FARNWORTH’S Market Precinct has been the subject of a variety of plans over the years which never came to fruition.

Development firm St Modwen first bought the site in 2011 for between £4-5m from Ediston Properties. After the purchase, the Birmingham-based company announced plans for a £150,000 revamp, including repairs and improvements.

The project never materialised despite demolition work beginning on the town’s outdoor market.

This was followed by a series of other plans, including a multi-million pound scheme announced in 2015 which was dropped when the developers discovered services into the site which could not be moved or diverted.

Eventually, then-council planning chief Paul Whittingham told residents in 2017 that St Modwen would be going “back to the drawing board” after a series of setbacks. This represented the end of the developers’ last effort at regenerating the site.