How Melton's multi-million-pound Stockyard will take shape

How Melton's multi-million-pound Stockyard will take place at the entrance on Scalford Road

Farmers have traded there for 150 years and sales of livestock will continue with 2,500 customers using it every year and around £30million in business taking place annually.

But large areas of the site, which lies between Scalford Road and Nottingham Road, will now be transformed into a food and drink production hub and a multi-function events space using millions of pounds of ‘levelling up’ funding announced last month.

This new enterprise has been branded the Stockyard and is intended to maximise use of the market’s sizeable land while retaining the important livestock sales element.

How Melton's multi-million-pound Stockyard will take place at the new proposed main entrance off Nottingham Road

The Melton Times has been shown just what will be built as part of the Stockyard.

One of the eye-catching new buildings will be a three-storey structure which will house facilities for food production, training and education plus a cafe.

Costing just over £1million, the building will be close to where the new Nottingham Road main entrance will be located.

A total of 25 new units of various sizes will be provided on site for food and drink producers.

A computer image of how open air cinema will look like at the Stockyard

Round Corner Brewing and Brentingby Gin are already established there.

A further £775,000 will be spent on modernising the ageing trader hall and market area, with extra food retail units, a complete redecoration, solar panelling on the roof and sound insulation.

The indoor exhibition hall will see a commercial kitchen installed to cater for events and functions plus a lock-up area to the rear.

The toilets are to be demolished and replaced with modern WCs on a larger footprint, at a cost of more than £300,000.

A computer image of what the walk through area will look like when the Stockyard development is complete

The whole site will be tarmacked with lots of new signage provided, with a Festival Square established to host events such as outdoor cinema, concerts and annual food festivals.

Melton MP, Alicia Kearns, has hailed the redevelopment as a huge economic boost for the town, comparing it to one of London’s most recognisable food and drink hubs.

She said: “The plans look absolutely fantastic. I can see it becoming the ‘Borough Market’ of the midlands.”

Many people have voiced concerns that consolidating major investment at the cattle market site will deprive town centre retail and hospitality businesses of much needed trade.

The lay out of how the new buildings (blue) will look like next to the existing buildings (yellow) at the Stockyard

But Lee Byrne, the borough council’s assistant director for regeneration, told the Melton Times: “Care has been taken in the planning of the Stockyard redevelopment to ensure that everything is complementary to what is offered in the town centre.

Councillor Rob Bindloss, portfolio holder for growth and prosperity, said: “I am excited to see the plans for the Stockyard becoming a reality. The main aim of all this is to attract more people to the town and more often.”

Feast and the Furious, a smoked food business, is set to relocate to the site shortly, with a shop initially and a restaurant to follow.

Its unit has used recycled materials from the site, including farming pallets and metal from old beer barrels.

Founder Jon Oakes said: “Bringing in new producers can only attract more people to the site and we are in a prime position.”