Plans to move businesses from market hall dropped

Plans to relocate independent businesses from The Shambles in Stockton have been dropped

Plans to move independent businesses as part of the redevelopment of a 19th Century market hall have been dropped.

Traders in Stockton's The Shambles had been told they had to relocate as the building was going to be repurposed as a food and drink venue.

Council leader Lisa Evans announced on social media that the plans had been stopped after the local authority spoke to businesses.

"We will not be proposing to repurpose the building and relocate the businesses within it," the Labour leader said.

A meeting in July heard it cost taxpayers more than £140,000 a year from council funds to keep The Shambles going.

The council is now looking at proposals to upgrade the council-owned town centre shops and bring Stockton Town Hall and the former Debenhams building back into use.

'Sleepless nights'

Tom Banner, from Tom's Shoe Repairs in The Shambles, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that "everything's been halted".

"I've just had councillor Lisa Evans on the phone, to be honest she's been brilliant about it all," he said.

"It's all been stopped for whatever reason. If we want to stay here we can, and if we want to move we can and we'll get financial support for doing so."

He said the new situation "seems to be the best of both worlds" for business owners.

April Williams, who employs five people at the Shambles Cafe, said she was frustrated with the way the news was announced.

"All of a sudden it's on Facebook, after seven weeks of sleepless nights, customers asking for us, the public fighting for us.

"We've suffered greatly in the last seven weeks (thinking) we're going to lose our business," she said.

The £6.5m plans for the redevelopment of Stockton Town Hall and the former Debenhams building will be discussed next week.