Positive reaction to Grainger Market plans.
Grainger Market traders have had their say on the “exciting” new vision to breathe fresh life into a Geordie institution.
Designs were unveiled by Newcastle City Council on Wednesday for a £9 million transformation of the market, which has stood proudly at the heart of the city centre since 1835.
The major regeneration plans would result in a reinvention of the historic centre’s arcade area that could allow it to stage events – including gigs, plays, and fashion shows.
Refurbished toilets, improved decor, better signage, and automatic sliding doors at all of the market’s 14 entrances are also being proposed under a project that it is hoped will be completed by April 2025.
The market’s wide array of traders have been crying out for investment for years to improve what is one of Newcastle’s most prized assets.
Kay Quickfall, of the Pet Lamb Patisserie, is hopeful that the changes will give businesses another boost – after the long-awaited completion of refurbishment work’s on the arcade’s barrelled glass roof in 2023.
She said: “I think it’s dead exciting and I am looking forward to it. I know some traders might not think it is in keeping with the market, but for us it is hopefully just going to bring in more people.
“The only issue for us is that the new staircase for a stepped pavilion at the Nun Street end of the arcade will be right in front of our shop – I don’t know if that will block us out, or bring more customers in. But the council has got to try these things and I am not going to be pessimistic about it.
“It is about time some money was spent on the market. Lots of people just walk straight past it without knowing what is in here.
“There aren’t loads of small local businesses in Newcastle city centre, but we have them in here. As long as the council looks after the traders we have in here now, that is what matters.”
Grace Collard, of Ellen’s Cosmetics and Beauty, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the investment, largely paid for through the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, has “got to be positive”.
She also expressed hopes that enough businesses would be on board with extended opening hours to allow the market to open on Sundays and that improved signage would make shopping easier for customers.
Grace, whose stall has been a fixture in the market for 21 years, added: “There are so many people who get lost in here. If you could tell people to follow a certain path to get to a certain shop, that would be great. Lots of older people come in here and I often find that they come in and leave out of the same door, they won’t walk around because they are worried about getting lost.”
City council chiefs hope that the restoration work will allow the Grainger Market to “rival the best European markets” without damaging its heritage.
Their plans also include new flooring, colour-changing LED lighting in the market’s alleyways, and creating a new ‘brand identity’ to better promote the market.
Ben Jones, from the Geordie Bangers stall, said on Wednesday afternoon: “I do think it’s good and I wouldn’t really have anything negative to say about it.
“It is great doing all these big things, but every time it rains heavily the roof leaks into my counter. I would rather keep things the same as they are now but fix the leak!
“But the council is planning for the long term and that is great. Whether it will all work I don’t know and some of it is quite different for the market.”
A regular complaint of many traders has been that the market can be very cold during the winter months, so the idea of keeping out draughts with the promised sliding doors will come as a relief to many – especially as it was long thought that the building’s listed status would make such an intervention impossible.
That idea was welcomed by Aaron Muirhead, who works at the Cubanos streetfood stand, who added: “When I first heard that they were going to spend this money, I thought it was about time. There are so many food vendors in here now who are bringing in a lot of custom and we all have a really good camaraderie in here.
“You have to support the kind of small businesses we have here and keep money in the city, not having people just spend their money with big corporations.”