Moor Market traders in Sheffield fear impact of service charge rise

Traders said more footfall was needed to help with rising costs

Traders say they are concerned about plans to increase service charges at Sheffield's Moor Market by more than a quarter.

According to council documents, if approved stall holders with a 3m x 3m unit would see the charge rise from £2,826 per year to £3,582.

Sheffield City Council say the charges need to rise to cover increases due to inflation and higher energy tariffs.

However, traders fear the rise could mean the end for some stalls.

Speaking to the BBC some stall holders said they did not feel they were getting "value for money", criticising the market's standards of cleanliness and maintenance, costs which are covered by the service charge.

Others said hiking prices for traders meant costs would need to be passed on to customers and occupancy levels, currently at 81%, could drop further.

Mark Holmes, co-owner of Punch Stores, said: "Somebody has to pay. We are very competitive against supermarkets now and that is what keeps us going because people get value for money.

"[But] if we increase prices, that value goes away."

Mark Holmes suggested the council could try to cut down its expenditures first

When it first opened in 2013, it was hoped the market would attract 100,000 people each week, but council figures suggest it currently only attracts about 10,000.

The local authority said it cost £500,000 to run the market in 2021/22 and it recovered 65% of that cost.

Mr Holmes said greater footfall would help mitigate some of the issues as well as measures from the council to cut down its own expenditures.

"They could make savings if they tried to," he said.

"Things could be run more efficiently, which then would help the council with the deficit rather than trying to make traders pay."

Craig Goodrigde said he will have to get more creative to attract customers

Of the six traders the BBC spoke to all shared concerns about existing businesses not being able to meet the cost increase.

Craig Goodridge, of Craig Goodridge Travel, said: "I don't think it would mean the end of me working here but I'd definitely need to get more creative with my marketing.

"If I had a bigger unit, that might be quite a hard hit to take and obviously you've got the increase in minimum wage this year as well."

Joe Otten, chair of the council's waste and street scene committee, said it would be up to the committee to "strike a balance between recovering costs and supporting traders".

"From the discussions we've had with traders we know they are already feeling the impact of increased energy and other price rises in goods and services," he said.

"The council highly values the Moor Market and its important role in providing goods and services at reasonable prices for our residents."

The plans are due to be debated on 14 February. If approved the increased charge would not come into force for 12 weeks.