Pitch fees waived for Northampton's temporary market move

Northampton's market will relocate for two years while work is carried out on Market Square

Traders at an historic market will not have to pay pitch fees at a temporary site during an £8.5m revamp.

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

But several market traders have criticised the move and a petition has been launched against it.

Jonathan Nunn, West Northamptonshire Council leader, said the temporary site would bring traders' "wares to the attention of a much wider audience".

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.

Northampton market is set to undergo a revamp after it received an £8.5m grant from central government

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

To complete the work the market stalls will be removed from the area and traders will be moved later this year.

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

Other sites were considered, but the market would have been split up, and keeping traders on the Market Square would have added more than £800,000 to the project and caused delays, the authority said.

West Northamptonshire Council said it was working on ways to bring market customers to the temporary location in the Commercial Street car park

The council also said the size of the market had "diminished over the years" and cost £180,000 per year to run, rather than turning a profit.

Some market traders have said the temporary move will harm the market, saying customers would not come to the car park, which is not as easily accessible or prominent in the town centre.

But Mr Nunn said: "We'll be working with traders to ensure we have a comprehensive marketing plan around the new location, and we're working with bus service providers to locate a stop close by."

He added the revamp of the Market Square would deliver "a much better market for both visitors and for the traders themselves".