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Stockyard Project
Stockyard is a multi-functional facility that currently sits on the edge of the core town centre area. It sits within the wider livestock market and is home to several businesses all of which support the local economy. It provides open and covered space for markets, events and other activity throughout the year, drawing people into the town and acting as a significant footfall attractor into the area.
The development to enhance Stockyard is being funded by the UK government, which is designed to invest in infrastructure and support regeneration across the UK. Investment in the Stockyard will create a centre of excellence around food and drink production and experience, complementing the rich offer already in existence within the High Street area and harnessing our ‘Rural Capital of Food’ brand.
The Stockyard development will reinforce the existing links with the town centre through three main ways:
- Continuity of signage and signposting within the town. Stockyard will signpost and direct visitors from Stockyard to the wider town area. This will be done through different mediums such as visual interpretation panels that will be on site, signage and also design of the public realm to draw people across the site and into the town centre area.
- Tourism offer – the uses and activities within the site will create an offer that will draw more people to Melton more often. This will expand the reach of Melton as a tourism offer and attract new footfall and spend across the town by giving people a reason to attend the area and explore further afield; people who may not otherwise have had a reason to come to Melton.
- Complementary event activity: Key to the success of the town is ensuring that events are not done in isolation from the town centre. The council has committed to working with partners to ensure that when events are taking place at Stockyard, complementary activity is taking place in the town to ensure they are able to benefit from each other. This site will also increase the frequency of events within Melton once developed.
Overview
The development will also play host to a multifunctional event space that will support the growth of our existing regional and national events calendar, making Stockyard a versatile destination through its ability to cater for large-scale events, music, and food festivals.
This project comes at a unique time in Melton’s history, providing a catalyst for investment in the town and showcasing Melton as a place of innovation and an accelerator of local trade and enterprise.
What are we doing?
The UK Government funding that is being used to update and enhance part of Stockyard, will create an exciting and unified space featuring new and existing food and drink initiatives that will collaboratively showcase the rich heritage and creativity around Melton.
Key to this development is the creation of a flexible, multi-purpose events and development space to accommodate larger numbers of visitors, the wider potential and versatility of the site stands to make Stockyard a regional and national destination through its ability to cater for large-scale events, music, and food festivals.
Alongside the regional and national events that will occur, Stockyard will cater to more local events that also give back to the community and enhance the sense of place.
Stockyard will serve as a central hub for fostering innovation in the food and drink industry. It will act as a driving force for investment in the town, showcasing Melton as a hub of innovation and a catalyst for local trade and enterprise.
It is proposed to provide new buildings in strategic locations, mostly on the under-used western part of the site, to house production facilities similar to the ones already on site, creating a cluster of complementary businesses to generate a critical mass that will help to create a unique destination and experience, in its own right.
These new buildings are located in such a way that they improve the Stockyard’s visibility and presence from the street, highlighting the entrances from Nottingham Road.
They also create active frontage and circulation space around the open area in the centre, ‘Festival Square’, which will instate its primary use as a formalised car park with a flexible layout that lends itself to hosting large-scale events like those already running at the Stockyard or smaller, community-led gatherings.
To compliment this, a cohesive surface treatment is proposed for the public realm, improving the accessibility and sense of unity across the site as a whole.
Why are we doing it?
Melton has significantly higher than the national average of food and drink related manufacturing, and it is within this sector that Melton borough has an evident competitive advantage and the potential to maximise and reinvent our rural market town.
Stockyard will enhance our Rural Capital of Food status, by strengthening our field to fork heritage and complementing our internationally recognised local delicacies. Notably Stilton cheese and the Melton Mowbray pork pie, both of which hold protected status and can only be made within this locality.
More recently Stockyard has welcomed local and specialist food and drink production on the site. This has generated additional employment into the area and created further interest from local businesses who are keen to move onto the site.
Stockyard has acted as a local point of interest bringing people together from around the area to experience the goods that are made on site, this has provided additional footfall into the area and the surrounding town that otherwise wouldn’t exist without this developing hub of food and drink production and associated experiences the Stockyard has to offer.
We are anticipating the following timeline-
- Planning decision- February 2025
- Award of construction works contract- April 2025
- Work commencing on-site- May 2025
- Works complete on site- July 2026
Please take a look through the following pages to view the proposals and plans for the site, and discover which illustrates the look and feel of the upcoming development at Stockyard Melton Mowbray.
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New Production Units
The following will guide you through the illustrative design of the new production units that will be situated around Festival Square (the current on-site car parking area).
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Festival Square
The diverse range of events and festivals that currently take place in the Stockyard have been key to the successful generation of repeat footfall to the site and wider town area. See the plans for the multi-use event space.
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Public spaces and facilities
Improving the public realm is important for creating a coherent, easily navigable, and enjoyable destination. See how you will be able to enjoy and navigate the space.