Market Square work to start 'very soon' as council remains hopeful of further town centre funding boost

On Boxing Day it was announced that Northampton was one of just 73 successful towns to be awarded Future High Streets funding. The £8.44 million sum will be used to 'transform' the Market Square.

And Councillor Tim Hadland, the cabinet member for regeneration at Northampton Borough Council, remains hopeful that a further sum could come from a separate scheme known as the Towns Fund which is also being handed out by the Government.

Speaking at the latest full council meeting on Monday (January 18), he said: "We’ve heard about the Future High Streets fund which has given us just over £8 million to invest in the town centre and in particular the Market Square. That will enable us to crack on with the improvements to the Market Square in pretty short order, and we will see changes there very very soon, and that has got to be good news.

"Following on from that, the Towns Fund application went in and early indications are that it has been favourably received and we hope to get a result on that before the end of February."

Projects outlined in the Towns Fund, which was lodged in December, include 15,600 square metres of new and refurbished commercial floorspace; 24,900 square metres of new public spaces; 2,300 square metres of new or expanded cultural and heritage venues; and enabling works for key sites in the town centre to create new public spaces, new mixed-use urban quarters, and commercial facilities.

Labour councillor Emma Roberts questioned whether the sums are ringfenced, and who would be administering them after the borough council is formally dissolved on April 1. Responding, Councillor Hadland said: "The Future High Street money is ring fenced to the specific project of improving the Market Square. The Towns Fund will be ring fenced and earmarked for the specific projects that were put in the Towns Fund bid and only those projects.

"Although we’re expecting news at the end of February, we have already had some news in that we’ve had £1 million in advance to proceed with the initial preparation of the Marks & Spencer site to bring that forward for redevelopment."