Northampton’s doomed bus station to become world’s largest ball pit

Following lengthy talks, Northampton Council has confirmed the 36-year-old building has been bought by Travnja Budala, a Croatian company which is the largest manufacturer of children’s play equipment in Europe.

The firm plans to convert the 155,000-sq-ft office space above the old bus station into the world’s largest ball pit.

Company spokesman, Eric Jones, who is based at the company’s Moulton Park headquarters, said the development would make Northampton a national tourist attraction.

He said: “We have been in talks about rescuing the bus station for several months now and are delighted to announce today that it will remain a feature on Northampton’s skyline for many years to come.

“As the world’s largest ball pit, we believe Greyfriars will attract thousands of tourists to Northampton every month.

“Our development crews will move into the building later in April and will start by giving the building a lick of paint.

“We will then have more than three million plastic balls imported into the old offices, ready for an opening ceremony at the end of April.”

The development will also see a large plastic slide installed in the bus station to take both children and bus passengers into the Grosvenor Centre, which is set to be fully redeveloped by the end of 2014.

Welcoming the development news, council spokesman, Natalie Ottrue also confirmed the recently demolished Fishmarket building would be re-built brick-by-brick, as the site will no longer be needed for a replacement bus station.

She said: “This is fantastic news for the town. Not only will we see the historic and iconic Greyfriars building preserved for future generations, we will also have the world’s largest ball pit right in the town centre.

“The Fishmarket will also become a major attraction for the town when it is rebuilt and turned into a museum, celebrating both fish and markets.”

Work to rebuild the Fishmarket was due to start today, April 1.