£4.4m to be spent on Halifax Borough Market to help transform the historic building

Councillors heard teams are in place to deliver £11.7 million of Halifax Future High Streets funding, some allocated for the Victoria Theatre, some for public areas and £4.4 million for Halifax Borough Market.

Halifax town centre delivery plan manager Janet Whitlow told them market projects had been broken down into smaller scopes of work and re-costed and retested against increased costs in the current climate.

“It is a lovely amount of money but when you start to use it, it is stretching it as far as we can and getting the best benefits we can out of the money,” she said.

Extension roofing works will continue, more will be done to enhance Albany Arcade, improvements to the Albion Street frontage are being looked at, and also redefining the space under the market clock, as well ensuring health and safety matters are addressed.

There was almost a “shopping list” of things the council want to do but these had to have outcomes which can be clearly demonstrated to Government – in a nutshell, for the market this is substantially increasing footfall.

Coun Howard Blagbrough (Con, Brighouse) was worried the works could be delivered in a tight timescale, and sought assurances.

“We’ve got all this promised money but if we’re not careful we will lose out on everything. That’s being pessimistic, I know, but it does concern me,” he said.

Ms Whitlow said timescales were a concern but the structure to deliver was now in place and she was comfortable with the situation.

Costs these had been tested and would be evaluated on an ongoing basis, she said.

Alan Lee, lead officer for council assets like buildings, said it was important to factor in traders’ needs.

“There are a number of independent traders that operate from that space, which will become a construction site, so there’s the pace, which is really important, we’ve got to deliver, we’ve got to be efficient in the way we deliver, but we’ve also got to take the traders with us.

“We’ve got to be mindful they have got to continue to operate during that time – it is a delicate balance between pace, delivery and sensitivity,” he told members of Calderdale Council’s Markets Working Party.

Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) warned the public might not see some elements, for example, making the building watertight.

But there were some beautiful features, she said.

“It’s not just the functionality and utility of it, and making sure it doesn’t leak, but to see it come into its own as a handsome building that befits a handsome town like Halifax,” said Coun Scullion.

* Support your Halifax Courier by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe