A radical £6 million revamp to the retail heart of Liverpool city centre has been completed.
Liverpool City Council has overseen the dual schemes of a £3.5 million public realm upgrade to improve the roads surrounding Clayton Square and St Johns Shopping Centres and the £2.5 million upgrade of St Johns Market.
The public realm works, carried out by Kings Construction and part funded by the Liverpool City Region Local Growth Fund, diagnosis are part of a citywide £250m Better Roads programme.
Begun in February, the scheme to upgrade Parker Street, Elliott Street and Houghton Street, included the creation of a new stepped entrance and took 33,000 man hours to complete.
St Johns Market, which dates back to 1822, will have a ‘soft opening’ on Monday, 14 November for a two week public preview before its official opening on Friday, 25 November.
The historic market has undergone a radical makeover since July, complete with a new event space, its first welcome desk and team and free wi-fi.
The new St Johns Market, which will be home to a purpose built food court, will also include new public toilets, seating areas and flexible space for temporary events and speciality markets.
St Johns Market, which last had a refit in 1971, will also be staffed by with an information desk for the first time in its history.
A series of unique events will be held within the market in the run up to Christmas to showcase the new look surroundings.
In the New Year, the city council will also relocate its One Stop Shop from the Municipal Buildings into the market adding further footfall to the venue.
Cllr Malcom Kennedy, cabinet member for Regeneration, said: “Liverpool’s shopping district has undergone a huge transformation over the past decade.
“The upgrade to the area around St Johns Market and the market itself is the final piece in that area’s regeneration jigsaw.
“As a visitor and customer experience this part of the city centre will be unrecognisable to how it was at the beginning of the year.
“The city council has worked with many partners and contractors to achieve these quite complex changes in such a busy area and we thank them all for their hard work and support to finish on schedule.”