On Monday September 8, South Hams District Council will be starting maintenance work to Totnes Market Square.

Cllr John Birch, South Hams District Council’s Executive Member for Commercial Strategy said:

“This work will focus on the access way currently used by vehicles to travel between High Street and South Street.

“Over the years these vehicle movements have caused extensive damage to the original paving and previous maintenance has involved damage being filled with either concrete or tarmac.

“We want to keep the square’s character by replacing these areas of concrete and tarmac only with new paving.

“A small trial area of the replacement paving can already be found within the area and has been chosen to match the original Blanc de Bierge style.

“To safely carry out the work, vehicle access across the square needs to be restricted between Monday to Thursday (inclusive).

“However, we know how important market days are to Totnes and so we will remove any fencing on a Thursday afternoon.

“The work is expected to last approximately 10 weeks.

“We appreciate that this will cause some disruption, and we thank the community in advance for their patience in what we hope will be seen as good news.”

Totnes market square, a focal point of this renowned market town since the 12th century,

By then, Totnes was an established market town due to its strategic location on a main road and the River Dart, facilitating trade.

It’s rich and varied history of commerce includes the 1848 Pannier Market, the 1903 fire that led to their being covered markets, and later architectural changes to buildings like the Market Hall and Civic Hall.

Today, the Civic Hall Square hosts weekly markets on Friday and Saturdaya historic Elizabethan market, and a Sunday food market, maintaining its tradition as a vibrant community.