Locals have described the multi-million pound revamp of a Cambridgeshire town marketplace as a ‘waste of money’ and ‘uninteresting’. The new and improved St Neots Market Square was officially reopened in May after a refurbishment, which cost around £15 million.
The plans included removing parking, adding disabled spaces, more landscaping, expanding the space and also creating a community area. Since it reopened, there has been criticism from disabled users over the lack of enforcement on non-disabled users parking in marked disabled spaces, as well as surrounding businesses claiming the work has ‘not been done properly’.
Now, local residents who visit the weekly Thursday market have shared their opinion. Ann White, who visits the market often with her husband John, said she thought the marketplace would be “more interesting”. She said: “I think it’s very plain.
“They could have made it a bit more summery, maybe with some plants and added a bit more colour. It’s such a big space.
“They could have a stage here or something. I understand there was talk about having one, so I think that would be good.”
John was also confused as to what else was planned for the square, apart from a market. He said: “I think it’s a mile too-long. But also, they don’t know what they are going to do with it.
“I’m not sure if they are going to have things other than a market, but at the moment it is just being used for the market. Other than that, I do think it looks nice.”
In the revamp, car parking was removed and new disabled spaces were added. John and Ann used to come to the square more frequently because of parking.
John added: “The car parking spaces that were here, they were good for elderly people like me at 94 years old. However, now we have to park further away.”
Friends Sandra Pirie and Suzan Self, who live near the market, said the revamp is a “big waste of money” and “big waste of space”. Sandra added: “We didn’t get any information about it, we just heard it was being done.
“It was supposed to bring people into town but we hardly have any shops now. The market isn’t good. It used to be really good, but it isn’t now.”
Susan also said: “They need to do more here like music events. We just live around the corner so we walk through here most of the time, but I just think it’s a waste of money.”
John Montague thinks the works have been “badly managed”. He said: “I think it’s been badly planned.
“There should have been more of an effort to get people in. All they had was one big celebration, but that was it.”
Pam Ferguson, who visited the market with John, thought the improved market “looked nice” but didn’t think it was “worth the money spent”. Another woman visiting the market with John and Pam, who wished to remain anonymous said: “I don’t like it.
“This market used to be heaving and now it’s empty. I just think it looks horrible.
“I used to come here all of the time but like that saying, I only come here once in a blue moon now.” Despite local criticism, some market stall holders have welcomed the improvements.
Phillip Anderson has been running his bakery stall in St Neots for 25 years. He said: “I have seen many changes over the years.
“It’s good to be back as a proper market, the work that has been done is really nice. At first, business was quite steady but I think we have a bit more footfall now.
“People have said about the parking, but parking has always been a problem. I think people just need to get on with it.”
Another market stall holder, who wished to remain anonymous, said the works are “great”. They added: “They took quite a while to do, but it’s nice to be back up and running.
“It’s also nice to have this dedicated space for us.”
The St Neots Town Centre improvements project, overseen by Huntingdonshire District Council, was done to “create a more versatile, vibrant and people-friendly venue where cultural, community and visitor attractions come together in a new space for the town”, as stated previously by HDC. Funding was provided by HDC, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Cambridgeshire County Council and National Highways.
It also had £3.1 million in funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Future High Street fund.