Colne Market Hall reopens following £4.8m revamp
Barnfield Construction was main contractor on the redevelopment project, handing over in March ahead of this weekend’s grand relaunch.
The market’s food and drink offering will be managed by Market Quarter Group, an established operator in the sector, which includes Congleton Market Quarter within its portfolio.
Existing market operators will pay their current rent for the first 18 months of the redeveloped market’s term, with rents to be reviewed at the end of that period.
Colne is one of several Lancashire towns where councils are making market halls a central part of reinventing the leisure offer, with Bacup and Darwen also seeing projects advance. Barnfield is also working on the Darwen scheme.
The funding for the project was committed by the Conservative government’s Levelling Up Fund, now rebadged as the Local Growth Fund. Pendle received £6.5m to revitalise Colne in LUF’s first round, the allocation also covering work at three theatres and the Derby Arms.
Plans came forward in October 2023 for the 29,000 sq ft market hall redevelopment.
Traders from Colne Market Hall were relocated to Hartley Square while the market building was being refurbished. As well ss internal works, the project included laying a new level surface outside, to be used for outdoor markets, pop-up events and community activities.
Ged Lynch, head of food and beverage at MQG, said on the project’s handover: “We are incredibly proud to be bringing Colne Market Hall to life and to be contributing to the next chapter of the town’s story.
“The new Market Hall will complement existing market traders with six independent food and drink operators within a vibrant communal setting, alongside a year-round programme of events and community activity.
“We are excited to open the doors and to see the space become what markets have always been at their best – places where both community and local economy thrive.”
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The people of Colne are lucky to have CMQ!
By Anonymous
I think the new market in Colne is absolutely awful. You need a map to be able to find the original stall holders. Who ever decided that colners wanted that big ugly building, surely can’t live here
By Anonymous