The Local Democracy Reporting Service said that a staircase to a previously-inaccessible upper level is currently being built, expanding the business into a multi-level market, designed to bring in new customers. After the past few decades of steadily declining sales- due to supermarkets and newly built complexes-, this might be exactly what Grainger Market needs. While students are used to shopping in places such as Eldon Square, the expansion of Grainger Market might introduce it back into the student circle. With its cheap prices and sustainable products, Grainger Market might just be back on the map.
If the restoration is taking longer than expected, students are pushed further and further away from connecting with local businesses.
Or perhaps not. According to the BBC, Ms Armstrong- who has been trading at the market for ten years- said the delay was having a “huge, detrimental effect on traders”. "We have got all this open plastering on the walls, which makes the place look very run down," she said. "So we're going to end up with this fabulous arcade for entertainment space and the rest of the market looking shabby." This may be true: whilst Grainger Market is a fantastic local space in the heart of Newcastle, the major audience is still of the older generation which remembers when the Market was still influential. If the restoration is taking longer than expected, students are pushed further and further away from connecting with local businesses.
With this new restoration taking place, will this help Grainger Market to expand to a bigger, younger audience- or will the work take so much time that Grainger Market falls even further into disrepair? Only time will tell, but whilst local business owners are publicly complaining in the news and students are still avoiding local businesses for more mainstream shops, Grainger Market’s refurbishments may feel a little pointless. Whether the money would’ve been more useful going towards other projects within the council is yet to be decided.
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