‘Highlight of our summer’: '400,000 people' visited Northampton’s Market Square during seaside inspired event with footfall up a reported 18%
More than 400,000 people visited the Market Square during the summer festivities, according to West Northants Council.
During Summer on the Square, which ran from July 31 until August 31, Northampton’s Market Square was transformed into a seaside-inspired destination, complete with beach, food and activities including fairground rides delivered by Café Continental, as well as face painting, glitter art and circus entertainment.
The £6,500 funded event – delivered by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) in partnership with Northampton Town Council and Northampton BID – was designed to help boost town centre footfall and support businesses while providing affordable family activities throughout the school holidays.
Organisers are now celebrating the huge success of the event with WNC estimating that ‘more than 400,000 people enjoyed events, activities and entertainment in Northampton Market Square this summer’.
The council use a location intelligence platform that tracks footfall, dwell time, and visitor behavior using mobile device data rather than physical hardware sensors
The system itself explicitly describes the figures as ‘modelled estimates’ rather than counts.
With figures tracking at more than 400,000 for the month-long period, this equates to weekend visits increasing by 18 per centre compared to the same time last year, rising from 121,000 to 143,000, while overall footfall was 11 per cent higher than the average recorded across April, May and June 2026.
Sunday footfall was 23 per higher than the average Sunday in June, according to WNC who also shared quotes from visitors which read: "It's been the highlight of our summer!"
Others congratulated WNC for its efforts, while one said they’d visited several times with grandchildren.
The estimated stats also showed ‘many visitors reported returning between two and five times throughout the month’, with average spending in the town centre ranging from £20 to £50 per visit.
Cllr Kamala Guliyeva, WNC's Cabinet Member for Economy, Culture and Leisure, said: "It has been encouraging to see so many people enjoying the programme and spending time in Northampton town centre throughout the summer holidays."
According to figures released, the Grosvenor shopping centre recorded almost 125,000 visitors week commencing 24 August – the highest so far this year and more than that recorded the year before.
Greg Norman, Deputy Centre Director at Grosvenor Shopping Centre, said: "It's been a brilliant summer for Northampton, and we've loved seeing so many people enjoying the town centre.
“The response to our events, including the Dino Summer Event, has been fantastic. We're proud to play our part in supporting the local community and town centre businesses.”
Cllr Keith Holland-Delamere, Chair of the Community Services Committee at Northampton Town Council, said it has been fantastic to see the Market Square so ‘full of life’. The ‘incredible weather’ was mentioned by Mark Mullen, Chief Operating Officer for Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), with record temperatures recorded for 2026.
He added: "Lots of businesses have felt the benefits of that extra footfall and we're looking forward to welcoming many families back this winter.” Plans for WinterFest are now well underway which will see a new programme of festive events and activities for the Market Square.
Festivities will kick off on November 21 with the Christmas Lights Switch On.