Market Drayton traders fear closure over rents rise

Traders are currently paying £10 per day

Traders at an indoor market said their businesses were being put at risk by rent rises.

Shropshire Council introduced a three-month incentive to all new stallholders at Market Drayton indoor market to generate new interest.

But now rents are being brought back up and traders said it would make it unviable for them to stay.

The council said it needed to finance the running costs of the market.

Under the incentive, traders are currently paying £10 per day.

Jim Smith said he was encouraged to take a stall by the low rents

Jim Smith, who has a stall selling brownies and cakes, said he joined the market because of the "sensible" rent but said stallholders understand the council is proposing to raise it to its original level, minus a 25% discount - a rate of £32.

"That would probably make it unviable for quite a few of us small vendors," he said.

Sally MacClean-Butler has been operating the Yummy Box from the market for two months.

Sally MacClean-Butler said the low rents have helped make the market full and busier

"A little bit of an increase I can understand but we need more footfall in here to keep the costs low, so we can afford it," she said.

"And it has been nice to see this place busy....it is nice to see this place full again, keeping the rent low helps it."

North Shropshire's Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan has thrown her support behind the traders.

"After so much hard work has been done to improve the situation at Drayton Indoor Market, it would be a dire shame to throw that away by hiking the rents back up," she said.

Councillor Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for housing and assets said: "We were really pleased to welcome new traders and support them whilst they became established, however, we do need to finance the running costs of the market.

"As ever, we encourage people to visit new and existing traders at the indoor market, as it's a great place to shop."