Work on March Market Place enhancement scheme to start in New Year

Works to enhance March Market Place will start in January 2023, funded by the town's £8.4million March Future High Streets Fund (MFHSF) programme.

The investment will improve the appearance and car park layout of the Market Place and introduce new and improved facilities, enhancing its position as a key community space in the heart of the town centre.

The scheme includes new paving, seating and trees, and refurbishment of lampposts as well as the installation of EV infrastructure for future Electric Vehicle charging points.

Other projects within the MFHSF programme, being delivered by Fenland District Council, include regenerating the underused Riverside area and enhancing the public realm in Broad Street to compliment the transformational highways work being delivered through Cambridgeshire County Council's March Area Transport Strategy (MATS).

The March Market Place works will commence on Monday 9 January and are expected to take approximately 12 weeks to complete, weather dependent. The Market Place will be closed to public vehicles from Sunday 8 January.

The final market day on the Market Place will be on Saturday 7 January, before it temporarily relocates to City Road Car Park every Wednesday and Saturday for the duration of the works.

Another MFHSF project plans to breathe new life into empty town centre shops. The Vacant Unit Activation Scheme offers grants to owners of vacant units to help them undertake the necessary refurbishment works needed to bring the properties back into use.

The highways work in Broad Street, which is expected to begin in early next year, is being funded by a combination of a £4.2million investment from MATS, £3.6million from the Future High Streets Fund programme and £2million from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority's Market Towns Fund.

Replacing the traffic signals with a mini roundabout at the north end of Broad Street will improve traffic flow through the town centre and meet increasing capacity needs as the town continues to grow in future. It will also improve safety, reduce air pollution from standing traffic and offer a more open, social and pedestrian-friendly environment.

Cllr Chris Seaton, Fenland District Council's Portfolio Holder for Social Mobility and Heritage and lead of the MFHSF steering group, said: "I'm delighted that the first major project going ahead as part of the town's future regeneration is ready to start. March Market Place is already a well-loved community facility but these enhancement works will make it even better and cement its position as the focal hub of the town centre."

• The March Future High Streets Fund investment programme and projects are being delivered by Fenland District Council with funding from the Government's Future High Streets Fund (£6.4million) and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (£2million).
• For more information regarding the March Future High Streets Fund and March Area Transport Strategy projects, visit our March Future High Streets Fund page.

Article date: December 2022