Following an intensive period of survey and design work, restoration of Derby’s historic Market Hall is underway. Planning permission has been granted and vital repair works started that will see the roof improved making the 153 year old building safe to maintain and extend its life for at least another 30 years.
Derby City Council is bidding to The Government’s Future High Streets Fund which will provide Derby with an opportunity to deliver a more ambitious transformation of the Market Hall.
The project team has been working with leading market experts who have identified key opportunities for investing in improving the Market Hall. Additional investment will allow the market to become a successful retail and leisure destination that will attract a greater range and number of businesses and visitors.
Ultimately, the Market Hall will be transformed after funding is secured with a series of enhancements that will see it rejuvenated. Once transformed it will become an attractive, flexible retail and leisure destination.
The Market Hall will become home to a more diverse range of retailers. This will include traditional and themed markets, events, one off or pop up uses and small performances with a greater emphasis on food & drink. It is also proposed to pilot a Make and Trade Zone. A traditional market offer will continue to be kept alongside a new food court and flexible events space adding to Derby’s day and night time economy.
Councillor Mick Barker, Cabinet Member for Governance and Licencing, said:
Markets have been at the centre of communities and local economies for centuries. Our market hall was designed by world famous engineers and has played an important role in Derby for over 150 years and we need to continue to invest in it. The plan is to make the Market Hall a more inclusive, accessible and flexible space that can accommodate a range of different uses and serve Derby for many years to come. With the current situation creating a degree of economic uncertainty it’s even more important that we continue to invest in the long-term future of the city and transform the Market Hall into a destination which will attract new visitors in years to come.
Derby’s Victorian Market hall was designed by the famous engineers Rowland Mason Ordish and William Henry Barlow responsible for famous landmarks including the Royal Albert Hall Dome and the roof of St Pancras Station. Designers on the project have been working with heritage experts to preserve and restore key historic features of the building.
The Market Hall sits at the heart of the city centre but currently lacks visibility and presence on our high streets. These plans will work to make the market more open and visible from the high street so it can become a key link between intu, the Market Place and the Cathedral Quarter connecting the city centre together.
The project is part of the City Centre Masterplan, which aims to create 4,000 jobs, lever £3.5bn of investment, and create 1900 new homes by 2030. Proposals also seek to revitalise the city centre and re-energise Derby’s day and night time economies in order to attract people into the city.