The owners of Swindon’s Tented Market have given more information on the construction works at the structure.

The building officially known as the Market Hall is owned by CJV, a subsidiary of Panther Securities PLC.

It has been closed since 2017, yet a couple of weeks ago the first works at the site for nearly seven years could be seen to be taking place.

A spokesperson for Panther Securities said: “We’re looking at alternatives where we might keep it as it is and just change what we do with it.

“But to start with we need to clear out the existing units in there to see what we're dealing with.”

When asked about the specifics of alternatives he said: “We're very open. We haven't pinned anything down so it could literally be anything. But we're just at very early stages. This is the first step.”

He said one of these options could be putting something new inside the existing structure and ripping out the internals provided more options.

When asked if the market could return, he said: “It is difficult to say. We would have to explore the interest in the form that would take.”

However, he explained that the Market Hall closed in the first place due to a lack of interest, losing a lot of money with no traders wanting to fill empty units.

Ultimately, specific options were not explained in detail to avoid ‘raising hopes’ which might be later disappointed.

Workers at the site were observed on April 18 taking down the old market’s internal structure and fittings.

This included awnings, internal walls between the old market shops and removing electrics.

One of the workers said: "It is just staying as it is; it is just getting ripped out for now.”

The Panther Securities spokesperson explained that the ultimate goal is still to completely redevelop the site.

Two planning permissions have been granted, with one of these still valid, giving permission for ground-floor restaurant units and a 10-storey residential tower.

CJV asked for permission to demolish the market building and replace it with a two-storey complex which can house a shop, restaurants and cafes, with a tower up to 10 storeys high featuring 68 flats.

However, due to ongoing negotiations over their lease, they are exploring alternative options for the ‘short to medium-term’.

He said: “We're looking at alternatives for what we could do now with it now before we can redevelop it.”