Completion date delayed by ONE YEAR for £12 million entertainment venue in Northampton town centre
A completion date for a huge £12 million entertainment and leisure hub proposed in Northampton town centre has been pushed back by an entire year — with no explanation from those involved.
The highly-anticipated STACK development, set to be built at the former Market Walk shopping centre, is facing huge delays.
Originally set to open in summer 2025, the project is now expected to be completed and open in summer 2026, according to West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) website.
This newspaper has approached both WNC and STACK for comment, but both parties have repeatedly declined to explain the delay.
Works were supposed to begin immediately after the completion of the Market Square redevelopment, according to WNC. In July, WNC even stated it was “all systems go” for STACK construction to begin in October, in line with the expected completion of Market Square works. However, the Market Square project was finished at the very end of November.
Now, both STACK and WNC have said construction will begin in "early spring," but no specific date has been provided. According to the Met Office, spring begins on March 20.
The Chron has heard unofficial reports about issues with access to the shopping centre site, as the Market Square works have only just finished, and the ongoing Abington Street repaving is expected to be completed in the New Year. Yet these are unconfirmed.
The development aims to transform the former Market Walk shopping centre, which closed in 2021, into a mixed-use venue featuring entertainment, retail, and leisure spaces.
Plans for the site include a lower ground floor dedicated to entertainment ventures such as children’s activities, fitness events, and live music. Bar areas, food hall operators, and retail units will also feature in the redesigned space which aims to cater to all ages and interests, according to WNC.
In terms of funding, WNC is contributing £4.175 million from the Towns Fund, while STACK is investing an additional £8 million into the project.
The proposed opening hours are 8am to 2.30am on any given day, allowing the centre to contribute to both the daytime and night-time economy. The new facility will also create around 250 jobs, according to the applicant Minhoco 76 Limited.
A WNC spokesman recently told this newspaper: “If you look at STACK around the country, what they’ve done for their environments and their town centres, it bring a lot of investment and other shops along with it. The big question that we’re asked will be, will the big development kill the town centre? Well, actually, if you look at Sunderland, Lincoln and Carlisle it’s brought more investment along with it. I’m very positive that in the short term we’ll start to see empty vacant units come forward [into use]. We’re creating the environment to do business, we’re attracting more people in, which will start to bring more attention from the nationals [retailers] as well as the local businesses.”