See designers’ plans for Oswestry market
Wednesday 16th June 2010, 12:55PM BST.
This is how two of Britain’s top designers want Oswestry’s indoor market to look.
Sir Terence Conran and Tara Bernerd have drawn up plans to revamp Oswestry’s Powis Hall after it won a national makeover competition in The Times.
Members of Oswestry Town Council travelled to London to meet with the designers and see the proposed plans for themselves.
Today Sir Terence said he was very excited and delighted that the Powis Hall had won the mydeco.com competition.
“We passionately believe that marketplaces are the life and soul of Britain’s towns and need should be celebrated and cared for as such,” he said.
“The most important thing we felt with the new design was to make the marketplace feel fresh and be an appealing place for families and shoppers to spend time.
“I’m very excited about the new design which incorporates wonderfully bright, uplifting colours and materials which we believe will have an uplifting impact on the feel of the space.”
Tara Bernerd, head of Design, Target Living, said: “Market design has always intrigued me. We needed to find a practical and current solution for Powis Hall, simultaneously giving it a bold, fresh identity.”
Sir Terence said he felt that the design they had put together brought a sense of harmony and consistency to the marketplace
He said: “It will still allow the market stall holders to inject their own creativity and personality, which is absolutely critical to a successful, vibrant marketplace.”
The overall revamp could be dependant on more funding being found.
The Mydeco prize, £50,000, has been matched by a further £50,000 from Oswestry Town Council. Shropshire Council has offered £10,000 towards the project.
Town clerk David Preston said: “We still have no budget costs because we now have to build a specification for works from the design that can then be costed. We are still looking at various funding pots if it materialises that there is a funding deficit.”
The council is to consult traders about the proposed designs.
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Where is the victorian lampost,bench,wagon?
I have never been to Oswestry market hall but in this picture it looks a similar design to Shrewsbury.I always preferred the tables being visible from the balcony around the hall rather than these unnecessary tents which are surely only appropriate to an outdoor market?
If it has the advantage of being approached from ground floor level as ours in Shrewsbury perhaps should have then I’m sure it will be successful.
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It’s not very modern. They should check out Spitalfields Market in London and base the design on that. Or would that be too modern for a backwater like Oswestry?
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I’m disappointed. It’s not as crass as our Shrewsbury victorian stage set for Mary Poppins but as I previously said this design does not reflect the fact that it is an indoor market.
I expected something much better. :(
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St John, Oswestry is a charming borders market town and not a backwater. This makeover may not be all we hoped for but it is an improvement on the existing hall.
At the moment there is only one central aisle on the ground floor, and not two as shown in the picture. Does this mean that there are going to be more and smaller stalls?
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Eva: Unfortunately, when the tables are left uncovered they are not only visible from the top balcony, they are targets. Traders find items being thrown down onto them and their stalls. That is why roofs were put on some years ago by OTC. Sadly, a sign of the times….
The design is pretty much what we have now, but the overall feel looks much brighter and welcoming.
I hope that the signs on the end of each of the ground floor runs of stalls are NOT what is actually intended….we are NOT the Farmers Market we are the General Market.
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As you were, there are two aisles in the middle of the market.
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