Rugeley indoor market to shut due to lack of trade

The indoor market in Rugeley, Staffordshire, was built in the 1980s but had few stallholders in 2023, the council said

A town centre market is going to be closed by a council after a large decline in the number of stallholders.

The indoor market in Rugeley, Staffordshire, will be mothballed by Cannock Chase Council which says the site is not financially viable.

The closure of the Bees Lane market hall was approved in a private meeting by the authority's cabinet.

The move will save the council £67,000 annually from 2024-25 onwards, minutes from the session have revealed.

The site, built in the early 1980s, will be advertised in the future to let "for a variety of uses", subject to permission from the landlord and the securing of planning permission.

A budget of £10,000 was approved to advertise it and to get the consent from the landlord to vary the lease.

Despite the "best efforts of staff" to get new traders into the market, the council said very few parties wanted a stall and there was little public footfall.

The closure of the indoor market will save £67,000 annually from 2024-25, the council says

Consultation had not provided justifiable reasons to keep the site open, while savings from the closure in the next 12 months would be offset against mothballing and redundancy costs, the minutes added.

A working group was previously set up by the authority's Economic Prosperity Scrutiny Committee to examine markets in the district.

It recommended Rugeley's outdoor market and Cannock Street Market should still be supported as they were operating well.

During the consultation in 2022 on the indoor market's future, the council said there were 35 stalls but just two were used, as a hair salon and a tearoom.

The move of people to online shopping combined with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic were blamed for the decline.