Council explains why more is happening with Leyland Market revamp than it might seem
South Ribble Borough Council has told residents eager to see progress being made on the refurbishment of Leyland Market that the work is “not all visible”.
The much-loved facility is currently being housed in a temporary location in Kings Court Business Centre, on King Street, while the refit is carried out.
It had initially been expected that the revamped market on Hough Lane - which closed its doors in late September last year - would be complete by this autumn.
However, the borough council recently said it would now be late 2026 before the building is ready to welcome customers once again.
The authority has insisted the market is “flourishing in its new temporary home, with lots to offer shoppers”. It remains open on its traditional days of Tuesday, Friday and Saturday each week.
In an update shared on social media this week, the council said some of the work taking place at the Hough Lane site would not be obvious.
“To set up the new gas main connection for the refurbished market, teams have been disconnecting all the existing gas infrastructure.
“This involved the gas pipes in the building as well as those connected to the underground system.
“This now paves the way for the new gas lines to be fitted allowing for the continued work on the market building,” the authority explained.
The scheme is part of the £38m Leyland Town Deal, which includes public space improvements, along with business development.
South Ribble Borough Council leader Matthew Tomlinson said the project is “progressing well”.
“We’re pleased by the progress of the works on Quin Street and the successful relocation of Leyland Market to the temporary Kings Court location. Significant work to the Market building has already taken place, and the full refurbishment is now set to commence.
“Timescales for significantly large projects such as this often vary due to a number of factors. The original plan for the Leyland Market refurbishment outlined an approximate 12-month timeline, however on appointing a contractor, further work was required to agree a scheme that met both the council's budget and the project’s principles. These discussions meant that other areas of the project were delivered ahead of the start of the Market refurbishment.
“While we have focused our phasing of the project work slightly differently than planned, we are pleased we were able to re-home the market quickly so people could continue to enjoy the offer and shop locally. People will soon see a flurry of work taking place at the Leyland Market site as our contractor prepares to deliver the exciting refurbishment scheme.
“We will continue to keep people updated about the Town Deal project and we are looking forward to seeing the development progress. You can keep up to date with all the work at