Accrington Market Hall and Enterprise Haven
Accrington’s Market hall exudes Victorian civic pride and confidence in the benefits of commerce. Originally opened in 1869 the stone-built Grade 2-listed building boasts an elaborate decorated facade topped by a statue of Ceres – the Greek God of agriculture – and houses some 40 independent retailers with as many again trading as ‘casuals’ on the adjacent 6-day open market. The importance of the building to the emerging Town Centre regeneration proposals was acknowledged in 2008 when a working group was established to identify and secure funding assistance and develop a Business Plan to ensure a sustainable future for the building in public ownership.
In 2009 the Council received a funding offer from the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative ‘No Limits’ programme which administers some £10 million of central government regeneration monies for Pennine Lancashire Councils. A £550k support package was agreed to create an ‘Enterprise Haven’ by converting unused balcony-level space into 20 lock-up ‘nursery’ kiosks for start-up businesses, plus accommodation for Hyndburn Enterprise Trust. The LEGI offer was then matched by £300k of Council funding for repairs to the roof and £650k to remodel the sales floor and bring its 40 retail stalls up to modern standards. To deliver this project the Council appointed retail market specialists Quarterbridge Project Management to select and lead a design and construction team.
