‘This is just the beginning,’ says councillor in charge of £12.4m revamp as Northampton’s Market Square reopens
‘This is just the beginning,’ says the man leading the £12.4 million regeneration of Northampton’s Market Square, as it officially reopens for business following 18 months of redevelopment.
Chronicle & Echo has been in the town centre, speaking to the man in charge of the project at West Northants Council (WNC), Conservative councillor Daniel Lister.
The extensive refurbishment project began in February 2023, and includes new paving, water features, seating, improved landscaping, a dedicated events space and 18 fixed stalls.
Councillor Lister said: “It’s great to welcome traders back from Commercial Street. It’s great to see people here on the Market Square; there are lots of people already. Not every stall is open yet—there are lots more opening tomorrow—and then we have the grand opening on October 20, which will hopefully bring more people in.
“Everyone’s really supportive. The traders look absolutely fantastic. I think it looks really good, and I’m really pleased to see everyone back.
"This is just the end of the beginning. The town needs to start adapting to the new world of retail, and this is our flag in the sand that says, ‘We want to change, we want to work with the town, we want to develop what we’ve got here.’
"We’ve got Abington and Fish Street being redone, and there are lots of projects. This is about saying the town centre is going to start getting better, and we want people to come in, enjoy it, and make it the community place again—somewhere people feel comfortable, happy, and excited to enjoy.”
On the Market Square costing £12.4 million, Cllr Lister said: “£8.4 million of that was a government grant, and £3 million came from the Community Infrastructure Levy. The council has to intervene in some ways to start these projects and show we’re going to invest, because when towns invest in themselves, they start to see other investment from businesses. That’s what we need to do—develop that. The town has to change. Debenhams, BHS, they’ve all gone bust. So, what do we create? Do we leave them empty, or do we start thinking about how our town centre adapts? What we can do is intervene in things like the public realm. We can’t reduce business rates, as they’re set by central government.”
Asked if WNC will be providing the public with a full breakdown of costs, he said: “I’m sure that will be available at some point. I don’t have a final breakdown as it’s not finished yet, but I’m sure it can be made available.”
Speaking about the long-term vision for the town, he continued: “This is about creating footfall. This is about a long-term vision. Doing the Market Square alone isn’t going to fix Northampton. Putting new pavement down on Abington and Fish Street isn’t going to fix Northampton. This is about having that long-term vision for the town and developing an approach where we’re constantly evolving.
“People have stopped coming into town centres all over the country—this isn’t unique to Northampton—because the things they want aren’t there, so they go to out-of-town shopping centres. We have to create a place where you can come to see a market and independent traders that you won’t find at Rushden Lakes. That’s what we have to help enable.”
Asked about keeping the Square looking pristine, he said: “We’ve got cleaning on the square, we’ve got litter pickers, and people coming out making sure it stays clean and tidy. We’re working with the police, who are helping to push out anti-social behaviour from the town, which I think is working really well. I hope it’s going to last. The council can’t fix this alone. We have to work together, and everyone has to play a part in keeping the positivity going around the Market Square.”
Asked if he had any regrets about leading the project, specifically on how the traders were treated, he said: “We made the best of the situation that we could. If there was something we could have done differently, we would have done it. We gave traders free rent, electricity, parking, and taxis. We had no alternatives. We looked at places like Abington Street and St Giles Street, and there weren’t any suitable options. We made the best of the situation.
"From now on, it’s about looking forward and staying positive for the future. It’s about how we can support the traders, increase footfall, and help their businesses grow and thrive.”
He added: “Welcome back to the traders. A really heartfelt thanks for their time down on Commercial Street.”
Opposition leader, Labour councillor Wendy Randall said: “I think it’s lovely to see people buzzing around this morning. The stalls are lovely.
"Traders have been away for 18 months, and it’s been really, really difficult for them. They’re busy. Hopefully, it’ll be a success. The cobbles are lovely, and I hope they’re self-cleaning because it’d be awful if they were stained.
"My worry is the open space in the evening. I hope there’s not going to be anti-social behaviour, because I think that will drive people away when we’re trying to bring them back in.”
Asked whether her party will be scrutinising the costs, councillor Randall said: “It’s overspent. I think we’ll be looking into that. How do you get such an overspend? What is in that contract that went so wrong? I don’t know. How did we get to that figure? That’s £4 million of CIL money, which could have been spent on other things.”