Rugeley Indoor Market Hall Consultation
Rugeley Indoor Market Hall Consultation
The Council is conducting a survey with members of the public who might have an interest in the future of the Council-run indoor market hall, located by the bus station in Rugeley.
The market hall has struggled for a number of years with a steady decline in the number of traders and footfall, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. While other town centre retail outlets have recovered slightly, the number of traders and footfall in the market hall has continued to fall to the point where the market is no longer functioning as a market should.
Options for the market hall therefore need to be reviewed. The Council values your opinion about the market hall's future. Your views will assist in the Council considering what that might be.
This public consultation process will run until 12 December 2022.
The Council’s preference is for surveys to be completed online here
Council officers will also be conducting surveys in Rugeley Town Centre on the following dates:
- Thursday 1 December, 11am-12noon
- Friday 2 December, 11am-12noon
- Saturday 3 December, 11am-12noon
- Tuesday 6 December, 11am-12noon
Paper surveys will also be available from inside Rugeley Indoor Market Hall and from the Council's Civic Centre in Cannock.
Completed surveys should either be handed into the market hall or at the Civic Centre, or be posted to Cannock Chase Council, Property Services Department, Civic Centre, Beecroft Road, Cannock WS11 1BG.
Any questionnaires or views received after 12 December 2022 may not be able to be incorporated into the review of the market hall.
Please find some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below
For more information please call 01543 464526
Missing Question
Due to a technical glitch one of the questions we wanted to ask on the online survey form was inadvertently omitted between 14 and 30 November. If you completed the original survey online between those dates and would like to complete the missing question you can do so by following the link:
Missing question link
Responses will then be combined with responses to all the other questions we have received to date. We are keen to ensure that everyone interested in completing this survey has the oppportunity to do so, and especially the opportunity to complete the omitted question.
FAQs for Rugeley Indoor Market Hall
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many stalls are there in the market hall?
A. There are 35 market stalls although most are empty.
Q. How many traders are currently operating in the market hall?
A At the time this consultation was agreed there were just two traders - a hairdresser and a tearoom.
Q. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the market?
A As with all high street retail through Covid, times have been tough with more shoppers moving to online retail solutions. Pre-Covid, the market hall had already been struggling to survive for a number of years, affected by online shopping and larger discount shops having greater buying power enabling them to sell at lower prices.
Q. What has the Council done to try and attract new traders?
A The Council has advertised locally in newspapers, on the Council’s website and Facebook page, in the market hall itself and in local public buildings such as the library and other community buildings. Nationally, the Council has advertised with market trader organisations.
The Council also offers discounted rents to new traders and long-term discounts to traders offering a service to customers rather than just selling goods. In autumn 2021 a period of six months free rent was offered to all new traders. However, all traders that took up the Council’s offer left at the end of the full discount period.
Q. What has the Council done to try and attract customers?
A The Council has regularly held special seasonal events. While these events increase footfall on the day, that hasn’t attracted new regular customers.
The Council also moved its Rugeley Area Office into the market hall to try and help increase footfall, however this office has not re-opened post the pandemic.
Q. What happened to the Area Office which opened in the market hall, just before COVID-19?
A. Since COVID-19, more of the Council’s business and interaction with customers has been undertaken online. As such, face-to-face customer contact in Rugeley has not resumed and the office has remained closed.
Q. Why is the Council considering the closure of Rugeley Indoor Market Hall?
A . The purpose of a market is that it should be for the benefit of the public and open for everyone to frequent it for the purpose of buying and selling. Because of the lack of traders and footfall, the market is not currently functioning as a market should. Consequently, the potential closure of the market hall is an option under consideration.
Q. If the Council closes the market, what would it do with the building?
A. The Council has not currently made any decision regarding the future of the market hall. However, if it is decided that the market hall will close (which would reduce the Council’s overheads), an alternative use for the building will still need to be found because the Council is a tenant of the building and there are still over 50 years left to run on the lease.
However, the lease does limit the Council’s options as it requires that the Council can only use the building as a market hall, for retail and/or office space and parking.
Last Updated: 06/12/2022
A vibrant street market takes place in Cannock Town Centre from 9.00am to 4.00pm every Tuesday and Friday offering a wide variety of goods and produce. The market is operated by Bescot Promotions Ltd. which is a an established market operator with over 40 years’ experience of providing indoor and outdoor events. Family owned and run, Bescot Promotions pride themselves on creating a family-friendly, fun and safe atmosphere for all visitors and stall holders.
