Northampton Conservatives recognise how important Small Business is to our town and as such we were delighted to support Small Business Saturday which took place on December 1st .

Several members of Northampton Borough Council’s Cabinet visited small businesses around the Town Centre. Many had befitted from the Council’s Business Incentive Scheme which enables businesses to apply for grants for Shop improvements or to assist with start-up costs.

The Business Incentive Scheme grants from has supported 152 businesses since it started in 2014, including more than 87 new businesses taking up vacant units in and around the town.The grants have allowed 82 business to improve their shopfronts and 19 to expand their retail floor space.

As a result, businesses have gone on to create 720 jobs in the town through £6.3 million investment of their own. Over the last eight years, the number of vacant units in the town has reduced from 97 in 2010 to 84 as of June this year, the council told.