Issued by City of York Council
Following a highly competitive tendering process, City of York Council has commissioned an architect for the refurbishment of Newgate Market.
Last year, after consultation with shoppers, market and city centre traders, a capital investment of £1.5m was secured from the council’s Economic Infrastructure Fund to develop this city centre, seven-day market.
Bauman Lyons Architects, who won an award for their work on the Arclight Centre in York, have been commissioned to develop detailed plans for the market refurbishment.
Councillor Sonja Crisp, Cabinet Member for Leisure Culture and Tourism, said: “York’s market has operated for many hundreds of years and is part of the city centre’s commercial success. The architect’s brief is to reinvigorate the market as a platform for enterprise and opportunity as well as a destination market.
“A new, updated market will enhance the overall attractiveness and competitiveness of central York.
“Bauman Lyons have been tasked to create a plan that will uplift the market’s appearance, increase its visibility and improve footfall throughout the whole site, while diversifying the trader offer and making more imaginative use of the space.
“The aim is for local and visiting shoppers to use the market more frequently, stay longer in the city centre and spend more, and to create extra jobs. We’re delighted to be working with them and take this project through to its next phase.”
Irena Bauman of Bauman Lyons Architects, said: “We are proud to be offered the opportunity to work with the market traders and the council officers and hope jointly to develop exciting and robust proposals that will add value to the current retail offer and to the animation of the city centre.”
The vision for the market includes continuing to provide a trading space that is popular with existing traders whilst stimulating new business start ups and attracting new traders to enhance the quality of the offer.
The ambition extends to support annual spend in the local economy of £2.3 million while contributing to the visitor economy through increased visitor stays with a potential economic impact of £1m.
This was reflected in Cabinet approving a £1.614m investment from the Economic Infrastructure Fund to position Newgate Market as a unique and high performing asset for the city centre.
In addition to trialling prototype stalls which allow more flexible trading opportunities in the heart of the city, further and full consultation will take place on the designs ahead of the refurbishment next year, which aims to be completed in time for St Nicholas Fayre 2014.
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