How town centre regeneration projects are progressing

In October a shopping centre director said regeneration projects had put Northampton at "the forefront of what a modern, vibrant 21st Century town centre needs to be".

A number of projects are under way to revitalise the area, and last year a major scheme to improve the town's Market Square was completed after a £12m makeover.

Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council had previously said a wider £33m revamp would put the town centre "ahead of the curve".

The projects have been financed through funding streams such as the Towns Fund, Future High Streets Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Levelling Up Fund, but where do they stand as we head into 2025?

It will soon be 10 years since the four-acre (1.62 hectare) former site of a bus station once dubbed "the mouth of hell" was anything more than a vacant space.

Greyfriars bus station opened in 1976 and dominated the town's skyline for nearly 40 years before it was demolished in March 2015

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

However, in September the council announced a national partner to finally deliver regeneration of the site.

It said plans that could see Greyfriars and several derelict buildings developed with "exciting new uses" were being drawn up.

New homes, shops, cafes, restaurants and an outdoor amphitheatre are also planned as part of a new neighbourhood, but no completion date has been announced.

The former Market Walk shopping centre is set to be transformed into an "innovative food hall and leisure space" under plans revealed in August 2023.

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.

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

Planning consent was approved in March 2024 and the council had hoped work would begin soon after, with opening in summer 2025.

However, We Are Northampton said work will now begin in spring 2025 with opening in summer 2026.

Plans to redevelop Northampton's main shopping street are nearing completion, with work starting last February.

New paving, seating, additional trees and landscaping will be installed on Abington Street and Fish Street.

Dan Lister, cabinet member for economic development, town centre regeneration and growth at the Conservative-run council, previously said it would offer "a fantastic space for people to use and enjoy,"

Work was due to be completed by the end of 2024 but is now expected to be finished in early 2025.

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.

Demolition plans were given the go-ahead in November with the buildings expected to be knocked down in late spring 2025, taking up to 10 months.

According to We Are Northampton, work to replace the stores with residential flats and retail and leisure spaces is expected to be completed in 2032.

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

However, in October 2023, the council announced it had agreed a partnership with developer Cityheart to deliver the "transformational" scheme.

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

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.

The council 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.

We Are Northampton said it was targeting completion of the work by summer 2032.

Work to bring the 16th Century Grade II-listed Old Black Lion pub back to its former glory started in March 2023 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 pub burnt down in the great Northampton fire of 1675 but was restored as the Old Black Lion in 1720

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.

Its reopening was due to take place in 2024, but is now anticipated in 2025.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.