Reopened Market Square 'a relief for businesses'

Businesses say they are already seeing signs recovery after the reopening of a town's Market Square.

A multi-million-pound revamp of the square in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, began in January last year as part of a wider £15m investment.

Huseyin Aslan, from the Market Cafe, said the disruption caused businesses to "suffer a lot," but he was positive they could "rise from that".

The square is open but contractors would return over the summer for some final finishing touches, Huntingdonshire District Council said.

The project removed all car parking on the square itself, which is fully pedestrianised, with some new disabled bays on the roads around it.

Seating and plants have also been added to the square.

"It looks much more vibrant, more versatile, more spacious. It looks like a town centre after a long time... so it is quite a relief," Mr Aslan said.

"I do believe it looks much better and is something that the town needed but I can't say if it was worth the wait because it took four months more than it should have.

"We have been seeing people come from other towns and I'm already seeing signs [of recovery]."

The project for Cambridgeshire's largest market town includes bringing the long-empty Old Falcon Inn back into use as homes, revamping the market square and renovating the Priory Centre.

It has been funded by bodies including the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Huntingdonshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and National Highways.

Liz Owen, who runs Access in St Neots, was unhappy that disabled parking at the square was not obviously signposted.

She said: "People are up in arms including me because [the council] basically have very small signage and there's no painted lettering on the ground.

"What we can see is people parking without a blue badge; if you are disabled and want to park you haven't really got much chance."

Mike Gildersleeves, corporate director of place at the district council, revealed contractors would line-mark the disabled bays during the summer.

"These [few final finishing touches] have been carefully scheduled to avoid disruption to key events and market days, ensuring the square remains vibrant and open to all throughout the season," he said.

"We encourage everyone to make the most of the new square and the opportunities it offers."

The Mayor of St Neots, Richard Slade, said the space was previously a cobbled car park and residents told him it was difficult to cross without tripping over.

He added new businesses had opened on the square but he was aware of a bakery and a cafe that had closed.

"Now there may be other reasons why they closed, but having all the works done has impacted that," he said.

"There is always going to have to be a time where you do these works - you have to look to the future."

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