Councillor heckled by traders in clash over market

Traders had previously protested outside the entrance of the market

A clash over the closure of a popular city centre market saw traders heckling a councillor during a town hall meeting.

Liverpool's St John's Market closed in March after the city council said traders owed £2.1m of unpaid rent.

A specially convened meeting at Liverpool Town Hall became heated on Tuesday as Liverpool City Council met with traders to discuss the market's future.

Councillor Nick Small said no meaningful offers had been made by traders, who argued they had been portrayed as "beggars".

'Managed decline'

Liverpool City Council had previously said it would seek to recover three years’ worth of debt from the traders that occupied the market.

The special meeting, convened at the request of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, also cited a 2016 refurbishment of the trading hall.

At the time, £2.5m was spent to renovate the site but proved unpopular, even with the then-mayor, Joe Anderson, who initially offered traders three, then six, months free rent as an incentive to stay and increase footfall.

Around £1m a year was being spent to subsidise the market by the city council.

Councillor Carl Cashman, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, said traders had tried to negotiate with the council “time and again” and were being left in limbo.

He accused the authority of riding “roughshod” over the traders and there had been “managed decline” of the market.

'Rent dodgers'

Councillor Nick Small, cabinet member for growth and economy, said arrears incurred by dozens of businesses had risen from an initially established £1.7m to £2.1m after new investigations by the authority.

Mr Small, who was heckled by traders, said the council had an “unwavering commitment to getting best value” and no meaningful offers had been made by traders.

He added that nothing had been ruled in or out on the future of the markets and the city wanted to take all its traders forward.

The meeting heard from traders including Gerald James, who ran Kavanagh’s Café.

He said businesses had been portrayed as “rent dodgers” and “beggars” but had faced “managed decline” of the market since 2007.

He said owing to the failure of toilets on site, elderly market users had faced visiting a nearby Wetherspoons pub to use their facilities.

He said the closure had been a “shameful act”. He added: “All we’ve got is each other.”

Council leader Liam Robinson said he was “sorry to hear some of those stories” and said £500,000 had been spent on maintenance since 2017.

He said the closure should not have come as a shock to traders and some had not responded to letters from the council.

While, Councillor Alan Gibbons said St Johns was “not a one off, it’s symbolic of years of failure.”