How Northampton town centre regeneration projects are progressing

In September politicians from the ruling Conservative group on West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) declared a £33m revamp would move Northampton town centre "ahead of the curve".

A scheme to transform Market Square is nearing completion, while a number of projects are set to formally get under way in 2024.

They have been financed through funding streams such as the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Levelling Up Fund.

Where do some of the town's high-profile developments stand as we head into 2024?

A controversial £8.5m refurbishment of Northampton's Market Square is well under way.

It began in February, despite a 10,000-strong petition and complaints from traders, who were relocated to a car park on Commercial Way on the edge of the town centre.

Plans for the market, which dates back to 1235, include a new water feature, public seating, lighting scheme and "flexible events space".

Work to install 18 steel stalls on the Market Square began earlier in December.

The project is slated for completion in the summer of 2024.

The site of a bus station once dubbed "the mouth of hell", Greyfriars is approaching a decade of being nothing more than a vacant space.

Greyfriars bus station, which opened in 1976, was demolished in March 2015 and had dominated the town's skyline for nearly 40 years.

Plans for its development were previously approved in 2016, but did not progress.

Earlier in December, a fresh consultation was launched for the land, which WNC described as "the largest brownfield opportunity" in the town.

The authority's "vision" for the derelict site could include homes, community spaces and a new park.

An "online engagement" will be open until 7 January, with residents invited to share their views, before a second stage of consultation will begin.

It remains unknown exactly when the four-acre (1.62 hectare) site will be developed.

Plans to replace the empty BHS and Marks & Spencer department stores on Abington Street with flats and smaller retail units were unveiled in 2022.

BHS closed all of its stores in 2016, while the town's M&S was shut in 2018 as part of a savings plan by the retailer.

This summer, WNC agreed to finance an asbestos clearance programme that the buildings will have to undergo before they can be removed and replaced.

Part of a £9.7m Towns Fund grant will be used to pay for the asbestos work.

According to We Are Northampton, work is expected to begin in 2026 and complete in 2032.

The former Market Walk shopping centre is set to be transformed into an "innovative food hall and leisure space", under plans revealed in August.

The building, previously known as Peacock Place, was last open in 2018, but leisure developer Stack said it wanted to make it a "focal point" for local people and visitors alike.

A £12.2m transformation has been slated for the site, which sits between the Market Square and Abington Street.

WNC said it would provide about £4.2m worth of investment, through the Towns Fund, along with £8m from Stack, which completed its purchase of the shopping centre building on 1 August.

Subject to a planning application being approved, the council hopes work will begin in spring 2024, opening in summer 2025.

Despite houses and a gas tower being demolished in 2013, nothing has been built at Four Waterside.

However, in October, WNC announced that it had agreed a partnership with developer Cityheart to deliver the "transformational" scheme.

It said work would begin in 2025 to build a new hotel, office spaces and "high-quality" homes.

Plans for the 60,000 sq ft (5,575 sq m) site, near the River Nene and St Peter's Way and behind the University of Northampton Innovation Centre, were first submitted in January 2016.

Four Waterside was due to open in 2017, but discussions between the council and contractor Kier stalled and the council terminated the agreement in April 2019.

Conservative-controlled WNC said a £1.5m grant from the government's Towns Fund and a further £7m from the Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone would help deliver the project, which it hoped would "contribute to the wider transformation across the town".

Cityheart will need to submit a planning application for the project to the council. It is hoped the work would be completed by summer 2032.

Work to bring the 16th Century Grade II-listed Old Black Lion pub back to its former glory started in March as part of a £3.5m restoration.

The pub on Marefair has been empty since 2018.

The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), a charity that runs the adjacent 12th Century Grade I-listed St Peter's Church, is overseeing the project.

The CCT also plans to base its national office on the first floor of the refurbished Old Black Lion.

About £2m of funding has come from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

Money has also been granted by the Towns Fund, WNC, the Architectural Heritage Fund and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation.

The pub burnt down in the great Northampton fire of 1675 but was restored as the Old Black Lion in 1720.

Work is due to be completed by spring 2024.

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