Council signs off £1m Market Square overspend

The Market Square in Northampton features permanent and temporary market stalls

A council has agreed to fund a £1m overspend on the renovation of a town's market square.

The budget for the redevelopment of Market Square in Northampton was £12.5m, with £8.4m coming from the government's Future High Streets Fund, and £4m though the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Reform UK-controlled West Northamptonshire Council will pay the negotiated settlement to contractor Stepnell Ltd, which carried out 18 months of work that was completed in September 2024.

The authority said the overspend would be the "best final account position that WNC can achieve", while avoiding high costs from potential adjudication proceedings.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it takes the final spend on the redevelopment to £13.5m - a £5.1m overspend on the original costs set aside from Future High Streets Funding in 2021.

The first cost increase came in 2023 when the previous Conservative administration approved an extra £4m for the scheme, funded through the CIL.

A meeting of the council's cabinet heard the £1m settlement reflected bills for project delays and additional work caused by significant archaeological finds, collapsed Victorian sewers and having to divert more underground utilities than anticipated.

The authority reported that the contractor had originally claimed for loss and expenses totalling an additional £2.3m on the project.

Water features are one of the new attractions in the square

New paving, bespoke fixed stalls, lighting, seating, water features and trees were installed in the new Market Square, which saw traders forced to move out from January 2023. It was officially opened in October 2024.

Speaking at last week's cabinet meeting, Conservative councillor Daniel Lister, who oversaw the redevelopment in his former role as cabinet member for regeneration, said: "There will be lessons learnt.

"I don't think the value of Market Square, and yes there is an overspend, should be understated because of what it's done for the town of Northampton."

Thousands attended Northamptonshire Day in Northampton's Market Square on Saturday 25 October

But others were more critical of the finances of the project.

Labour councillor Keith Holland-Delamere questioned why aspects such as archaeological finds and groundworks were not already factored into costs at the beginning of the project, given that Northampton was a medieval town.

"I would urge the cabinet to make sure that, in addition to the lessons learnt with the contractors, we do have cross-party overview and scrutiny to really dig deep and learn lessons from project management," he said.

James Petter, the deputy leader of the council, said that the overspend was "not a good place to be in", but said the authority needed to "move on from this" and focus on making sure the Market Square is a "great place to be".

Many events have been held on Market Square since it opened including Northamptonshire Day, the town's Great Fire 350th anniversary - and international events like the Women's Rugby World Cup fan zones.

The additional £1m will come from the council's general fund, which is its main cash source used to pay for the majority of public services.