PIECE HALL AFTER £20M RENOVATION

which will attract estimated footfall of 1.6m through the gates every year.

Nicky Chance-Thompson, chief executive of The Piece Hall Trust, an independent charity formed to manage The Piece Hall, said: “For anyone that has yet to experience The Piece Hall, it’s not easy to get across the scale and grandeur of the place.

“It brings to mind Covent Garden’s ‘Floral market’ with a grand courtyard that is reminiscent of Somerset House, combined with magnificent Italian-style architecture.

“Given the phenomenal 200-year history of the building and scale of the transformation, it’s incredible that until now, it has been one of the north’s best kept secrets, but that’s all about to change.” And for Isobel Hampson, owner of niche jewellery store, Creative Crystals, it’s simply a matter of coming home. She’s been here before. She said: “I came in 1993 and stayed for 20 years until the building closed in 2013. I can’t wait to get back!” So, what can visitors expect? Well, the sloping central courtyard has been levelled. The cobblestones, which everyone thinks were original but definitely weren’t, have gone – they were laid in the 1970s. And instead what has been created is one of the most striking piazzas in Europe, fit for 21st century public use, and measuring a vast 66,000 sq ft. It will host a seasonal programme of events with capacity for up to 7,500 people, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Georgian arcades.

It has been one of the north’s best kept secrets, but that’s all about to change.