Councillors in Oxford have agreed a further £1million to upgrade the city’s Covered Market.
The city council agreed a £6.78m masterplan for renovation two years ago and now the authority’s cabinet has approved a further £1.086m for future-proofing and sustainability measures including electrical work to allow solar panels and further ‘decarbonisation’.
There will also be support for traders during the work.
Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for business, culture and an inclusive economy, told the February 5 meeting: “When you’ve got an old building, the more preparation you do for spending money on it, the more you find things you didn’t know about.”
He added: “Now we’ve had a more detailed look and inevitably found interesting things we didn’t know about so there is a small increase in the funding.
“But the basic principle point that we’re trying to do here is, as we’ve done many times as the owner of this building through its 250 years, is refresh it to keep it, not just a place of work, as a place of business, as a place of trade but also a social place.”
The extra funding will still need full council support. If that goes smoothly a planning application is expected towards the end of this year.
Image: © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar
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