Our Construction business helps breathe new life into Grade II-listed Derby Market Hall
Our Construction business helps breathe new life into Grade II-listed Derby Market Hall
The iconic Derby Market Hall is now open to the public, which our Construction East business has helped restore and reinvigorate over the past six years.
Home to a wealth of vibrant independent traders and makers, the Derby Market Hall has always been a fantastic destination within Derby. However, in 2017, the Grade II-listed building was in desperate need of some TLC, so our Construction team worked closely with Derby City Council to give it some much-needed renovation.
Our Construction business was initially contracted to erect internal and external scaffolding (which went up in 2018) and tent the roof, to allow for structural investigations and a condition survey to take place without impacting trading.
However, following the survey, the team ended up with multiple repair, replacement and restoration projects – all designed to breathe new life into the market hall and attract higher footfall from a more diverse customer base.
As a Grade II-listed building, finding the specialist tradespeople with experience in heritage-sensitive repairs, who could also recreate the historic colour palettes to keep the hall as authentic as possible, was a pivotal part of the project.
Blending traditional historical features with complementary new modern fitouts, the new-look Derby Market Hall is an open, flexible space that can cater for a broader range of traders and makers, potential pop-ups and a wider variety of events, such as beer or folk festivals.
A brighter and better-connected space, because the team opened up the southern façade, Derby Market Hall is now ready to continue its role at the heart of the community as a springboard for new businesses and to further cement Derby’s 300-year reputation as an area of innovation and industry.
Throughout the project, making sure market trading wasn’t disrupted was a key consideration. The market didn’t lose a day’s trading throughout the first phase of delivery, even during Covid, before closing for the next phase of extensive internal fitout was delivered.
When completion drew near, it was important to launch the new space ahead of the summer trading months that are so important to the independent traders and makers that operate within the hall.
The re-opening was a fantastic success, with more than 34,500 people visiting in the first three days alone (according to Derby City Council). That’s more than full capacity at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium (England’s 16th-largest and the UK’s 20th-largest football stadium).
The team and I are so proud to have been part of bringing one of our country’s historic buildings back to life and extending its life span.
“The Market Hall is more than just a building – it’s a central part of the city’s identity and a place for the community to come together. Through a shared commitment to social value and sustainable regeneration, we’ve helped create a space that celebrates Derby’s past and supports its future.
“It has always been a popular part of the city centre, but now, with its new variety and vibrancy, it has become more of a must-visit spot that we hope the public will enjoy for generations to come.”
David Wingfield
Managing Director for Construction East at Wates Group
Work undertaken to make Derby Market Hall a safe, maintainable, inclusive and accessible building included:
- Repairing the roof, internal timber and masonry
- Replacing copper cladding, roof tiling (especially on the mono-pitch areas), masonry and stonework
- Reglazing the roof on the west, east and north elevations
- Decorating internal timber and cast-iron structural elements
- Installing smoke ventilation above the original glazed ridge line (which required a height increase of 3m)
The Derby Market Hall regeneration also delivered an extensive Social Value plan to support the long-term growth of the community, including:
378
students supported with education opportunities
£8.2m
spent with local SMEs
£98k
invested in local Social Enterprises
55
training and employment opportunities created
