Ambitious plans to refurbish and modernise Leek’s historic indoor markets will start this Spring after planning permission was granted by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.
The council was awarded Levelling Up funding of £17.1 million to provide enhanced retail, cultural and wellbeing amenities in the town and has also committed its own funding to the project.
The installation of solar panels and air source heat pumps will help reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings in line with the Council’s aim of achieving net zero in its operations by 2030.
At the Butter Market, plans include investing in retail spaces and shopfronts to improve the shopping environment.
The Trestle Market will be refurbished to provide a flexible retail and events space with three independent food and drink outlets and a customer seating area.
The entrances on Derby Street and Silk Street will also be improved and a new access point, through a former opening leading to Derby Street, will be created.
This will enable the Trestle Market to be open at times when the Butter Market isn’t to allow for independent operation of this space. The Derby Street entrance gates and original cast iron signage will be restored and redecorated.
As the market buildings are in the conservation area, features such as the glazed tiling and roof trusses will be preserved and the imitation slates on the roof will be replaced with real slate.
Councillor Matt Swindlehurst, Cabinet member for Leisure and Tourism, pictured above in the Trestle Market, said: “This is the next exciting step in the transformation of these buildings. A lot of hard work has been undertaken to get us to this point and it means we can get started with the building works as planned in the Spring when we’ll really start to see these plans becoming a reality.
“These markets have been at the heart of Leek for hundreds of years and the investment we’re making now to modernise and rejuvenate them means they’ll remain so for many more generations to come.”
The Council is working in partnership with traders to ensure that the disruption that comes with project is minimised and that support is provided to help them continue trading while work is carried out.
Find out more about the LUF programme here.
The integrity of the market must not be compromised. ‘Modernisation today is often yesterdays failed fad’ the very fact that the butter market isn’t modern is why people go there. It’s not just about shopping it’s about the genius loci of the place.