- New building officially named 'Town Hall Place'
- Space for seven new independent businesses in prime Market Street location with flexible rental terms available soon
- Town Hall Place designed to support local start-ups and artisan businesses with competitive short-term leases
Tamworth town centre’s brand-new hub for small, independent retailers will be known as Town Hall Place, Tamworth Borough Council has revealed.
The collection of seven individual shops, within a new shared building, is nearly complete, and aims to help local niche and artisan businesses, start-up or grow.
It has been named Town Hall Place to reflect its location opposite the historic Tamworth Town Hall in Market Street. The building’s design, with its attractive arches above each new shop front, has also been inspired by the Tuscan style stone pillars which support the early 18th century town hall. The design also features ‘herringbone style’ brickwork, replicating the historic herringbone wall of Tamworth Castle.
By offering ‘easy in, easy out’ rental terms, with competitive rates and short-term leases, Town Hall Place will give independent businesses the opportunity to trade in a prime town centre location.
The council is looking to let the units to local, independent businesses which will expand the choice and appeal of Tamworth town centre. While there are no restrictions on the type of businesses, applicants will be assessed to make sure their offering is high-quality and brings something new to the high street, in line with what customers want.
This could include makers and creators, vintage or themed fashion, children’s clothes, artisan bread, specialist food, cafes, florists, haberdasheries, cobblers and more.
Councillor Carol Dean, Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said: “It’s wonderful to see Town Hall Place taking shape. The building’s design is beautiful, and I can’t wait to welcome new businesses to this lovely space, with its exciting opportunities.
“We’re delighted to reveal the name of Town Hall Place. We wanted the name to reflect the location and history, and with the larger public area that will be created outside, we hope this will become a space for people to meet, linking the Castle Grounds and the brand new St Editha’s Square.
“If we can attract the right businesses, Town Hall Place has the potential to help draw people out of the Castle Grounds and into the wider town centre to boost footfall for everyone.
“I can imagine it becoming a hive of activity, maybe with craft workshops inside the shops, and themed events between all the retailers. We know people are calling for more diversity in the town centre offering, and we hope this will go some way to achieving that.”
Town Hall Place is one of the projects being delivered as part of the £21m Future High Streets Fund project, which was secured back in 2020 to deliver specific projects to regenerate Tamworth town centre.
Extensive community engagement carried out prior to the original Expression of Interest being submitted to the government in March 2019, revealed ‘niche shops’ as the number one thing people would like to see more of in the town centre.
The Town Hall Place project was designed specifically to answer that request.
Units range in size from roughly 130 sq ft to 350 sq ft; ideal for traders who have launched a business from home or a market stall and are ready to take the next step with a retail outlet.
Advice and support will be available from the council’s economic development team to help the businesses grow, and potentially move to bigger vacant units in the town when the time is right.
Any businesses interested in renting a unit at Town Hall Place are asked contact business@tamworth.gov.uk.
More information is also available on the Town Hall Place webpage, or via email from.
Future High Streets Fund regeneration
The Future High Streets Fund regeneration programme is nearing completion, including:
- A new Enterprise Centre in the original 19th Century former Co-operative building on Colehill. (Now complete)
- A wider footbridge into the castle grounds, to enhance the existing character and appearance of the conservation area. (Ongoing)
- Redevelopment of the former Peel Café, bringing a building back into active use. (Now complete, and the new home to the Nationwide Building Society).
- Refurbishments to St Editha’s Square. (Complete)
- Public realm works that will link all the projects together. (Ongoing)
South Staffordshire College is also progressing with the building of a new college in St Editha’s Square, which is due to welcome students in September.
Together, Tamworth Borough Council’s regeneration project and the new college deliver a combined investment of over £40million in the town centre.
For more information about the project and how it came about, please visit Transforming Tamworth | Tamworth Borough Council