Traders frustrated at delayed market decision

The council says it costs £1.5m a year to keep the market open

Traders have expressed frustration at being kept waiting for a decision on the future of Nottingham's Victoria Centre Market.

Last year the city council said it was considering bringing its lease on the market to an end in a bid to save £39m over 50 years.

But the authority has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it does not expect to make a final decision before the end of April.

One trader said the long wait was damaging business.

Continuing negotiations

The Labour-run authority is expected to recommend the market's closure after revealing it was spending about £1.5m a year subsidising it.

In a statement on Thursday, a council spokesperson said: "We understand that uncertainty about the market’s future is uncomfortable and unhelpful for traders.

"While we are negotiating with Global Mutual [the group that manages the Victoria Centre], it is unfortunately impossible to give them a definitive answer.

"To try to provide some short-term certainty, we have guaranteed there will be no changes before the end of April.

"We have committed to updating them as soon as we have any further information to share."

John Easom, one of 31 remaining traders, was among those unhappy at the statement.

"It tells us nothing and just delays the decision-making process even further, whilst damaging businesses," he said.

"They are treating us like second-class citizens."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said compensation offers had been made to traders confidentially but any announcement was unlikely until after the local elections on 4 May.