A £6m radical modernisation to Liverpool city centre’s retail hub has been completed.
The New View down Parker Street
To improve the roads surrounding Clayton Square and St. Johns Shopping Centre, Liverpool City Council has overseen the dual schemes of a £3.5m public realm upgrade, as well as the £2.5m upgrade of St Johns Market.
The public realm works are part of a citywide £250m Better Roads programme which have been carried out by Kings Construction and part-funded by the Liverpool City Region Local Growth Fund.
The second scheme to upgrade the streets surrounding St Johns Market – Parker Street, Elliott Street and Houghton Street – began in February 2016, which included the creation of a new stepped entrance. The process of recreating Liverpool’s largest covered shopping centre eventually took 33, 000 man hours to complete and also involved:
5,000m2 of granite paving
550m of granite channel
60m3 of concrete for the 132 steps
26 new trees
9 new benches
41 new bollards
4 new cycle racks
11 new litter bins
St John’s Market Regeneration
Dating back to 1822, St Johns Market will host a ‘soft opening’ on Monday 14th November for a two-week public preview before its official opening on Friday 25th November.
Chancellor Malcolm Kennedy at the new steps to Clayton Square
Since July, the historic market has undergone an extreme makeover which will now offer a new event space, its first welcome desk and free Wi-Fi. The new and improved market will also be home to a purpose built food court which will include:
Flexible space for temporary events and speciality markets
New seating areas – with capacity for 200 people
New lifts to the balcony level
New public toilets
A bright new colour design – most notably on pitched market roof
Though the space last received refurbishment and a refit in 1971 with a reopening by the Queen, the new market space will be modernised further by housing an information desk
for the first time in its history. St Johns Market Traders Association has optimised the sites public exposure by creating a brand new website (www.stjohnsmarket.uk) as well as social media platforms to provide public feedback and information regarding traders.
The market will utilise the festive period by offering unique and festive events within its space to showcase the sites new appearance.
Creating additional footfall, the city council will also relocate its One Stop Shop from the Municipal Buildings to the venue in the New Year.
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