Cattle market's £12m revamp to get under way
Plans to regenerate the Stockyard into a creative and market destination have twice been delayed.
**Cattle market's £12m revamp to get under way**
The Stockyard project has been delayed twice, but a start date is now in place.
Work on a redesigned food and drinks hub in Leicestershire, which officials hope will provide a boost to the local economy, is finally due to begin.
Melton Borough Council’s plans to regenerate the Stockyard in Melton, creating a destination for market traders and the creative industries, have been postponed twice.
The scheme is being funded by £12m from the government’s Levelling Up programme. It was originally due to begin in Spring 2026, but the council changed the timetable last year.
Officials now say the work, which must meet a new government deadline of March 2028, should start in the week commencing 5 October.
The council said most current events would continue while the work was under way.
The Stockyard already hosts several food and drink businesses, as well as weekly markets and other events throughout the year.
And although food production will remain central to the site, officials said there was "heightened demand for cultural and educational spaces".
Last year the council said pushing the start date back to the new dates - first July and now October - would allow it to "better support existing businesses and events".
Lydia Rusling, the council’s director of place and prosperity, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the trader hall will be dealt with first, followed by the public area, two production hubs and the anchor building.
She said: "Our priority, first and foremost, is ensuring that the current traders are well looked after during that period.
"Even though the work hasn't been completed yet, we're starting to build up that reputation for Melton being a hub for food, drink and creative industries."
She added that, despite the current "volatile" condition of the construction industry, the project is still on budget.
Leader of the authority Ronan Browne said the scheme had an important part to play in driving growth in the region.
He said: "What we're trying to do is lift the offer in the town, and this market is a key part of that.
"This is about bringing more people into the borough, to come and explore it, bring money in, and grow local business.
"The council is the cog in the middle of it all, but we've got all these other cogs around us that we're all working with to try to use this as a catalyst to grow everything else."
Visitors were advised that most events and activities will also continue, except for the Sunday Market, which was recently discontinued because it "could not be accommodated within the revised site arrangements".