The indoor Preston Market traders will be marking their final Christmas in the current market this December with the new market hall opening in early 2018.
All parties are working flat out to get the new Market Hall open as soon as possible and great progress is being made on all fronts but, following a request from the current traders moving into the new Market Hall, the Council has taken the decision to keep the old indoor market open until after Christmas.
The Outdoor and Second Hand Market traders will start to use the newly restored and repaved 1875 Canopy with brand new market stalls in November. This will free up the historic Fish Market canopy for works to begin on the innovative Box Market where upgraded shipping containers will provide contemporary trading spaces and a unique shopping environment not found anywhere else in the northwest.
Councillor Peter Rankin, Leader of Preston City Council said: “We are really pleased with how the works are progressing on site and I have to say what a great job Conlon Construction and the Frank Whittle Partnership are doing to keep to the construction programme. We have been working closely with the market traders throughout and we understand that they want the best opportunity to fit out their stalls to the highest possible standard.
We appreciate that a new year opening will enable traders to get everything just right for their new market stalls whilst focussing on their businesses over the busy Christmas period.
We now look forward to the opening of the Market Hall in early 2018 with great excitement.”
Sam Livesey, Chairman of the Preston Market Traders Association, said: “We are all working to the same objective: to create a fantastic destination market that Preston can be proud of. The building is already looking great and my members want to make sure that their stalls are finished to a high standard to complete the picture. We think this would be best achieved by an early 2018 opening, hence our request to the Council.
The added bonus is that we can have a successful last Christmas in the old indoor market before we say goodbye to it and it is demolished next year. We look forward to serving our loyal customers from our old home throughout the Christmas period before we move to the new Market Hall.”
