Leeds Kirkgate Market is set to look like “a prison” according to traders, 'angry' about a container-style ‘food village’ coming to the market which they fear will attract drunken yobs.
Leeds City Council will overhaul a sizeable chunk of the outdoor market space installing shipping containers to house the food and drinks venues. Traders have blasted the plans, who’ve claimed they weren’t consulted and had one meeting which was purely a “box-ticking exercise”
The development will reduce the number of outdoor stalls drastically, cutting down the 185 stalls which are currently only being filled by “85” vendors on a typical day , according to the council.
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Greengrocer Shaun Dolan, 58, whose family have traded in the city-centre market for “80 years” has slammed the ‘food village’ and fears the worst. Shaun said: “They want to take half the market away and replace it with shipping containers and make bars and restaurants.
“They’ll be too high, like 30ft high metal fences. It will be like being in prison. That will be right in front of us. We’ve told them we don’t want it!
“It’s a market, if you want to booze-up or get a meal, you can go to a restaurant or a pub. We’ll get a lot of regular customers who won’t come, older people, family orientated. People that drink, don’t mix with that. It’s one thing after another!
“You’ll be at work and the drinkers will be shouting at you. You don’t want that, do you?”
'Angry'
“Angry” household good sellers, father and daughter team, David Verb, 71, and Lisa Stebbings, 53, also vented their frustrations. Lisa, who is the representative for the traders, says there was “no consultation” with stallholders and felt the one meeting they had was a “box-ticking exercise”.
Lisa said: “It’ll basically put the market off. I think it’s going to have as negative effect on the market.
“They’re not taking care of the stallholders they’ve already got. There’s been no consultation at all, we had a meeting with the exec board where it had already been decided and it was just a box-ticking exercise. The main entrance is going to be for the John Lewis customers and they’re not the same customers we get here.
“It makes angry because they haven’t consulted traders who know this market inside out.”
David added: “They’ve never made one good move!”
'It's wrong'
Musical instruments trader Andy Wilcox, 76, worries about how the food village will affect vendors in the food hall which has only been recently established.
Andy said: “I’m a bit ambivalent, it’s just you’ve got to do something about the market as it’s dying on its uppers. I think it’s wrong they’ve invested so much time in setting up the food hall and they’re going to rip the carpet away from underneath them.”
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “We are proud of the work we have done and continue to do to ensure Leeds Kirkgate Market remains one of the jewels in our city’s retail crown.
"As part of that work, it is important for us to explore imaginative new ways to make the best use of all the market space – particularly at a time when the council, like many other local authorities nationwide, is facing significant financial challenges.
"Should the proposed food village get the go-ahead, then an increase in footfall as well as the income it would generate would help safeguard the long-term future of the outdoor market.
"Much of the initial feedback we received on the plans was positive, and the consultation exercise approved by the council last month is now allowing us to build up a fuller picture of people’s views. It should be stressed that no decision has been taken on whether to press ahead with the proposals.
"Similarly, it is too early to say precisely what form the scheme would take and how it would look if it is given the green light. The safety and well-being of everyone who visits and works at the market is of paramount importance to the council and we would expect the operator of any new food and drink establishment to give it the same priority.
"Traders were informed of the proposals in advance of the initial announcement to the public last month. There have been a number of opportunities for traders to make their views known during the consultation stage and should plans progress we are committed to continuing to engage with them.”
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