Plans revealed to renovate historic market place
Ted Peskett – Local Democracy Reporter
A multi million pound plan to renovate a historic market in Cardiff includes proposals for new ground floor seated area and major restoration works.
Cardiff Council’s plans for the Grade II* listed Central Market on St Mary Street are subject to funding being successful and planning permission being granted.
The market will remain open if the plans are approved, with some traders being relocated to nearby accommodation on a temporary short-term basis.
Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for investment and development, Cllr Russell Goodway, said: “Customers have been visiting Cardiff Market for more than a century and our extensive renovation plans aim to ensure a viable and sustainable future for the building, preserve and enhance its heritage, and ensure it remains the bustling heart of the city centre for many years to come.”
The council’s plans include:
- The restoration of the Trinity Street and St Mary Street entrances
- Restoration of the roof, original windows and external elevations
- Replacement of glazing and tiles
- Restoration of the market interior, including improvements to the historic stalls
- Removal of a 1960s ‘false floor’ at the Trinity St entrance to reveal the original design
- Roof-mounted solar panels, and integrated battery storage
- Repairs to the H.Samuel market clock
- A new 70-seat eating area on the ground floor
- A new activity and education room
- Drainage improvementsThe installation of energy-efficient LED lighting
Cenrtral Market was opened in 1891 and attracts more than 2.2 million visitors a year.
It is home to 61 independent businesses including traditional greengrocers, butchers and fishmongers, street food stalls, artisan producers, clothing, music and hardware stalls.
If successful, the works are currently expected to begin in Summer 2024 and take approximately two years to complete.
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When you live in Goggledd Cymru, watching the money flow either to England or Cardiff has become so ingrained that we barely even notice anymore….. In the train tunnel by Chirk station, if you look closely, you can make out the faded words “Cardiff die”. It was clear in the nineties and stood out against the old stone because it was white paint…. I often wondered why someone in Cymru would hate Cardiff that much, but I was a teenager then, I am a grown woman now and each year my understanding of the motivations of the person who painted… Read more »
Hi Cathy, what evidence do you have that the money (which I believe has not yet been found by Cardiff Council) could go to pay for something similar in northern Wales (please let me know of a market this size in a City of over 300,000 in the north of Wales)?
Cathy, we mustn’t succumb to efforts by London to play divide-and-rule. Although we might have always been brought up hearing gripes about ‘Cardiff this/that/other’, and the north suffering, the truth is startlingly more complex. Some of the the poorest areas of Wales are not just in the north, but in the valleys and even within Cardiff itself. So its not a geographical thing, but a question of social class. Anyone promoting this ‘north v south’ nonsense always gets short shrift from Ivor, because I am a true patriot, and know the games they play to subdue us. Don’t get bought… Read more »
The roofscape of that city block with the Market, James Howells and Bethany Church is well worth conservation. How about some photos for those who have never been up there? Back in the day there was a flat up there for a caretaker and his family.