Member Article

Liverpool market on the move after development plans given approval

The green light has been given to a £2.2m scheme to relocate Liverpool’s Great Homer Street market to a new facility on Dryden Street.

Liverpool’s planning committee has given the go-ahead for the popular market to move a short distance to the new site.

The market is moving as part of the large-scale Project Jennifer regeneration scheme, which will revitalise Great Homer Street and bring in major investment which has been needed in the area for decades.

The Project Jennifer scheme, which is being led by regeneration specialist St. Modwen in partnership with Liverpool City Council, will transform the Great Homer Street area in north Liverpool. It will create an estimated 1,000 new jobs, new homes, significant public realm improvements and includes a new flagship Sainsbury’s supermarket, which will be the largest supermarket in the city.

The relocation to Dryden Street is aimed at delivering a better quality market facility, complementing the wider development at Great Homer Street, which starts on-site this Spring.

Planning permission has been granted on a temporary basis, for a period of four years. The Council is proposing to put forward a further planning application in the future to make the move permanent.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, said: “I’m pleased that these plans have been approved, because I strongly believe that this scheme is the right one to build a successful future for the market.

“The new market has been developed following consultation with traders. We’ve worked hard to respond to their views and deliver their requirements, particularly around the size and number of stalls.”

It represents a major investment from the Council, and will include the refurbishment of an existing building to create a home for the indoor market. The plans also include the demolition of existing buildings, surfacing works to create a partly covered space for the outdoor market, and parking areas for customers and traders vans – all on one cohesive site.

Councillor Kennedy added: “We have been in constant communication with traders and customers over these plans, for many months. It has been challenging, because when working with such a large number of traders, it is difficult to please everyone, particularly when they often have differing views and competing demands.

“However, I feel we’ve been successful in putting forward plans that are deliverable, will satisfy the needs of the majority of traders, and will enable the market to thrive. There is also overwhelming support from local councillors and the wider community.

“We have carefully considered proposals by a small number of traders who wish to remain on the existing site, to create a split market, on both sides of the road. However, this would cause major management, cost and parking issues, as well as potential health and safety concerns”.

The Dryden Street scheme will deliver 78 indoor stalls, 178 outdoor stalls, 163 car parking spaces and 61 van parking spaces. There is scope to change the actual mix of stall numbers and sizes and the split between car paring and van parking. There is also potential to make the market bigger if required using property already in Council ownership, and consultation with traders on these issues continues.

Everton ward councillor, Jane Corbett, said: “We have listened to the views of the market traders and customers in developing this scheme, and we have worked extremely hard to deliver plans which respond to their needs.”

Joy Bowes, local market trader and representative of the indoor market, said: “I am really looking forward to moving to our new home at Dryden Street, which is really close to where the market originally started.

“The new market will bring all of the traders under one roof and in my opinion is well positioned; it’s not too far from our current location but it will be closer to the town centre, right on the main bus route and near to the new supermarket and shops. I’m convinced that it will be a success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .