27 Jun 2024
A district council drive to create a seven-day market operation in St Albans city centre has met with bitter condemnation over its limited consultation.
In a bid to increase much-needed revenue and balance its budget, SADC is proposing to provide pitches for up to 10 traders throughout the week, operating under a market arrangement instead of the existing street trading consents.
They would be offered non-adjacent pitches on the square outside the Museum + Gallery, on St Peter’s Street and in the former parking bays on Market Place.
Existing street traders will be charged fees based on the 2023/24 fee, increased for inflation, and then increased incrementally over a 12-month period until they reach parity with fees paid by market traders.
So for the first four months this will be £1.68 per day, increasing to £8.34 on Mondays and Tuesdays, £15.84 on Thursdays and Fridays, and £18.84 on Sundays for the second block of four months. Finally, for months 9-12, it will be £15 on Mondays and Tuesdays, £30 on Thursdays and Fridays, and £36 on Sundays.
Existing street traders will also be able to take an additional pitch at no additional cost for the first 24 months.
According to SADC markets manager James Ó Nuanáin in a report presented to SADC’s strategy and resources committee, the changes intend to support the high street with additional economic activity, provide greater parity between the terms, conditions and fees of traders working on different days, and to raise additional revenue to support vital council services.
But existing street traders say their annual fees will skyrocket from a few hundred pounds to well over £5,000 depending how many days a week they trade.
And many existing shops and restaurants are already unhappy with the positioning of vans on Charter Market days as it restricts their visibility. The smell and general food provision infrastructure, including bins, has caused issues for bricks and mortar businesses, as has the use of café and pub chairs and tables by customers of street food vendors.
Following publicity about the proposals in the St Albans Times, SADC agreed to a public consultation on the proposals, rather than imposing them at the start of April.
But the pre-election period leading up to the May elections was considered to have severely impacted the time available, and it was decided to focus the consultation on those businesses potentially most directly affected.
A consultation letter was hand-delivered to 74 businesses in Market Place, St Peter’s Street to the Catherine Street junction, and to the management of Christopher Place Shopping Centre, The Maltings Shopping Centre and the BID.
Market traders were not consulted, even though increasing the number of market days could have a direct impact on the Wednesday and Saturday Charter Markets.
Although some individual replies were submitted, the majority of independent businesses signed a joint letter setting out their concerns and calling for a delay on any decision.
A decision on the proposals is supposed to be ratified at this Thursday’s meeting of the strategy and resources committee, but opponents believe it is being rushed through before the General Election.
Certainly St Albans Reform UK candidate John Dowdle has made it one of the platforms of his campaign, and he warned: “[SADC’s] proposed changes to the centuries-old market in the city centre will decimate small local businesses in the city centre.”
So far 37 businesses have put their names to the letter condemning the plans, with more expected to add to the list.
The nine-page document includes the opening statement: “We believe that the proposed changes will have unintended consequences for the independent businesses in this area. The current trading hours strike a delicate balance that allows both market traders and independent businesses to coexist and benefit from each other’s presence but it is wearing thin, especially with Wednesday trade diminishing in both retail and hospitality but seemingly increasing for the market – particularly the hot food stalls.
“Allowing seven-day trading for the market without carefully considering the impact on the surrounding businesses could lead to unfair competition and an imbalance in the local economy. Many of us, as independent business owners, rely on the weekends to generate a significant portion of our revenue.
“Weekdays are very quiet and we believe any additional food stalls to what is already operating will have a huge negative impact on local business.
“If we have 10 food stalls on a Wednesday or Saturday, each stall feeds around 150-180 people on average. This is removing 1,500-1,800 customers on a Wednesday and Saturday already. Further days will make it tougher and tougher for bricks and mortar businesses. We believe the seven-day market with a high percentage of food stalls in particular will not only create more food smells for retailers in the area but will have a significant impact on hospitality in the area.
“The independent hospitality and retail industry in St Albans is under severe strain due to existing Covid debts, huge energy costs, rents, rates, food costs, lack of staff availability and this is also true of retail in the area with most high street businesses operating with a skeleton staff force and some having to close on certain days to avoid spiralling costs. We want the council to acknowledge the pressures and strains that we are under. We are not “out of the woods” and we cannot cope with increased competition.
“If the council believe there is a need for residents to access more food options why don’t they promote the current businesses offering cheaper food options rather than creating more competition in the form of cheap stalls in the middle of the prime city centre areas?”
Their in-depth analysis of the initial report presented to the committee on April 7 highlights various areas of concern, including whether SADC will be able to add further stalls or markets without any consultation, and what provision was in place to tackle street cleansing and refuse.
They questioned whether residents had actually been asked if they wanted more market days, and what proof SADC had of an apparent demand for additional food and retail stalls.
“We are really pleased to see a successful market in St Albans and want to see it improve but it is a fine balancing act between local businesses and the market to ensure both can survive side by side.
We believe that rather than increasing local employment the implementation of additional food stalls will have a negative impact on current employment in hospitality and this has the potential to lead to more job losses.
“We believe that a collaborative approach, involving open dialogue will all stakeholders, is essential in finding a solution that supports the growth and sustainability of the market while also preserving the unique character and livelihoods of the existing businesses.”
They called on the council to pause any decision on extra market days until after the General Election, and to hold a joint meeting with all businesses in the city centre, BID and councillors to give them a chance to highlight the difficulties they currently face.
In response, Chris Traill, SADC strategic director of community and place delivery, said: “A report recommending changes to street trading on non-Charter Market days is to be considered by our strategy and resources committee on Thursday 27 June.
“In the run-up to the meeting, we have received a letter from a group of city centre businesses detailing their response to the proposals.
“While they are supportive of our efforts to develop a vibrant and thriving market, they are concerned about the impact any additional hot food stalls may have on their own businesses.
“Concerns about this are not insurmountable as the proposal is only to add four more stalls, not necessarily hot food ones either. Should this go ahead, the Markets team will work with traders on this.
“We will, of course, make councillors on the committee aware of this letter so they can consider the points raised before making any decisions.
“The meeting is held in public and webcast, so the businesses concerned and anyone else who is interested can listen to the debate.
“We always welcome feedback such as this from the community as it helps inform our decision making.”
Following the first letter, a second was dispatched to SADC at the end of last week questioning the due process involved.
It reiterated the demand for a delay to the decision-making process and warned: “We are concerned that very significant council decisions are being made regarding the proposal to replace street trading on Market Place and St Peter’s Street with alternative arrangements during an election period when Parliament is postponed.
“This means that we cannot seek the advice or support of our currently elected MP. This decsion is likely to have a significant and devastating impact on other local businesses.”
The letter highlighted how there had only been one public media communication about the proposals, and that was back on March 11.
“We do not believe a proper, robust or transparent consultation has taken place and we believe many aspects of the report to the meeting of the council’s strategy and resources committee to be flawed and incorrect.
“Within the market report, statistics from 2021 have been used which we believe to be out of date.
“We reserve the right to seek independent legal advice and to issue an application for Judicial Review of this decision and to examine whether the correct process has been followed by the council.”
SADC declined to comment on this second letter.
But it’s not just the bricks and mortar businesses who feel they have not been offered a proper say.
Reform Parliamentary candidate John Dowdle said he spoke to many of the longer-established market traders on Saturday, and none of them were aware of the proposed changes.
“SADC’s consultation process is clearly flawed and not fit for purpose. They need to re-start the whole process in full and ensure proper consultation with the traders.
“It seems they are trying to sneak the issue through the council decision-making process at a time when most people’s attention is drawn to the General Election.
“I suggest this decision should be deferred to the next available committee meeting to ensure that all the proper facts and supporting paperwork are in place so that St Albans councillors and residents can avoid a case of flawed decision-making.”
