Plans for Knutsford's £700k market revamp scrapped

Knutsford Town Council had hoped to give the Silk Street market a new lease of life to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.

However, rising costs meant the project could not be delivered either on time or on budget.

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Artist impression of the proposed new look for Knutsford Market Hall (Image: Supplied)

The renovation was relying on a government grant which has been withdrawn because the council was unable to meet certain conditions.

The interior of the market was to be given a complete refurbishment and a modern glass frontage was set to create a brighter more welcoming image.

Traders, preparing to move to temporary premises at 60 King Street during the makeover, had been looking forward to the improvements.

Knutsford Market Hall celebrates its 60th anniversary this year (Image: Supplied)

Town mayor Cllr Colin Banks said: “This is obviously extremely disappointing news for our market traders, the council and the market community - especially after the excitement of the prospect of a more significant investment.

“We will now strive to deliver the best possible improvement to the Market Hall with available funds and aim to ensure our Market Hall can continue to provide a home to small businesses in our town centre.”

The Town Council was awarded a £560,000 grant in the first round of the government’s Community Ownership Fund.

A further grant of £160,000 came from the Shared Prosperity Fund, managed by Cheshire East Council.

The funding application was based on initial costings developed by quantity surveyors to the outline design.

Town Council clerk Adam Keppel-Green said: “During the last 12 months this project has been progressing through the detailed design and tender stage.

“Tendering was concluded in September and the project came in significantly over budget and would have required around a further £200,000 to be found.

“At the same time, there was a requirement to complete within a certain timeframe for both this funding and the £160,000 of funding provided through another fund which mean the planned project could not be delivered either in time or on budget.

“Value engineering took place to develop a revised scheme that could be delivered within the funding envelope and time.

“Unfortunately, the government did not approve the revised scheme or an extension to the grant period,and has withdrawn its funding. “

The Town Council will now be exploring what improvements to the Market Hall it can deliver with the £160,000 grant from the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Town Mayor Cllr Colin Banks said: “This is obviously extremely disappointing news for our market traders, the council and the market community - especially after the excitement of the prospect of a more significant investment.

“We will now strive to deliver the best possible improvement to the Market Hall with available funds and aim to ensure our Market Hall can continue to provide a home to small businesses in our town centre.”

The proposed new layout would have featured a central hall to allow community use when the market is closed.