Plans unveiled for £5m Colne Market Hall transformation

A new food hall, greengrocers, and start-up retail and trading space are central to proposals for the refurbishment and extension of the existing facility off Market Street.

PEARL 2, a partnership between Pendle Council and developer Barnfield, is leading the £4.8m development.

Dating back to 1973, Colne Market Hall would be transformed to create an improved space for traders and shoppers under the partnership’s plans.

The Campbell Driver Partnership-designed scheme would deliver a food hall, greengrocers, and small retail and trading space within the 29,400 sq ft hub, as well as an outside area with more space for events.

The lower level of the market, which provides storage for traders, refuse, and servicing arrangements, would also be refurbished.

Upstairs, nine vacant apartments would also be renovated to modern living standards, while the café would be removed to make way for two new flats. If approved, the project would provide eight one- and three two-bedroom homes, accessed via a new stair and lift tower.

The existing apartments are no longer fit for occupation, however Colne Market Hall is still in operation.

To allow work to get underway, most traders would be relocated to a temporary market hall on the site of the former Poundland store off Hartley Square. It is expected that these traders would move into the new facility by spring 2025.

Pendle Council was awarded £6.5m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund in October 2021. The authority has allocated £3m of this funding to the Colne Market Hall scheme.

Work began in August on the repair and restoration of the market town’s Muni Theatre, Little Theatre, and Pendle Hippodrome, which forms the other half of the council’s Levelling Up bid.

Councillor Asjad Mahmood, Leader of Pendle Council, said: “Colne Market has been a central feature of the town since it opened in 1973 and the proposed scheme would inject new life into it, making the market a greater part of events such as the Great Rhythm and Blues Festival and Colne Grand Prix.”

Councillor David Whipp, deputy leader of Pendle Council and chair of the Colne Market Working Group, added: “If the scheme gets the green light, this will be a significant step forward in boosting what Colne town centre offers.

“Colne Market has a pivotal role for customers and traders and attracts many visitors to the town – I’m delighted that we’re able to invest in it!”

To find out more about the plans for the market, search for application number 23/0601/FUL on Pendle Council’s planning portal.