Work has officially begun on the significant regeneration project at 2-4 Market Place in Caistor.
Promising to continue the reawakening of Caistor, the news came as compound construction began in the Market Place yesterday (June 19th), signalling the long-awaited start of this Lincolnshire Wolds project.
Messenger – part of the BCR Group, principal contractor for the project and the team who recently undertook and completed the cutting-edge conservation work at Lincoln Medieval Bishops’ Palace, Greenwood Projects – the firm that has supported 2-4 Market Place from day one with Graham Tait Project Managing, and AnotherKind Architects, will be working hand-in-hand with the Caistor and District Community Trust (CDCT) to ensure a smooth start to this scheme of work, as the on-site compound settles into the Market Place for Phase One of the renovations.
While the arrival of the compound will reduce the number of parking spaces available in the town centre, Neil Castle, Company Secretary of the Trust, explains that the impact on the local businesses and residents as well as visitors has been fully considered and mitigated by Highways as well as Caistor Town Council.
“It’s understandable that concern has been raised about fewer parking spaces being available in the town centre,” said Neil. “To keep as many spaces free as possible, the compound has been thoughtfully constructed and will be decorated in collaboration with the Caistor in Bloom volunteers to feature the work of local artists. It has also been agreed that contractors will be parking off-site away from the prime parking locations.”
“Highways has been involved from the initial planning stages, and is on board with the requirements needed on-site,” Neil added. “Having had considerable conversations with our primary contractor, Messenger, about the best way to manage the compound needs alongside those of local residents, businesses and visitors, Highways has performed its due diligence and, in doing so, has galvanised the Caistor Town Council into reviewing parking options locally, which can only be of further benefit for the town.
“To say we’re are delighted to see work commencing to breathe life back into these buildings is an understatement. They have for too long stood neglected in our town square.”
Caistor has seen a boom in business recently, both with new arrivals, as well as those resident businesses that are up-scaling and taking up vacant units, so to be able to further add to this enterprise by providing opportunities for community activities, social space and to help bring additional tourism to the town, is incredibly important to all involved in the 2-4 Market Place project.
Supported with principal grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Architectural Heritage Fund, investment from Community Share Holders and Co-op UK, a Towns Fund grant from West Lindsey District Council, and additional support from The Pilgrim Trust, Caistor Town Council and the Lady Neville Trust, the diverse and vibrant mixed-use development scheme that has been carefully planned out with AnotherKind Architects will include the repair and conservation of the complex of historic buildings, transforming 2-4 Market Place into a space the whole community can be proud of.
Having been vacant for several years and noted on the building’s ‘at risk’ register as needing immediate attention, the restored buildings, in their full glory, will create spaces for retail units, which could include a restaurant/cafe, a community space for functions, exhibitions and other community activities, self-catering holiday lets, and – in Phase Two – spaces that can be used as offices or arts-and-crafts business units, storage for local archival materials and a space for the Trust to work from.
With work now underway, prioritising the completion of the market square facing shopfronts of 2, 3 and 4 Market Place, the community room above number 4, two holiday lets above numbers 2 and 3, the new core service building and the restored courtyard, the continued collaboration between the Trust and its partners will support the aim to get work completed on Phase One for Summer 2025.
As work progresses, hard hat tours for shareholders, funders, schools and other interested parties will take place, showcasing the history of the buildings, their current state and how this regeneration project will benefit the area in the long term, enhancing what Caistor already has to offer both as a place to live and work as well as a place to visit.
