Victoria Market: Traders left 'thousands of pounds out of pocket'

Nick Clark, of Cobblers and Keys has spent thousands on legal fees

A trader at a Nottingham market has said he is thousands of pounds out of pocket as tenants await a decision on their future.

Nottingham City Council said it may end the lease on the Victoria Market in a bid to save £39m over 50 years.

But a decision has still not been made more than 18 months after the plan was first made public.

The council has previously said it does not expect to make a final decision on the market before the end of April.

It said it had been running the market at a loss since 2014, and had been forced to subsidise it at a cost of more than £1.5m a year.

Nick Clark, of Cobblers and Keys said: "I need to know the cost and if we are staying or going."

The market opened in the shopping centre in 1972 and was once home to more than 200 stalls, but now only about 30 traders remain.

Mr Clark said he was initially given a date for the early surrender of his lease on 28 February.

He said a compensation package was offered and he almost secured a new lease in the main Victoria Centre, before being informed the early lease surrender was "no longer being processed".

Traders still operating in the market want a speedy resolution

The trader told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had already spent £3,500 on a solicitor for the early lease surrender for which the council will reimburse.

But he is having to spend a similar sum in legal costs for the new lease which the council will not pay for.

Another £1,500 is also needed for a specialist removal team.

A spokesperson for the Victoria Centre said it had been told the early release could not be progressed at the time being and it was looking to clarify the situation beyond April.