Predictably the Council has decided to spend another £1.6 million on “refurbishing” the market in Newgate. A report outlining their plan was published last week – several hours before a “consultation” exercise on the future of the market was due to finish.
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Clearly the Council had already decided what it would do and the consultation was just a smokescreen.
The Council sees the specialist markets in Parliament Street continuing and hopes to re-coop some of its investment through increased stall rental income.
We think that the Council is right to make improvements to the City market.
The scale of the investment, though, seems extravagent and ignores at least one major consequence.
Sub-urban shopping areas – already under pressure from superstores and neighbourhood mini supermakets – may see more customers drifting away.
The Acomb Front Street area in particular needs investment and one option might have been to provide an occasional market there within the pedestrian zone.
Having closed its Acomb office, the Council is partly responsible for the decline in footfall – and hence potential customers – in the Acomb area.
Replacement investment is long overdue.