Oswestry market wins top makeover

Inside Powis Hall Market

Oswestry's Powis Hall Market received 1,407 votes to win The Times newspaper and mydeco.com's Yourspace competition.

It was one of 10 shortlisted public buildings hoping to win a makeover by two of Britain's top designers, Sir Terence Conran and Tara Bernerd.

Backed by BBC Shropshire, Powis Hall was neck-and-neck in the public vote with a London art drop-in centre.

Powis Hall eventually finished 51 votes clear of its rival, which had been backed by celebrity Ruby Wax.

It's where people come and meet other people... without the market it's not a market town. Mike Coppock

The result was largely thanks to one final push - with BBC Shropshire listeners across the county voting for the Oswestry market.

The designers were pleased with the result and looked forward to working on the building, as Sir Terence Conran explained: 'I love markets. Markets changed my ideas about design... I would want to bring colour and light to Powis Hall to create a good atmosphere.'

Tara Bernerd added, 'This represents an exciting project. It's a place of great energy in a very dismal setting. Lighting, joinery, colour and intelligent cladding work would make an enormous difference.'

Powis Hall had been nominated by Mike Coppock, who is a stall holder at the market. He explained why the building desperately needed a makeover: "No matter how bright it is in here, if it's nice outside, it always looks really grim."

He described the dark green iron girders over the top of the ceiling as oppressive and believed that the large wooden panels around the top of the stalls had not been painted since the 1960s.

Mr Coppock said the market was vital to the town: "It's where people come and meet other people... without the market it's not a market town."

He believed a makeover would give the market a new lease of life: "It would bring more people in... at the moment a lot of people don't use the hall because they've got into the habit of it being so drab."

There are more than 30 stalls inside the market ranging from haberdashers to a toy stall. The fishmonger comes twice a week from Fleetwood to sell the fish his family catches and there's a stall selling local meat.

Oswestry has boasted a market for over 800 years, and Mr Coppock hopes the Powis Hall will get the makeover the town deserves.