Multi-million pound Bigg Market regeneration to be extended into 2021

The multi-million pound regeneration of a historic area of Newcastle is set to continue into 2021 after securing a funding extension.

NE1 Ltd has secured an extension from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for the regeneration of the city’s Bigg Market.

The £3.2m project has already seen the transformation of the public realm and the restoration of the facades of five properties in the area. as well as the redevelopment of the famous Victorian WCs into a new bar.

News of the project extension comes as NE1 announces its seventh building to be restored as part of the regeneration programme.

Number 8 Bigg Market, a Grade II Listed building home to Greek restaurant Kafeneon, is set to be restored with support from NE1 and Heritage Fund grant funding, with work scheduled to commence in January.

Daniel Stamatelopoulos, owner of Kafeneon, explained: “NE1’s redevelopment of the Bigg Market has given the area a completely new lease of life and gave me confidence to invest in the redevelopment of the building we have called home for over 20 years.

“We have witnessed the transformation of the Bigg Market, literally on our doorstep, and we are excited to be part of the next phase which will hopefully be timed to coincide with us coming out of lockdown.”

Alex Slack, project manager for the Bigg Market at NE1, commented: “We are delighted to be extending beyond 2020 with our seventh repair and restoration project and are looking forward to working with Daniel and his team at Kafeneon – which has been an institution in the Bigg Market for over two decades.

“We are seeing real positive change in the Bigg Market these days and are delighted to be staying behind the wheel for a further 12 months. We recognize the challenges our businesses face in these uncertain times so it is especially pleasing to be able to offer funding to help Daniel protect his investment in the long term.”

David Renwick, area director North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “The Bigg Market has been a tremendously successful project and has had a completely transformational effect on the area and its fortunes.

“NE1 has done an incredible job which has been recognized in the Lord Mayor’s award for landscape design and we look forward to seeing future successes as it works to restore other historic properties in the area.”