Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

West Yorkshire building firm William Birch & Sons Ltd is carrying out the renovation which will see the iconic David Adjaye designed former market hall, on Union Street turned into a creative hub known as Wakefield Exchange.

The transformed site will offer residents the chance to socialise and will feature an exciting programme of events and activity, supported by an independent food and drink offer.

The new look venue will also feature skills and creative business spaces, linking up cultural organisations, businesses, entrepreneurs, influencers, and creative students with each other, and with key players across the creative sector.

An artist's impression of how the new Wakefield Exchange could look. Work has begun on the old Wakefield Market Hall to turn the building into an events, business and leisure hub.

William Birch said it was chosen for the Wakefield Council backed scheme due to its competitive proposals and approach to employment, skills and training through the delivery of the project.

The Leeds-based firm’s construction director Simon Potter said: “We are delighted to get started on this fast-track renovation project to create an exciting space that will leave a great impact on the creative sector in Wakefield.

"As part of the procurement process, we made commitments to employment, skills and training opportunities including school and college visits, work experience and apprenticeship opportunities, and we are already making headway having recruited a new local site operative to join the team”.

Mark Lynam, Corporate Director for Regeneration and Economic Growth at Wakefield Council, added: “It’s great that work is underway at Wakefield Exchange. This site is an important part of our regeneration plans for the city centre, and we look forward to seeing this vibrant space coming to life.

Several plans have been brought forward over the years for the city's market hall but now work is beginning to transform the site into an events space

"It will add to our creative events and entertainment offer, attracting more people to experience our city and encouraging more business investment.”

Previous events at the site, including the Festival of the Moon and the Fire and Ice exhibition during the Festival of the Earth, have been very popular.

The council said it had listened to visitors’ feedback and Wakefield Exchange will provide much needed new events space to attract more visitors into the city centre.

The council hopes Wakefield Exchange will also help create jobs for independent food and beverage businesses and help small and medium digital and creative businesses to develop through the offer of incubation space and wider support, ensuring it plays its part in the regeneration of the city centre.

Work is due to be completed by the end of the year when the building will be handed back to the authority, ahead of the site being fitted out. Wakefield Exchange is expected to open to the public in spring 2024.

Wakefield Exchange has been funded by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England, and by Wakefield Council

Wakefield Exchange: Work begins on £7.7million scheme to transform city's old market hall into 'creative events space'