Food hall prepares to sate Hyde appetites

Copperleaf Group has secured planning permission for its proposals to convert part of the former Woolworth’s off Market Place into a 7,600 sq ft eatery.

Tameside Council voted to approve the project, in line with officer recommendation, at its speakers’ panel meeting on Wednesday.

In addition to the food hall, Copperleaf now has outline permission for 21 apartments to be built in a three-storey extension above 13-15 Market Place in Hyde. These would be one-bed flats and modular to improve sustainability credentials. There would also be a green and blue roof on the complex.

The project team for the food hall and apartments includes Emery Planning and _O-RU Architects.

There are big hopes for the food hall and its impact on Hyde.

“Our hope is that the food hall will provide a catalyst for greater social enterprise in the town centre, to draw those who might not otherwise come to Hyde,” the project’s design and access statement reads.

The statement adds later: “The food hall is positioned as an incubator for creative social enterprise that will serve and feed the growth of other local assets such as the Market Square and the under-utilised shopping mall.”

You can learn more about the project by searching application reference number 22/01049/OUT on Tameside Council’s planning portal.