Traders unhappy at smaller 'food-focused' market

Traders who had to move their stalls to allow the demolition of Leicester Market have hit out at a new scheme for a smaller, food-focused market for the city.

Earlier this year work on a planned £7.5m revamp of the marketplace was paused following demolition work at the site.

The council said at the time the area opened up by the work could instead be used as a space for events.

A consultation has now been launched on a plan to both return the market to its original location as well as create a new "event space".

But traders are not happy with the new, smaller 48-stall market proposed, which would be prioritised for traders selling "fruit, vegetables and high-quality food from around the world".

Spencer Harris, a trader of 26 years at Rachel’s Fruit and Veg, said: "It's only good news if we can all go there.

"There's no point one going down there and not the others.

"It's still nothing is clear, it's just a new proposal being made, so it's going to take more time."

Pav Singh, from The Smokin' Shack, said: "I think it's disgusting.

"What they fail to realise is out of the current traders here there's 18 fruit and veg traders and 17 dry goods traders, that's 50% of Leicester Market they just want to scrap.

"If I was a fruit and veg trader I'd be over the moon, the fact that they are proposing to take the market back to where it was is great - however the promise to return was made to everyone."

Cobbler Nitin Gohil said: "A market should be for the community as a whole, to bring people down to town.

"As well as the fruit and veg we need some dry goods, services and food outlets, all of which will bring a nice atmosphere and a reason for people to eat and drink and shop in an historic place in Leicester.

"I think the long-term plan is to get rid of everybody. A lot can change in two and a half years."

Announcing the revised scheme on Monday, mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "Our design team has now come up with a scheme that would allow the market to return to the traders' favoured site, while keeping the market place as a flexible space for public events – as it was for hundreds of years.

"We're now inviting the market traders and people in Leicester to comment on this new proposal.

"Their feedback will help inform the final decision, paving the way for a scheme that I hope will bring new life to Leicester's market place and help regenerate the wider area."

He addressed some of the traders' concerns, adding the new space will be "enough to meet the needs of the fruit and veg traders".

"What is undoubtedly going to need to have some considerable further discussion is how the so-called dry goods, the other traders, how they're accommodated in the future," he said.

"And I do intend that we should talk to them and see to what extent they can be accommodated within this scheme or indeed be accommodated in some of the vacant units around and about the market."

If given the go-ahead, the new event space could be repaved and completed by early next year, with the new market building opening by spring/summer 2027.

A public consultation will run until 9 December.

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