IHBC East Midlands Branch: Master Planning and Market Towns
IHBC East Midlands Branch: Master Planning and Market Towns
Date: Monday 27 April 2026, 09:30 – 16:00
Location: In-person, Northampton Guildhall, St Giles Square
Northampton, NN1 1DE
United Kingdom
IHBC East Midlands are pleased to be able to announce an exciting CPD opportunity covering the challenges of planning for the future of our region’s market towns whilst managing them as complex, multi-layered historic areas.
We will return to Northamptonshire as the venue for an IHBC East Midlands event for the first time since September 2023. Our venue will be the Court Room within the grade II* listed Northampton Guildhall. A fine and richly decorated Victorian building in the 13th century Gothic style.
The event will explore the challenges facing market towns, looking both at the regional perspective and examples from Northampton, our host for the event. The use of master-planning as a tool for moving market town forwards will also be explored. These topics will be explored on the day by speakers from Historic England, the the local planning authority – West Northamptonshire Council and the private sector.
The afternoon of the event will include two walking tours looking at active conservation projects in the town before the event finishes back at the Guildhall for a Q&A and close.
9:30 – Arrival
9:45 – Welcome
9:50 – Talk 1 – Introduction to the day – West Northamptonshire Council
10:00 – Talk 2 – The regional/national perspective – Historic England
10:45 – Morning Break
11:00 – Talk 3 – Master-planning for Northampton – West Northamptonshire Council
11:45 – Talk 4 – Greyfriars – Node
12:30 – Lunch
13:30 – Walking Tours – Tour 1 – Town centre regeneration sites/ Tour 2 County Hall complex – Note: two groups will run concurrently swapping after one hour to do other tour.
15:30 – Return to venue for Q&A
16:00 – Finish
For further information and booking:
Cost:
£35 + Eventbrite Ticket Fee – Members
£40 + Eventbrite Ticket Fee – Non-Member