Barrow town centre regeneration appoints design team

The redevelopment scheme has received £16m from the government's Levelling Up Fund

Detailed designs are to be worked up for a multimillion-pound regeneration of Barrow town centre after a team was appointed by the local council.

The market hall is set to be transformed from its current state as well as improvements to Duke Street.

The scheme has received £16m from the government's Levelling Up Fund.

Barrow Borough Council said it hoped a planning application would be submitted in spring 2023 and the project completed in 2025.

Ann Thomson, leader of the Labour-run council, said the project would be more than a refresh of market hall and would "herald a new era for the high street".

Manchester-based firm Buttress Architects, alongside designers OPEN and engineers WSP, was selected to deliver the design element of the project following a tender process.

Over the summer bulldozers began work on the unit next to the market entrance

"We know the way people use their high street is changing in towns and cities the length and breadth of the country and that this change has been further exacerbated by the Covid pandemic," Ms Thomson added.

Buttress Architects has previously breathed new life into Manchester's Mackie Mayor, a Grade II-listed meat market hall that had been empty for more than two decades, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Artist's impressions have previously been released giving an idea of the work

Chithra Marsh, associate director at the firm, said the public would be able to take part in series of engagement events and workshops in the coming months.

"We encourage local people to come along, have their say, and help shape the vision for the market hall," she said.