Watch amazing drone footage showing the latest progress of £10m refurbishment works to Northampton's Market Square

Take a look at amazing drone footage that shows the latest progress on £10m works in Northampton’s Market Square.

Transformation works to the town’s historical market have been ongoing since February 2023, marking nearly a year of construction next month.

Simon Newton from Air Three Media sent in drone footage from high above the Market Square on December 29.

The footage gives viewers a glimpse of what the site will look like once complete, although there is still plenty of work left to do.

The works are expected to be completed by summer this year, according to West Northants Council (WNC).

Once complete, the site 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 first section of brand new paving outside the Grosvenor Centre opened in November.

New bespoke fixed permanent stalls for traders were craned into the Market Square on Thursday, December 7, having arrived from overseas.

The development will receive another batch of 16 specialist stalls in January 2024 and the next steps will be to install the relevant infrastructure and paving to house the stalls and connect the necessary utilities.

Adrian Barnes, regional director at Stenpell, the firm overseeing the multi-million pound project, said: “It’s going to look fantastic. You get a feel for the expanse of the area and it’s really going to upgrade Northampton town centre. It’s a big stepping stone in terms of the regeneration plans we’ve got.”

It will act as a passageway to the former Market Walk shopping centre, another leisure facility receiving an upgrade through WNC’s Towns Fund. The £12m project, undertaken by developer STACK, will host a range of independent street food traders, a variety of bars, and a dedicated communal space for interactive games.

Elsewhere in the square, new paving and grouting installation in the north-eastern section nears completion (near the Grosvenor Centre), while efforts to raise the formation for new paving to the east are underway (near Burger King). In the south-east, essential drainage works and subbase laying for new paving are in progress (close to Nandos). 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, the spokeswoman said.

The cost of the project was initially £8.4m in 2020 but that increased to around £10million.

Meanwhile, down at the temporary market in Commercial Street car park, traders continue to report that there is a lack of footfall at the site, affecting business.