Market relaunch postponed after new stalls delay

Pre-Covid, St Albans market had traditionally designed stalls

The relaunch of a city's market has been delayed "indefinitely" as the new stalls have not arrived.

St Albans Charter Market was due to run on Wednesday with a mix of traditional yellow and blue stalls and gazebos.

The new plan for the Hertfordshire city's twice-weekly market had come after a row over using gazebos instead of the traditional stalls.

The council said the launch had "been delayed indefinitely because of a procurement issue".

The Hertfordshire council stopped putting up traditional stalls during the pandemic to reduce health risks and traders were told to set up their own gazebos

St Albans market was officially granted a Royal Charter to operate in 1553, but it has been documented since the 9th Century.

Traders at the market, which is still operating in its current form, set up their own gazebos during the pandemic to help prevent the spread of the virus.

The city council had suggested keeping the system, but after fears that their continued use could put customers off, the authority said the market should be a mix of both types of stall.

Some 80 new traditional yellow and blue stalls were due to provide the "market's central core" with 35 St Albans-branded gazebos "set up nearby" from 7 September.

The council said this would provide "the best of both worlds" but it is not yet known when the new-style market will open.

St Albans market was officially granted a Royal Charter to operate in 1553, but it has been documented since the 9th Century

"It is going to be some months before the new stalls are delivered," a council spokesman said.

He added that no date had been decided but it would probably be "December at the earliest" and traders had been informed about the delay.

The authority also confirmed the delay was "not a Brexit issue" just "quite a gap between putting the order out to tender and the stalls arriving".