Here's how Northampton's Market Square is looking one year into its £10m refurbishment

Take a look at the progress made after one year of the £10million Market Square refurbishment in Northampton town centre.

Major refurbishment works officially began on Market Square a year ago on Tuesday (February 6).

The Chronicle and Echo headed down to the site on Tuesday to see how the Market Square is looking 12 months into its major revamp. Here’s what we saw.

The first section of brand new paving outside the Grosvenor Centre opened in November, providing a glimpse of what the site will look like once complete next summer.

Over the last two months, that new paving has been fitted along the walkway from the Grosvenor Centre towards Starbucks.

The huge hoarding has also been removed outside the Grosvenor Centre, allowing members of the public to see what’s going on across the site.

New bespoke fixed permanent stalls were craned into the Market Square on Thursday, December 7, having arrived from Italy. These stalls will provide market traders with new permanent fixed spaces, according to WNC.

Workers have been installing the relevant infrastructure and paving to house the stalls and connect the necessary utilities.

A council spokeswoman previously said that new paving and grouting installation in the north-eastern section nears completion (near the Grosvenor Centre). Ongoing tasks involve the installation of water feature pipework, a water holding tank, and foundational work. Importantly, cobbles are being retained and reused within the scheme.

A WNC spokesman previously said that the costs of the project, initially £8.4 million, have increased to around £10 million.

Explaining, a council spokesman previously said: “The initial construction cost for the project at £8.4 million was outlined in early 2020. Three years on, construction costs are significantly higher due to inflation and lasting effects of the pandemic. The revised projected cost is £10 million, which is being funded through different funding streams including £8.4m from the Future High Street Fund, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which can only be spent on infrastructure projects, and £500,000 reallocation for other capital works.”

WNC has been asked if the works are still on target for the initial planned completion date of summer 2024.