Government commissioners at ‘bankrupt’ Nottingham City Council say they plan to meet traders at the Victoria Centre Market to discuss its future. Two and a half years ago Nottingham City Council announced it was planning to end the lease on the market in a bid to save an estimated £39m over the remaining 50 years of its term.
It U-turned on plans to welcome any more new traders and many of the market's units are now empty. Government commissioners were appointed in February to help bring about critical changes at the council, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service has been told they are interested in attending a meeting with traders in the future.
“Commissioners are interested in attending one of these meetings and have asked the markets team to make arrangements for this at the appropriate time.” “So they will just have to pay to exit a lease, pay to get rid of businesses, and for what? That is the confusion. I would really like the market to stay open. We are two and a half years down the line with nothing having happened, other than deadlines being missed by the council to close.
Despite saying business is good, she said she now feels stressed following the council’s decision to close the market just months after being welcomed in. “If it closes down my future closes too,” she said. The market’s occupancy is around 50 percent, and traders were told the council’s issuing of a Section 114 notice at the end of November, effectively declaring bankruptcy, means investment to bring the market back to working order is not an option.