Cambridge market traders 'let down' as redevelopment plans continue
A consultation on bringing in temporary stalls is set to close next week
A Cambridge market trader feels his worries around plans to redevelop the area are being ignored.
The city council's planning committee has voted in favour of the move, while a consultation on having temporary stalls while redevelopment takes place is set to close next week.
"There is still a community of traders; we're holding on as hard as we can," Tom Wells, who runs a fossil and crystal stall, said.
"Everyone wants it clean and done up; they don't want shops, the traders have been let down (and) the council seems to have forgotten who it represents."
Cambridge City Council said they are "committed to supporting the seven-day market to continue and thrive in the long-term".
It also hopes the plans - which form part of the Civic Quarter project - will improve access to the market that has been operated since the Middle Ages, as well as protecting the character of the square.
But traders are still waiting to hear where they will be moved to if temporary stalls are brought in.
'We want a market square'
Tom - who's been trading on the market square for around eight years - is not sure what his future as a stallholder looks like if he has to move.
"If they listened all along, we'd have told them we don't want expensive shops on the market; we want a market square," he said.
"You could say an abandoned railway station from the 1800s has character, but it doesn't matter if the actual place is rotting and falling apart."
Plans for temporary stalls - which are due to be decided on in November - could put in King’s Parade, St Mary’s Passage, Petty Cury and Sidney Street with more stalls available on Fisher Square and Sussex Street during busier trading periods.
Currently, changes to the market include a mix of 55 fixed stalls, with 42 removable stalls; the council said it aims to make sure "every current trader would be able to return to the new market following redevelopment."
Naomi set up a body care and home stall on Cambridge Market in August, whilst also teaching.
She is open-minded about the redevelopment in the hope that it will boost her business with the view of going full-time.
"I've only been here a month and already, other traders come and have a look, and my goal is to build my business and be here more often," Naomi said.
"If this area is regenerated, and there's talk of evening performances and things like that, surely that's a good thing to draw people to the area."
The council believes having demountable and semi-demountable stalls could provide extra capacity at busier times of the year, such as Christmas.
But when demand is lower, the stalls could make more space available for the market to host other events, such as community activities.
Councillors are set to decide on the Civic Quarter project this autumn, and if the plans do go ahead, work on the market could start in January 2027.