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Northampton: Traders unhappy about temporary market move

Sara Palmer/BBC Northampton MarketSara Palmer/BBC
Northampton Market will move to a car park while the area is revamped

Traders at an historic market have said they are unhappy about its temporary location during an £8.45m revamp.

Northampton's market will move from the Market Square to a car park on the edge of the town centre by August.

Fruit and vegetable stall holder Eamon Fitzpatrick said it "will put us out of business".

West Northamptonshire Council said traders staying on the Market Square would cause significant delays and additional costs.

Sara Palmer/BBC Market traderSara Palmer/BBC
Eamon Fitzpatrick, here serving a customer, said he would start a petition to stop the move

Mr Fitzpatrick, who has been a market trader in the town for 58 years, said he will not move to the temporary location.

He said: "It'll be terrible, I want to see this market survive".

Fellow trader, Dave Dunkley, who has worked on the market for 20 years, said the move was "unfair".

"The market deserves to be in the town centre. I don't think it will work, I think moving us will end up killing us off," he said.

Sara Palmer/BBC Northampton MarketSara Palmer/BBC
The Market Square in Northampton has been the home of the town's market since 1235

The Conservative authority, as part of a group called Northampton Forward, successfully bid for money to improve Market Square, which dates back to 1235, from the government's Towns Fund.

The project includes a large-scale water feature and would result in a reduction in permanent market stalls, with temporary ones taking their place.

In October, it was revealed the plans would see market stalls removed from the area for two years while work takes place.

The council said it will use its Commercial Street car park, on the corner of Horseshoe Street and St Peter's Way, opposite the Carlsberg factory.

West Northamptonshire Council Indicative image of how Northampton Market Square might lookWest Northamptonshire Council
Northampton market is set to undergo a revamp after it received an £8.45m grant from central government

Lizzy Bowen from West Northamptonshire Council said the other options considered by the authority would have "meant splitting the market up to some degree which would have reduced the potential footfall to each separate area".

The councillor, cabinet member for economic development, said: "Situating the whole market at Commercial Street car park will increase its visibility as it will be located at a very busy road junction."

Sara Palmer/BBC Commercial Street car parkSara Palmer/BBC
West Northamptonshire Council said when the market moves it will be accessible by car
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