A car park that houses Barnet’s most historic market will be given a revamp under new ownership.

The St Albans Road site in High Barnet was bought by developers William Pears as part of a £34million takeover of The Spires shopping centre in May.

Under plans approved by Barnet Council last week, the car park will be resurfaced with new drainage and proper fencing will be constructed around the site.

Container buildings will be installed to provide office space and toilets for stall holders at the market, which will continue to run on Wednesday and Saturdays.

On non-market days, the site will be used as a pay-and-display car park with 47 spaces.

Previous owners UBS Triton had promised to renovate the dilapidated car park, which stall holders complained was putting off customers and killing trade.

Soon after the announcement though, the shopping centre and market site was put up for sale and questions were raised over whether the new owners would press ahead with the plans.

But soon after the takeover, Williams Pears submitted a planning application that was approved by Barnet Council last week.

Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has campaigned for an upgrade to for the current site of the market, which has existed in Barnet for more than 600 years.

The Conservative politician said: “This is great news for the market. The deteriorating environment for stallholders and customers has been deeply damaging.

“With the right facilities, the market could once again become a thriving hub for our town centre, bringing in shoppers from miles around. I will be keeping up the pressure to get these upgrades delivered.

“We have had many false starts with the market in the past. Hopes have been raised and then dashed. I will continue to work with the Friends of Barnet Market to secure the long term future of the market and to see it realise its full potential.”