Opening date for leisure hub could be put back

A new entertainment hub inside a former shopping centre might not open until 2027.

The venue inside the old Market Walk and Peacock Place building in the centre of Northampton was due to open this year.

Stack, the company behind the redevelopment, said it was "continuing as planned" but due to the project's complexity it could not give an exact opening date.

Once completed, the hub will include restaurants, bars, live entertainment and community events, it added.

A spokesperson for the company said the business was "happy with the progress being made".

"Externally there isn't much to see yet, but we have taken down the vinyl hoardings to repaint and refresh them while work is continuing inside," they said.

The £12m redevelopment includes a phased strip-out of the building, back to its existing shell.

"This has to take place in stages to allow time for the design team to refine their design," they said.

"The soft strip has been completed, and we now move into the second phase, which is a 12-week programme to include the full strip-out of internal finishes and redundant elements."

Once phase two is finished, the company "will re-examine the space and firm up designs before we move into phase three, which will include major structural demolition".

The spokesperson said: "While we had initially hoped to open by winter 2026, it now looks likely that work will continue into 2027.

"Due to the complexity of this redevelopment we can't give an exact opening date at this stage but will share updates as we progress."

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