our economy. In this respect education is the best form of economic development we have got.

“Tresham College’s new £37m campus is pivotal to this, as is the recent opening of a national training headquarters in Weldon and the soon to be developed enterprise centre at Priors Hall.”
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Corby pool opened by Olympic swimmer

He was the first person to take to the water and he swam the 50m length in 22.92 seconds.

He said: “I love seeing new swimming pools, I have spent my life in them and this is a fantastic facility.”

“What makes a fantastic pool for me is the light that comes in here and you have built a great facility here.”

The official opening ceremony took place this morning and the pool will be open to the public from 2.30pm this afternoon.

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Funding Secured for Corby Enterprise Centre

New businesses, skills and jobs are to be created in Corby following today’s announcement by North Northants Development Company (NNDC), the Urban Regeneration Company, that funding is in place to develop the £8.3m Corby Enterprise Centre.

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is the major funder of the Enterprise Centre, putting in nearly £6.5 million to the scheme, which includes £1m from Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited. The balance of the cash comes from Corby Borough Council (c. £700k) and over £1.1m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  ERDF aims to stimulate enterprise and support the growth of successful businesses.

Following a development competition, a new site and design has been selected for the 43,000 sq ft flagship centre. It will now be located at Priors Hall, the major urban extension to the north-east of Corby, which is already home to the new £30m Corby Business Academy. It is expected that work will begin on site in late summer 2009 pending detailed planning consent.

The Enterprise Centre will be situated adjacent to the Academy in the planned employment area of Priors Hall, which has been praised by CABE* for its design philosophy. Located close to the proposed District Centre, it will be within five minutes walking distance of planned community, entertainment and retail facilities.

Bela Partnership, a joint venture between Bee Bee Developments and the Lagan Group, which is leading the development of Priors Hall, has been selected as the preferred site developer to build the Enterprise Centre. It has been designed by the Milton Keynes-based DLA Architects.

The building will provide 32,000 sq ft of lettable office, workshop and studio space. Its aspirational and environmentally-friendly design will offer start-ups and small businesses a truly flexible workspace including access to state of the art telecommunications and meeting facilities.

By providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to work within such high quality office and workshop space, it will have a major impact on the balance of the local economy, creating a significant number of highly skilled jobs in Corby.

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PM Visits Corby

Earlier this week, BBC News met three former Woolworths workers, struggling to find new jobs. After hearing that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said that jobs were being created, one of them, Evelyn Downey, challenged him to “come to Corby and show me where they are, because I can’t find any”.

Mr Brown agreed to meet them. BBC economics reporter Steven Duke was in Corby to hear how the meeting went.

Sat in an out-of-town supermarket cafe, you get to overhear plenty of conversation tit-bits, but you tend not to hear, “When I meet the Prime Minister later I’m going to tell him…”

Three former Woolworths workers that the BBC interviewed a few days ago are having that very conversation.

The Prime Minister is in town to speak to students at the official opening of the impressive new Corby Business Academy, and he’s agreed to meet our jobseekers - Evelyn, Frances and Steve.

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New Primark attracts shoppers to Corby

SHOPPERS are coming from far and wide to spend their money in Corby following the opening of the new Primark store in the town.

The number of visitors to the town was up 40 per cent on last week when the new Primark store flung open its doors on Wednesday.

A survey carried out by town centre managers Land Securities revealed people travelled from as far as Peterborough, Leicester, Wellingborough and Stamford to use the store.

And on Primark’s first Saturday, queues of traffic getting into the town added up to 20 minutes to some people’s journeys.

Land Securities centre manager Daniel Pickard said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic. Primark is an extremely popular brand for men’s, women’s and children’s clothing.

“It’s a welcome change from the doom and gloom in the news. The town’s just going from strength to strength.”

Mr Pickard said other retailers in Willow Place had seen an increase in shoppers through their doors.

Corby Council deputy leader Mark Pengelly, a manager at Busy Bee minibus hiring firm, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It took me 20 minutes to get to work through the traffic on Saturday. We are finding people from further afield are coming to Corby to see what it’s got to offer. It’s great for the town.”
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£5m sports hub - Envy of region

Plans to create a £5million sports hub at Rockingham Triangle to improve sport provision in Corby can be revealed for the first time today.
They include ambitious plans to open a beacon tennis facility – one of only 25 in the UK – with six new outdoor floodlit tennis courts at Corby Tennis Centre.

Just six months ago the centre was rescued from the threat of closure.

A new £1.5million sports hall with four badminton courts and the town’s only indoor cricket nets will also be built and the facilities could also be used for volleyball and basketball, sports hugely popular with the town’s growing eastern European community.

Eight new changing rooms and officials’ rooms will be constructed to encourage more children and women to play football on pitches there, and a £500,000 3G floodlit football pitch will also be provided alongside the new 1,000-seater Corby Town stadium.

A multi-purpose room will be used for dance, martial arts, health and fitness training and education, while doubling-up as a social club on match days.

And an Olympic-training standard weights room will be built to help local athletes hone their training methods.

Funding for the scheme will come from a range of grants from the council and various sporting bodies.

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Work starts on £10m rail station

Work on a £10.2m railway station for Corby in Northamptonshire has started this week.

Corby is currently the largest town in Britain without a station and the new facility will offer services to destinations including London.

Network Rail said it had appointed Dean and Dyball to build the new station.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail route director, said: “This new rail link will give Corby the chance to take the greener option of the rail.”

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Corby’s £18m Olympic pool ‘taking shape’

Work has started on an £18m fitness complex which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Laminate timber beams have been used to create an arching roof on the 50m Corby East Midlands International Pool.

Pat Fawcett, leader of Corby Borough Council, said: “The pool building is really taking shape and the erection of the beams is an exciting milestone.”

The venue has been selected as a pre-games training camp for the London 2012 Olympics.

In addition to the main pool, the complex includes a 20m training pool, fun pool with flumes, a gym, dance facilities and cafe.

“Our intention is to provide the best facilities possible to meet the needs of residents of Corby and develop facilities to regional standard,” Ms Fawcett said.

The pool is due to open in summer 2009.

JJB to open new fitness centre in Corby

Sports chain giant JJB is to create 50 jobs when it opens a new gym and swimming pool in Corby.

It has been given the go ahead to open the fitness centre next to a new sports shop on the site of the former Focus store at Phoenix Parkway shopping centre.

There will be 25 full-time members of staff and 25 part-time positions at the complex.

A joint planning application by JJB and Peel Investments, the Manchester-based firm which runs the shopping complex, was approved by Corby Council this week.

A spokesman for the company said: “There is a desperate need to reverse the decline in the general health of the population.”

“Many people in the local community would benefit from the low cost fees that JJB charge for health club membership.”

“There are no comparable private health and fitness facilities which are available to people living in the town.”

“The site is ideally placed to provide much-needed, quality, modern health and fitness facilities to a local population without any requirement to travel by private car.”

The complex will include a 20m swimming pool, steam room, cardiovascular area, weights, a dance studio, a resistance area and a spinning area.

Membership fees are designed to be relatively cheap, with a peak pass costing £36 a month, off-peak £26 and £20 for students and senior citizens.

The club would be on the ground floor of the JJB store. The company has 43 fitness centres.

More details here

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