New Covent Garden Market will be renamed The Garden at New Covent Garden Market as part of plans to give it more consumer appeal, it was revealed this week.

The renaming of the £600m turnover market as The Garden reflected the way it was referred to by the trade, said Covent Garden Market Authority chief executive Jan Lloyd.

The new name would take effect following completion of a major redevelopment to transform the market into a modern trade and consumer-facing centre of excellence in the next decade, she said.

“Over time The Garden will become a destination in its own right and the preferred location for food-related activities in London,” she added.

Depending on the outcome of discussions with partners, CGMA hoped to include a business centre, training and educational facilities, a demonstration kitchen, cafés and restaurants in the new-look ­market.

Another possibility was to use the site as a public market in the afternoon after the trade market had closed for the day.

As a Government-owned site, New Covent Garden Market faces a lengthy process before redevelopment is completed. Advertisements will be placed in the Official Journal of the EU later this year before a development partner is appointed and work can begin. The whole process is expected to take up to eight years.

Market authorities had been examining the most successful aspects of other markets in Britain and Europe and would look to incorporate a range of elements into the redesign, said a spokeswoman.

The rebuild would take place around existing tenants to allow them to continue trading during the process, she added.

“We believe The Garden will become to food what Westfield is to fashion - the place to be,” said CGMA chairman Brenda Dean.

“It is a way of maximising this unique development to form the focal point for the food industry in London.”