A £1 million makeover will keep bargain hunters happy as the council push ahead with plans to spruce up the town’s ancient market.

Renovation work to Gravesend Borough Market was given the go-ahead at a council regulatory board meeting last Wednesday .

The plans were exclusively revealed in the Gravesend Messenger last month, after they were submitted by Clay Architecture on behalf of Gravesham council.

Wheels were put in motion back in March after town bosses were asked to carry out a study that would show the best ways to regenerate the market.

The area is seen as an important town landmark by the council and links High Street with Queen Street.

The changes will include a new entrance canopy on Market Square, glazed roof lights to the market hall roof and the cafe will be moved and reopened.

The improvements will also mean new facilities for stall owners, with stalls installed that have roofs and roller shutters.

The centre of the market will also be kept clear for people to move around with greater ease. This space will also offer potential for smaller temporary stalls to be set up.

Facilities for both the public and stall owners will be better with a new toilet installed in the fish market area of the building.

The market was first established hundreds of years ago in 1268 after Henry III gave a grant to the Manor of Parrock for a market to run every Saturday.

Trading from the site has run ever since, with a colonnaded covered building built in 1818. The fish market was built at the back of the town hall seven years later.