Traders set to move into new £3m market in Brighouse as work now complete
It replaces the dilapidated former site, which was bought up by the council in 2018
Traders old – and some new – are ready to move into their new home following completion of the new Brighouse Market.
Calderdale Council’s projects team have now handed over the keys to the authority’s markets service and traders will now be able to move in their new permanent home, the project costing around £3 million.
Replacing the old, dilapidated market – which had been privately run and taken over by the council in 2018 – on the site at Ship Street, the scheme is part of the £19.1 million of Town Deal funding for Brighouse.
Senior councillors and partners Brighouse Town Deal Board have welcomed news of the market’s completion.
The new market includes 21 fixed stalls, each equipped with water, drainage and power.
There are seating areas for people to rest, meet others, or just stop for a moment and enjoy, and there is space for a further 19 pop-up stalls, providing opportunities for pop-ups and events, says the partners.
New decorative gates, cycle parking and accessible entrances create a better connection to the town centre, through Bethel Street Car Park, Briggate and Thornton Square.
Market traders, temporarily trading from Daisy Street Car Park, are preparing to move to the new market building and they will be joined by new stallholders, attracted by the opportunity to trade from the upgraded new home for Brighouse open market.
Coun Sarah Courtney (Lab, Calder), Calderdale Council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration and Transport, said the authority wants Calderdale’s towns and places to thrive.
“This milestone for Brighouse is a key part of the aspiration to build a town where history lives, communities come together, memories are made and the economy can grow,” she said.
Her Cabinet colleague, Coun Silvia Dacre (Lab, Todmorden), who has the portfolio for Resources, said the market completion has been eagerly awaited by the community.
“When I visited earlier this week a resident asked me when the new market was going to open, it was great to be able to tell him that it would be in the next few weeks.
“We’re really impressed with the new facilities, which will be yet another reason for people to visit and do business in Brighouse,” she said.
Co-Chair of the Brighouse Town Deal Board, and ward councillor, Howard Blagbrough (Con, Brighouse), said it marked a really exciting moment for Brighouse.
“The market is a place where the community comes together, and the new building which looks stunning will help it thrive long into the future.
“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has continued to support the market while it has been operating from Daisy Street Car Park and we’re now looking forward to seeing the new market buzzing with activity from existing and new traders when they return home in the weeks ahead,” he said.
Liversedge-based Triton Construction Ltd, relatively local to Brighouse, were the contractor for the market scheme.
The market is the latest Town Deal project to be delivered following the earlier completion of the town’s new i4.0 Hub – which is a cutting-edge training and innovation centre designed to support engineering and manufacturing.
Work on the final part of Town Deal projects, in the heart of the town centre, is due to start early next year.
Overall, Brighouse Town Deal is a joint project between the town’s private and voluntary sector, community and residents’ groups, Calderdale Council and Calderdale College.