Liverpool: St John's Market closure council meeting to be held in May

Traders previously claimed they could not afford the rent demanded by the council

A full council meeting will be held to scrutinise the way a city market was shut down but it will not take place until late May due to local elections.

St Johns Market in Liverpool was closed earlier this month, after traders and the council failed to agree on a repayment plan for rent arrears.

Traders staged a protest this week demanding the situation be resolved.

Liverpool City Council has been accused of "leaving traders in limbo" by not holding a meeting sooner.

Liverpool's Liberal Democrats, the main opposition group on the council, called the meeting to allow councillors from all parties to scrutinise the way the dispute over rent and the closure of the market had been handled.

Lord Mayor, Councillor Mary Rasmussen, agreed a meeting could take place, but said the next available date would be 20 May.

Liberal Democrat leader Carl Cashman said it was "ridiculous" that the meeting could not happen sooner.

Carl Cashman said the delay was "short sighted"

Elections, taking place on 2 May, are for Liverpool City Metro Mayor and the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner roles, which the Liberal Democrats said had no connection with the market.

However, the group's deputy leader, Rob McAllister-Bell, is a candidate.

Other candidates so far announced are Labour's Steve Rotheram and Jade Marsden for the Conservatives.

'Short-sighted'

In a letter to Mr Cashman, the Lord Mayor said: "As you will be aware the pre-election publicity period starts on Thursday 21 March until 2 May and during this period of heightened sensitivity, the council must take care to ensure it does not use council facilities and resources nor issue any publicity which seeks to influence voters in the forthcoming PCC and Metro Mayor elections.

"The advice I am given confirms that it would not be appropriate to call an extraordinary meeting of full council prior to 2nd May."

Mr Cashman said: "It feels utterly ridiculous and short-sighted to leave these market traders in limbo waiting nearly two months for the extraordinary council meeting, by which time a good number of them will have had to close shop completely."

He added: "By its very nature an extraordinary council meeting is typically on a time sensitive and urgent issue."

• Council boss defends city market closure

• City's market closure 'unlawful' - traders

• Market set up in 1822 shut by council in rent row

Leader of the Labour-run authority, Liam Robinson, said the council had "no alternative" but to close the market.

"It was costing us a million pounds a year," he said.

"We've got arrears of £1.7m as no-one's been paying rent for over three years and we can't go on in that vein."

Mr Robinson said that traders had been given ample opportunity to reach a resolution and that their legal representatives had been told that the market stalls could close if a repayment agreement could not be reached.

Councillors have the right to request an extraordinary general meeting on an issue or decision which they feel is important.

Such a meeting requires all 85 councillors to attend, and would take place in the Town Hall chamber.

Opposition groups do have other options available to scrutinise decision-making, which include calling in decisions for further scrutiny at committee, or asking questions at scrutiny committee meetings.