Long-standing traders offering bespoke goods fear some businesses may not survive after Nottingham City Council sells the industrial estate they inhabit. They are now hoping to set up a consortium to purchase the site themselves, but worry they may not be able to contend with wealthier bidders.
Stonebridge Court Industrial Estate on Alfred Street South was declared "surplus to the property trading account" by the Labour-run authority, and its sale will help it bring in a significant amount of cash. Businesses, many of them family-run, now face an "uncertain future".
Kelly Brett, owner of KB Recycling Ltd, said the sale "could damage us, along with the other 13 businesses here, and possibly result in the loss of jobs for over 40 Nottingham residents". As a result many traders are hoping to establish a consortium and bid to purchase the site when the time comes, but they are appealing to anyone who could assist financially.
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Ian Jones, who runs Sherwood Wood, a bespoke furniture manufacturer, says he and others had already been "decanted" from Sneinton Market by the council roughly eight years ago. And this will be the second time in a decade they have been forced to move.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "We are just feeling very frustrated about the situation. We are faced with complete uncertainty.
"As tenants we have put it to them that we would like to buy the place. [The council] said we can put a bid in against anyone else who wants to put in a bid.
"The last time the council was in a position to give us a bit of help. Now we fear some of the businesses are not going to survive.
"We want the council to at least talk to us."
Mr Jones says setting up a consortium however may prove very difficult for the independent businesses. He says such a decision will require legal advice and an independent valuation of the site which could cost them £3,000 alone.
He is therefore appealing to anyone in the city who may be able to assist them, fearing they may not be able to compete with the wealthy bidders when the time comes. Traders approached the council asking if they could purchase the site, but it is claimed they were told they would have to wait and submit a bid.
The city council says the cash generated from the sale will provide additional cash flow into the council to mitigate budget pressures and contribute towards funding its ongoing transformation programme, all under the watchful eye of the Government.
A council spokesman said: “Staff from our property team have met representatives of the traders at the industrial estate on a number of occasions to keep them updated about how things are progressing. We understand these concerns and will work with them to minimise any impact on their businesses as much as we can.
"There is a significant level of capital investment needed to maintain this property into the future and it is no longer viable for the council to continue to hold it.”
