Newcastle's Grainger Market hit by another setback in ongoing £5 million renovation

Newcastle's Grainger Market has been hit by another setback in its ongoing renovation works.

A £5 million refurbishment of the city centre market was due to be finished more than two years ago, in March 2020, but it is still incomplete.

Newcastle City Council have not revealed the cause of the latest delay, or set a new target date for when the works should now be done, but said it will take "a number of weeks".

A council spokesperson said: "While naturally disappointing, this is not unusual given the age of this Grade I Listed building which was always going to be challenging."

The local authority also indicated that the cost of the works had not increased further at this stage.

In April 2022 it emerged that it was costing the local authority £300,000 a year to keep the historic city centre market running.

"Hidden problems" were blamed last year as Newcastle City Council chiefs were forced to borrow almost £2m to finish replacing the "crumbling" barrelled roof.

The refurbishment works had to be halted in November 2019 after contractors Esh Build found structural weaknesses in the Grainger Market's gable walls.

It restarted over a year ago after the council borrowed £1.9m to cover the increasing cost of the project - which totalled £5.15m.

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