The Covered Market is pleased to announce that Oxford City Council have commissioned award-winning design company Urban Movement to pilot the creation of a new pedestrian-friendly space outside Oxford’s historic Covered Market.
The temporary trial, which could be implemented in spring 2024, is seeking to reimagine a section of the road to allow space for outdoor seating, market stalls and planters during key daytime hours, creating a more pedestrian-friendly space in Market Street.
This is the first stage of a £6.87m project to make essential upgrades and transform the Covered Market, which will also see larger seating areas inside, improved entrances, general building services upgrades and modernisation of the Market Street toilets.
The Urban Movement team will build on the extensive engagement carried out by the Council in 2021 and 2022, and will also carry out their own in-depth engagement with the Covered Market traders and key stakeholders affected by the trial. This will have a particular focus on enabling all key stakeholders to continue with business as usual as much as possible while restricting deliveries and vehicle access during daytime hours to achieve the trial objectives.
The results of the pilot project will then be used to inform the wider redevelopment of the Covered Market.
To find out more, read the City Council’s press release about the Market Street pedestrianisation pilot.