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.
