Renewed fears over Coventry Market's future
Some traders have reported that sales are down by 40%
The ‘beating heart’ of Coventry city centre could be destroyed unless extra steps are taken to safeguard the future of the indoor market according to concerned councillors.
But a call for ‘meaningful dialogue’ to take place between council leaders and traders was dismissed with the ruling Labour group saying there was already enough support.
Cllr John Blundell spoke at the latest full council meeting about the need to protect the market which was the first indoor circular market in Europe when built in 1958. He said traders had noticed sales have decreased by an average of 40 per cent – believed to be as a direct result of hoardings being erected around the market as part of the City Centre South development.
He said: “To make it quite clear, we are in favour of the development but the issue is the problem with the market traders. Matters now are far worse than they were under Covid.
“They are concerned that when demolition begins, these concerns will become far worse.
“My motion is to come up with a systematic approach which will encourage new traders, ensure that existing ones remain within the market to ensure that the future of Coventry market is secure.”
Fellow Tory, Cllr Mattie Heaven, added: “Many traders say they could be forced to close because hoardings have hidden them away ensuring far fewer customers come through the doors . Back in the spring, 174 people signed a petition asking the council to change the hoardings to allow easier access to the market. Nothing has changed since the petition. We need to ensure that the progress in our city centre does not destroy its beating heart.”
But the council’s cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, Cllr Jim O’Boyle, said the council had been in discussions with the market traders for quite some time which had resulted in many positive steps including improved signage going up around the city centre.
He added: “All stall holders who pay business rates are receiving a business rates write-off for this financial year and we are working on a campaign that will start later this month, highlighting the traders and the products they sell to Coventry’s diverse communities. Also, drop-in sessions will be held on 30 September and 1 October so the developer can explain the scheme timescales in more detail.”
Regarding a request for rent relief, Cllr O’Boyle said: “Rather than reduce rents and increase the costs to the public, we strongly believe that we need to focus our attention on improving footfall and the general decline in demand over many years. Figures show that at present there are 155 stalls of which 57 are vacant. This compares to two years ago when the number of vacant stalls stood at 46, and to 52 stalls when the City Centre South works started and hoarding was put in place. This confirms our belief that traders are not leaving in droves and it is more a long term structural issue with footfall and demand that has to be addressed.”
He explained that Freebie Friday had been introduced whereby free one day stalls were offered for people to get a taste of market life while Arty Party offered free stalls for artists and makers every Saturday until Christmas.