STILL ON HOLD: Contractor issues latest update on £5 million pound refurbishment of two main streets in Northampton town centre

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Five million pound transformation works to Northampton’s main shopping street are STILL on hold – here's why.

Works by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to refurbish Abington Street and Fish Street, giving the area a new look, are still on hold heading into February.

The £5 million project began in February 2024 and was due to be “mostly complete” by November 2024, with some finishing touches expected in the New Year.

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At the start of December, contractors Kier ‘temporarily paused’ the work to ‘minimise disruption’ due to the festive season. However, works have not yet restarted two months later.

Here's what Abington Street currently looks like.Here's what Abington Street currently looks like.
Here's what Abington Street currently looks like.

In January, WNC explained the hold up in restarting the works was due to a mix-up in materials delivered.

A WNC spokesman said: “Works at Abington and Fish Street have been temporarily paused as we were unable to accept the delivery of essential materials, as they did not meet the high-quality standards. We are awaiting these to be replaced ahead of works recommencing shortly. This is a temporary measure, and we anticipate that work will resume on-site in the near future."

“We understand that any pause in activity may raise questions, and we want to assure everyone that we are working closely with our suppliers to minimise delays and resume work as soon as possible. We appreciate the understanding and patience of the community and businesses during this brief pause and look forward to delivering this project successfully.”

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The authority was keen to stress that the project is not delayed, despite the Chron reporting it was in January.

Council officials told us at the time that it was not delayed because a winter 24/25 end date was still being worked towards.

Now, in February, a Kier spokesman has issued the latest update. They said: “Regeneration works on Abington and Fish Street remain paused whilst we ensure a high standard of materials are delivered by our supply chain. Our teams are working hard to re-commence work here as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.”

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