BARROW Market Hall will boast a new look and some new faces when it reopens.

The site has been given a lick of paint and a new colour scheme ahead of the resumption of trade on Monday - when lockdown restrictions ease and non-essential retailers can open.

“During lockdown we’ve had a complete makeover in the market,” said Jacqui Armstrong, admin assistant at the market hall.

“We’ve decorated the vacant stalls as well, and then we’ve also carried on with clearing out the first floor area of the market.

“There were things that have been stored up there over quite a period of time.”

She said the improvements, funded by the council’s maintenance budget, had been a ‘team effort’ with Forum staff and town hall stewards chipping in.

Visitors to the hall on Monday will also spot some fresh faces.

Among the new stallholders are AJA Babywear and the Rug Emporium.

Mrs Armstrong said she and the stallholders were ‘really excited’ about the return of the market next week.

“We’ve got a lot of our outdoor traders returning as well on Monday,” she said.

“We need the traders up and running to do the job that they love and which they are experts in.

“We’ve missed the traders and the traders have missed being in the market.

“They’ve missed the customers, that friendliness, and just that community feel, as well.

“We just want to welcome everybody back again.

“We need our community’s support now more than ever, because it’s been a really tough year, and the market celebrates its 50th birthday this year, and we want to continue with the market for the next 50 years.

“To be able to do that, we need people to shop local.”

Mrs Armstrong issued a ‘rallying call’ to the people of Barrow to turn up and support local businesses.

“We are relying on the public’s support; new customers and our regular customers to come back to the market,” she said.

Although some people may be nervous about turning up, she stressed that the market was safe and had been inspected by the council’s health and safety officer.

“She was really pleased with the standards in the market,” said Mrs Armstrong. “We’ve got hand sanitisers at the entrances, our aisles are wide.”