The Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, visited the newly opened Queen’s Market in Rhyl on Tuesday (5th of August).
Welcomed by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jason McLellan, the Cabinet Secretary enjoyed a tour of the month-old facility, and was also joined by Chairman of the Council, Councillor Arwel Roberts, the Lead Member for Local Development and Planning, Councillor Alan James, MS for Vale of Clwyd, Gareth Davies, and the Programme Managers for the project.
As well as touring both the market space and the versatile events space, the Cabinet Secretary also met with the stall holders who work from the iconic space and Managing Directors from the company who operate the facility.
The new development includes 16 individual food and retail units, a double-sided bar and a large events space. The outside area of the market features a raised and covered decking area, which allows dining space for visitors to dine outdoors. The large events space has seen a number of extremely popular shows and concerts held since opening last month.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS said:
“I am delighted to be back in Rhyl and see Queen’s Market for myself, one of the key sites in the redevelopment of Rhyl town centre and a project which has benefitted from around £6.5m worth of support through the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns fund.
Offering a range of retail and food outlets, an events area and outdoor dining, this lively new space will create jobs, attract visitors, and breathe new life into the town centre.”
Leader of the Council, Councillor Jason McLellan said:
“This amazing facility has been open for almost a month now, and we are extremely pleased with how the opening few weeks have gone. This is one of the key projects in terms of the regeneration efforts in Rhyl.
The market is filled with talented, high-quality vendors, who have created a collaborative community atmosphere here. There has been some well-received entertainment on show in the events space, and the community feedback about the market space has been really positive.
The venue has been extremely busy since the doors opened last month, and I am really pleased with the modern, high-quality offering that this venue offers the people of Rhyl, and further afield. I am so glad to see this project up and running after a really successful opening period. There is over 120 years of history at this site, and it is great to see this latest chapter start.”
The Queen’s Market project has received funding from the Welsh Government, largely through its Transforming Towns Programme.
The project has received funding from UK Government’s SPF funding.
It has also received funding from UK Government through the Pride of Place & Natural Environment: Rhyl, Prestatyn & Denbigh Programme.
The project is also funded by Denbighshire County Council.
As well as funding the building of the new market, this funding helped the Council to acquire the whole of the old Queen’s Buildings site, demolish the existing buildings which had unfortunately become derelict and unsafe, and build the new Queen’s Market which is the first phase of re-developing this iconic site on the promenade.