Florist opens new stall in Northampton shopping centre after being moved off Market Square following 100 years of trade

An iconic florists has opened a brand new stall in a Northampton shopping centre after being kicked off the Market Square following 100 years of trade.

Tony Jones Florist has been trading from its stall on the Market Square for more than 100 years through three generations.

But the business has recently moved down to Commercial Street car park along with other market traders while West Northants Council completes £8.4 million works to refurbish the Market Square.

Elliott Jones, who currently runs the family stall, has now opened a brand new stall inside the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in the town centre.

He said: "We're very excited to be in the locale of my old stall, which will service my existing customers and, hopefully, we can pick up some new customers as well.

"The temperature in the Grosvenor Centre is fantastic! It's all very positive. We're just inside the doors by Boots.

"We're full-time at the Grosvenor Centre, seven days a week. Then we're also doing Wednesday to Saturday down Commercial Street as well."

Explaining the move, Elliott said he 'just wanted to stay near the market'.

He said: "I'm third generation, my family has been on the market for 100 years. It's a really big decision but hopefully it's going to be the best decision for my family and for my customers."

The florist had been demanding the council provide him with a letter of intent for traders to move back to Market Square once works are finished.

In response, the council said it issued a letter of intent to traders at the end of January. A WNC spokeswoman said: “The market traders are due to receive a letter of intent...around our plans to move the market back to Market Square once the improvement work is complete.”

Works began on Monday (February 6) to refurbish the Market Square and will take around 18 months to complete, the council says.

The refurbishment will include new 'high-quality' paving and materials, a 'flexible' event space, 'bespoke' fixed stalls, more trees, tiered seating and an 'interactive water feature', according to WNC.

The general mood of traders currently in Commercial Street is one of worry, as many are unsure they will be able to survive 18 months to even return to the new Market Square. ‘Only time will tell,’ say traders.

In other news regarding the Grosvenor Centre, popular gadget shop MenKind and women's fashion outlet Select have both closed for good this year, with New Look also set to leave on February 15 after nearly 20 years at the site.