The project forms a key part of the wider town centre masterplan and comprises a major refurbishment and redevelopment of the existing indoor and outdoor Rotherham Markets.

This will include creating a new food hall and dining area on the first level above the existing ground floor retail, and workspace for charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups on the second floor.

The redevelopment plans include a new dining area inside the market

While the refurbished adjoining outdoor market will continue to be used predominantly as a market for local traders, it will also be redeveloped for use as a multi-functional space to host exhibitions and community events.

The library will be built on the site of the Guardian Centre at the corner of Drummond Street and Henry Street and will offer a café, meeting rooms and flexible gallery space.

Tim Roberts, CEO of Henry Boot, said: “The Rotherham Markets is an important and significant local redevelopment and the fact that we have won this project is testament to the strength of our construction business and its track record of high-quality delivery, having led on major urban regeneration projects in Barnsley and Sheffield over recent years.

“In what is a challenging market for the sector, this latest contract means that we have now secured over 60% of our order book for 2024 and continue to work hard to grow our pipeline in our target markets.”