DH Painter & Decorator repaints shopfronts in Duston, NN5, 2.1 miles out on Northampton's western side. Dean takes on the Main Road Village Centre, which falls in the Duston Conservation Area, as well as Limehurst Square and the Malvern Grove and Weggs Farm Road parades, working around trading hours and the flats above.
Four places to shop, two sets of expectations
Duston’s shops are spread across four places. The Village Centre on Main Road is the largest, with about 77 commercial premises recorded in 2013. Frontages there range from the Co-operative store to small convenience shops, hairdressers and service units, most of them single-bay fronts with flats above, plus two listed pubs. Limehurst Square is the local centre for the eastern estates, with shops, the library and the Parish Council offices. Malvern Grove and Weggs Farm Road each have a small parade of four shops.
The Village Centre lies inside the Duston Conservation Area. The parades do not, but the Duston Neighbourhood Plan asks for improved shopfronts and a consistent look across both the Village Centre and Limehurst Square. So what suits a unit depends on which of these you trade from.
A Village Centre frontage in the conservation area
The 2009 conservation area appraisal is frank about shopfronts. It says many Village Centre units already have modern frontages that harm the area, and that replacement shopfronts, adverts and fascia signs should harmonise with the old village. A repaint is the simplest way to move a frontage in that direction without rebuilding it. In practice that means heritage colours rather than bright corporate shades on the timber, a painted fascia board with traditional lettering in place of a plastic panel where the owner wants it, and stallrisers and pilasters in a darker tone that sits well beside ironstone and cream render.
Both pubs are Grade II listed. The Squirrels is 17th or 18th-century ironstone with a thatched roof, and the Melbourne Arms on Melbourne Lane is early 19th-century coursed ironstone. Painted joinery on listed buildings is repainted in kind, and any change in colour or signage should go past the conservation officer first. Bare ironstone stays unpainted.
Signage, consent and the shop front design guide
Painting a fascia in its existing colour is maintenance. New lettering, a new sign or a change of character can involve advertisement consent, and in Duston that is not a formality: 22 signage applications were made between 2008 and 2013, and six were refused. Northampton’s Shop Front Design Guide supplementary planning document from 2011 also applies. We do not handle applications, but we can paint to an approved scheme and suggest colours that fit the guidance, so it is worth checking with West Northamptonshire Council before you settle on a new design.
Working around Main Road traffic and the flats above
Main Road is busy, the roads through the Village Centre are narrow and parking is limited. For a frontage there we agree start times with the shop to avoid the busiest traffic, and agree where the van can stop. Grime from passing traffic means the fascia and frame are washed down before any painting. Ladders and boards are brought in outside the morning and afternoon school runs, which add to Main Road traffic. Where a flat above has its own door beside the shop, we keep that entrance clear for residents throughout.
At Limehurst Square and the two parades the pressure is lighter, and several units with matching fronts can be painted in sequence so the row reads as one. The general approach to working around trading is set out on our shopfront painting service page. For interiors, see our commercial painting work, or the Duston area page for the wider parish.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
