Fears market traders will quit rather than move
| Published date | 16 June 2022 |
| Publication title | Huddersfield Daily Examiner |
The council has previously said it wants to consolidate its market offer across town at Brook Street, site of the Open Market.
As that project gets under way, and as a temporary measure, market traders will be "decanted" and offered alternative space in vacant shops or metal shipping containers. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that some traders have already privately decided not to stay in Huddersfield and are exploring how much compensation they will receive if they decide to leave or cease trading altogether.
The thinking people that there for Clr
Traders were reluctant to speak about the issue.
They said they would await the outcome of a meeting next week with the council but did express concern about wishing to remain central and the vagueness of timescales. The LDRS put the following questions to Kirklees Council: ¦ ¦Is it still the council's plan to consolidate its market offer on one site? If so, how many existing traders (from Queensgate Market) have signed up to be allocated space in a vacant shop unit, or within a shipping container?
¦ How many have rejected the offer to move, and have opted to apply for/ accept a compensation payment? ¦ How much is that payment? If there is a range of payments on offer, what are the lowest and highest points of the range? ¦ How many stallholders can be/will be accommodated in the new hybrid site on Brook Street?
council isn't about the have been years in the market.
For the council Clr Eric Firth, the Cabinet Member for Town Centres, said the authority is "working together with all the traders in Queensgate Market and are currently negotiating with those traders based on proposals they have submitted to the council.
Bernard McGuin "Those proposals will be discussed by Cabinet at the beginning of July and, if agreed, we will then be in a position to confirm the future market provision in Huddersfield."
The council is expected to make an announcement about its market plan "mid next week".
Clr Bernard McGuin...
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