Small traders and shoppers fed up with a long-running construction saga that has plagued Newcastle’s Grainger Market can finally see light at the end of the tunnel – literally.
Stallholders and customers wandering through the city centre market over the past few days will have noticed a major change at the iconic Geordie institution. For the first time in more than three years, the historic building’s “beautiful” barrelled glass roof is visible again – restoring light to businesses that have endured conditions likened to a “dark cave” since before the Covid pandemic.
Contractors Esh are still in the process of removing the scaffolding that has dominated a large section of the market for some time and it will be weeks yet before all of the affected stalls can celebrate a long-awaited return to normality. But there has been major progress since last week, with sunlight now returning to a significant area that includes the seating space outside the Eats and Coffee Lounge cafes, Hunters Deli, and the pathway to the market’s toilets.
Jenn Gray of Scorpio Shoes, one of the businesses now able to look up at the glazed roof once more, said the scaffolding’s disappearance had made an immediate difference. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It’s lovely now and we have had really positive feedback from customers over the weekend.
"It has been really bad up here for the past few years – we have seen a few shops close down, so there has definitely been an impact on businesses. But it has been good this past week. After three and a half years of scaffolding you almost forget what it looks like and what a beautiful building it is.”
Colleague Adam Gordon added: “It is so much better – far less oppressive. As someone who works here, it is a much nicer environment to be in, as opposed to being in a dark cave.”
The next big boost for the independent shoe shop should come when the entrance to the market closest to their store, off Nelson Street, is finally opened again.
Refurbishment work was meant to have been completed in March 2020 but has been hit by a series of delays, which also meant the project spiralled almost £2m over budget. But the roof renovation is now completed and all that remains is to remove the extensive scaffolding.
There are more upgrades to come at the market, however, with £7m worth of Levelling Up funding due to be spent by Newcastle City Council on as yet unspecified improvements.
Coun Alex Hay, the council's cabinet member for a resilient city, said: “It is fantastic news that the multi-million-pound refurbishment of the Grainger Market Arcade roof is nearing completion, and the market has a very bright future for generations to enjoy. I am looking forward to seeing the roof unveiled in its full glory. The scaffolding is currently being removed in stages to have the least impact on the market traders and customers as possible. This work is progressing well, and we hope this will be fully completed in May.
“It is not only the glass roof that has been refurbished. The original windows on the balconies around this have been exposed and decorated, new lighting and fittings to improve air circulation have been installed and an upgraded fire safety system fitted. And the future proposals for our much-loved market are gathering pace thanks to the £7m secured from the Levelling Up Fund.
“We’re continuing to work with traders on this to ensure the market becomes a truly unique destination in the city, somewhere that celebrates what they offer and is a place where small, independent businesses can flourish and support the local economy.”
The roof renovation was originally announced in July 2017, but work did not begin until two years later. In November 2019, contractors Esh Build then had to put the refurbishment on hold for 20 months after “hidden problems” were uncovered at the market, which opened in 1835.
Structural weaknesses in the Grainger Market’s gable walls were blamed for the delays, while the city council approved an extra £1.9m of borrowing in 2021 to complete the project – taking its expected cost to £5.15m. In the meantime, the council has stated that keeping the market running costs the city £300,000-a-year – branding it a “drain” on resources.
Traders also suffered badly during the Covid-19 pandemic and racked up more than half a million pounds in rent arrears to the local authority, which was criticised for refusing to reduce rent rates even when market stallholders were banned from opening during lockdown.
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