Northampton Market opens at temporary home

Communities are being urged to support traders as Northampton’s Market opens at its new temporary location at Commercial St Car Park today (Tuesday 31 January).

The market will trade from Commercial St for around 18 months while the multi-million pound redevelopment of Market Square works take place, with contractors starting on site from 6 February 2023.

Traders will not pay any rent or utility fees while they are based at their temporary new home, and shoppers spending £5 or more at a single market stall will get an hour’s free parking at the Commercial St Car Park.

Saturday marked a historic moment as most traders prepared for their temporary relocation to Commercial Street, where they will continue to offer local, fresh produce to their customers

Cllr Dan Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth at West Northamptonshire Council, said: “Over the last two weeks preparations have taken place to ensure that the Market can open at Commercial St tomorrow, making sure that traders did not have any days where they were not able to trade.

“Opening at the new temporary location at Commercial St marks the beginning of a new chapter, paving the way for an exciting redevelopment of the Market Square, and creating a much better market for both visitors and traders alike.

“In the meantime, we are doing all we can for traders to ensure they’re able to thrive at this new location, and we hope they’ll join us in trying to make the temporary move a success.

“We also hope communities will continue to support them and we’re confident that they’ll win many new customers in this highly visible location.”

A number of locations were explored to house Northampton’s Market including Abington St. Due to the wider development of Northampton Town Centre, Commercial St provided the only viable option.

The plans to redevelop the historic Market Square include:

• 18 high-quality and bespoke fixed stalls which are designed to better serve traders, along with space for demountable stalls
• Permanent tiered seating
• Tree planting
• Relaying of cobbles
• New paving
• New lighting and CCTV
• Interactive water feature.