Traders at Nottingham's Victoria Market say they are 'not holding their breath' on getting a final decision about the venue's future following recent city council elections. The vote on May 4 saw Labour return to their leadership of Nottingham City Council with a stronger majority.
A consultation was then held between April and June last year and, since then, Nottingham City Council has been in talks about compensation offers with the 30 remaining traders in the event of the market's closure. Despite traders saying they were originally given a February 24 date by which the council was due to surrender the lease, this deadline has now passed without any further clarity being given.
"If they'd have said in January 2022 that we'd still be in this position a year and a half on, then none of the traders would have had it." Nick Clark, the owner of Cobblers and Keys, said: "Saying nothing will change before the end of May doesn't necessarily mean that they will actually make a decision at that stage.
Nottingham City Council confirmed that the position on the Victoria Market remains the same, with the elections not having an impact on the process and new portfolio holders yet to be allocated. The authority said in its most recent statement: "We understand that uncertainty about the market's future is uncomfortable and unhelpful for traders. While we are negotiating with Global Mutual, it is unfortunately impossible to give them a definitive answer.