Temporary home for Grimsby Top Town Market announced as closure looms
The temporary home of Grimsby's Top Town Market has been confirmed.
There will also be a gap between the Freshney Place market shutting down to make way for redevelopment work and the temporary site's opening some time in the Spring.
Top Town Market will close in early February ahead of demolition works beginning that are part of the shopping centre's major leisure scheme.
The market will move temporarily to the shopping centre unit currently occupied by One Beyond. The store has been given notice, and will move out in April.
Works will then take place to make it ready to be the market's temporary home. North East Lincolnshire Council has confirmed not all traders will make the move, and the Top Town Market's cafes have not been able to be included, though the local authority will work with them to identify alternative locations in the town centre.
The leisure scheme, to cost £49.96m, includes the creation of a five-screen cinema, a food hall, new public open space, and a permanent new market home at the former BHS site.
North East Lincolnshire Council leader Cllr Philip Jackson said: "I’m really pleased that lots of traders have chosen to come across to the temporary market, and I’m sure it will be welcomed by shoppers to have this available as soon as practically possible. This unit has been used for a pop-up market previously, and is in a great location for traders.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those involved in our Top Town Market in its present location and look forward to seeing the temporary market open to the public in the Spring."
In a statement, the council has said: "Work to create the Freshney Place leisure scheme, along with the new food hall and complementary market will get underway in earnest in early February when contractors will arrive on the site. The first part of this will be the decommissioning of existing Top Town Market, ahead of the start of works to demolish the building.
"A temporary market will be created within Freshney Place in the unit currently occupied by One Beyond, which is due to be vacated by April. Once the unit is available, some work will be required before the temporary market can open to the public.
"The council has been talking with traders in Top Town Market since it started the plans for the scheme, and more recently on a one-to-one basis to understand traders’ business aspirations, talk through the various options available to them, and offer them a full support package to help them to transition going forward."
It is stated the next step will be to work with traders who are relocating "to ensure a smooth transition into the temporary space".
"Meanwhile, we can confirm that there are some other traders have chosen not to move to the temporary market for various reasons, and the cafés have not been able to be included within the temporary market space as they need special facilities, such as extraction, or seating areas. The council is talking separately with the cafes about other suitable spaces in the town centre, which can better accommodate their needs."