Published: Friday 31st January 2020 | 10.17am
Cannock Chase Council has taken the difficult decision to close Cannock Indoor Market Hall. It follows a consultation with stall holders and the public in October 2019.
Cabinet members confirmed their view at their meeting yesterday that it would be more viable in the long term to use the space occupied by the indoor market to support the Council’s ambitious plans to redevelop the town centre.
The Indoor Market Hall will therefore close in November 2020. In the meantime the existing 16 traders will be offered the chance to relocate to a vacant stall either in the current Prince of Wales Market underneath the theatre building or take a stall in the street market which from November will be held on both Tuesdays and Fridays. There is also the possibility of some stallholders relocating to Rugeley Market Hall. Furthermore, Cabinet did not commit to any refurbishment work to the Prince of Wales Market.
The consultation took place last October following concerns that the indoor market had become increasingly financially unviable and expensive to maintain despite regular promotions to attract customers, reviews of trading times and improvements to the market entrance to raise its profile within the town.
Over 400 surveys were completed by the public as part of the consultation. This resulted in 190 people believing the Princes of Wales Market was a good alternative, 158 preferring street markets and 39 wanting a combination of the two. Thirteen respondents said they would no longer shop in the markets if the Indoor Market Hall closed.
Councillor Gordon Alcott, Deputy Leader and Town Centre Regeneration Portfolio Leader, said: “As a Council we do not like closing facilities used by the public but the reality is that the Indoor Market, sadly, no longer has a long term future although markets generally are popular with the public who shop in the town centre.
“The reality is that we currently have a vacancy rate of 42 stalls in the indoor market while the number of people using the facility is modest, meaning it is simply no longer fit for purpose.
“We will now offer assistance to traders who want to explore the alternatives we have provided and are giving stallholders time to consider their options.
“The fact is that Cannock is not immune to changes in shopping habits which are happening across the country. Our challenge is to find the best way forward for the town centre, which we are doing through the Cannock Town Centre Development Prospectus we launched last autumn and with it our proposals to test the market for a new cinema and eating outlets scheme. We hope to launch a procurement exercise as part of this, later this year.”
Cannock Indoor Market Hall is located in Cannock Shopping Centre in a building owned and maintained by Cannock Chase Council. As a market facility it began trading in the early 1970s. It currently opens Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.