With the future of Lancaster Market still in the balance, virtual-lancaster understands the latest meeting between City Council and traders did not go well last night, again prompting renewed concerns over its future.
Despite agreeing to involve bodies such as National Federation of Market Traders, the Chamber of Commerce and other relevant organisations, one trader reported online that the National Federation and other groups were only invited to yesterday’s meeting on the same day – effectively ensuring they could not be represented.
“The meeting last night was not good news,” another trader told virtual-lancaster. “The council did not make arrangements for the Federations to attend. They telephoned one in the morning and said we are having a meeting tonight… [which was] obviously not enough notice.”
The Council needs to move fast in its negotiations with the traders or any plans to oust them from the Market could be hamstrung by the legal complexities surrounding another long-running issue between them – the issuing of leases.
At present, the Council and traders are embroiled in a dispute over leases for stalls that has been an ongoing for well over two years now. “We have a court case coming up to have our leases renewed at the end of April,” says trader Colin Smith, “and as I understand it, if the Council don’t have firm plans in place the leases will be granted as a matter of course.
“It’s my personal belief that Lancaster Market would be full now if not for lease situation and also had it been run properly,” he added in a post to the Save Lancaster Market Facebook group.
“… I know other traders have wanted to come in but have not been prepaired to risk investing without the comfort of a lease,” he feels. “I’m also aware there are a number of traders already present in the market who would like to expand their busness.”
Despite this, at the meeting last night Council representatives apparently suggested traders should not pursue lease renewal so that both sides would have more time to think about things.
“I would suggest that the council would only ask them to do this if they think the leases are going to be renewed via court,” one angry trader told virtual-lancaster, who suspects that despite public claims to wanting to save the Market, forces within the Council are at work to continue on a path that would see its closure despite the huge public protest.
There also seems to be some confusion as to whether Council accepted traders acknowledgment of the proposal for all of them to move to the top floor of the Market building. Many say they are prepared to do this as soon as possible to speed up the handover of the lower floor to a single retailer.
Traders also seem bewildered about the Council’s treatment of the issue and the proposal to close it on cost grounds last month, pointing out that they were quite prepared to pay more rent – albeit temporarily – to offset in part, some of the growing charges the Council is facing on the building.
“We offered to pay more as a temporary solution until things improved (aprox £80,000),” says Colin Smith. “What we needed were our leases renewing [over two] years ago then traders would not have left, some existing traders would have expanded and the new busnesses that wanted to come in would have. if the market was run properly I have no doubt it would be full.”
Elsewhere, proposals have been made to move the Market: the Liberal Democrats (whose leader was behind the proposal to close the building) have now suggested the now listed Malt House of the old Brewery as a possible new location, while others have suggested the Town Hall.
The council are not fit to run this town and should be replaced as soon as possible.
They don't listen to us. They stall and delay. And generally, Lancaster could be so much better with new blood.