CLITHEROE MARKET BULLRING’S ‘UN-BEET-ABLE’ £250,000 REVAMP

The revamp features extensive improvements to the market’s iconic bullring, including new flagging and street furniture; along with LED lighting, roof panels, gutters and back panels on casual stalls, new laminate tabletops on temporary stalls and the steam-cleaning of selected areas.

The spruce-up has been spearheaded by market owners Ribble Valley Borough Council and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which supports projects that boost community pride, businesses, people and skills.

But that’s not all – the next phase of a revamp of Clitheroe town centre has also received the green light.

Over £600,000 of improvements in Castle Street, including the narrowing of the road, resurfacing and widening of footways, new signage, parking and loading restrictions, benches, bollards and street furniture, were completed last summer.

The revamp, funded by Ribble Valley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, was so successful – also completed ahead of schedule and to budget – that the two councils have given the thumbs-up to an extension of the scheme into Market Place.

The proposed works, which it is hoped will start in the summer, will also feature new footways, signage, benches, bollards and street furniture to match Castle Street.

Simon Hore, acting leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, said: “The contractors have pulled out the stops to complete the bullring refurbishment ahead of schedule and it looks fantastic.

“The feedback we have received so far has been very positive and the market scheme along with the proposed Market Place works will make Clitheroe an even more attractive place to visit.”

Clitheroe has hosted a regular market since the Norman Conquest in the 12th Century. On market day – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays – over 80 stalls sell fruit and vegetables, bread and cakes, fish and meat, clothing and lingerie, curtains and fabrics, flowers and electrical goods.