06 Feb 2023
Perhaps it seemed too good to be true, but an approved hybrid mix of traditional stalls and gazebos seems unlikely to be introduced at St Albans Charter Market any time soon.
Back in June, a cross-party working group at the district council pledged to purchase 80 new stalls to replace the existing ones, which were allegedly bulky, run-down and not of a standard type.
The running of the market was also to be outsourced for a trial period of six months, with tenders sought for a contractor to erect and dismantle the stalls alongside 35 St Albans-branded gazebos which were said to have already been purchased.
The new initiatives were approved by the regeneration and business committee, and chair Cllr Robert Donald said at the time: “We will now have the best of both worlds – the reassuring sight of the return of stalls in uniform St Albans heritage colours in St Peter’s Street together with gazebos, some provided by us and others on the edge of the market by the traders themselves.”
These measures were set to be introduced by October 22 at the very latest, with Cllr Donald assuring the public that the focus would then be on returning the market to pre-pandemic levels of traders and income.
SADC would also pursue the idea of the market becoming a charity, and a decision made on the repair of the existing stall equipment.
But as the target date came and went, no new stalls materialised, until finally in late December SADC announced their own branded gazebos would be available as part of a loan scheme for traders.
Cllr Danny Clare, lead councillor for markets, revealed: “The purchase of the gazebos shows our commitment to enhancing the market despite the current financial climate which puts our budget under immense pressure and impacts on the local economy.
“The market is one of the city centre’s main attractions and we are determined to keep it that way.
“The pandemic brought about changes to the market with gazebos being allowed to facilitate the market remaining open while the market stalls were retired.
“Now we are creating a market with flexible trading platforms, these branded gazebos are very much part of that exciting new look.
“We shall further enhance the offering and market experience in the coming months with new traders, events and pop-up seating areas all being added,” said Cllr Clare.
No mention was made of outsourcing the running of the market or the purchase of 80 traditional stalls, but further investigation has revealed the tender process did not even commence until September, and swiftly ran aground.
According to SADC, the procurement of the new stalls has now been put on hold until at least June due to the black hole in the council’s finances, and although refurbishing the original stalls would only have cost in the region of £10K that option was not considered.
The submitted bids for erecting/dismantling the stalls and managing the market were rejected for not being compliant or within budget, but SADC officers have been accused of failing to confirm the stall designs or provide a prototype, with tenders claiming this meant it was almost impossible to provide an accurate quote.
Additionally, the market rules and regulations are currently being redrafted, with no clarity on what guidelines would be enforced for the duration of the tender.
Despite only three branded gazebos having been rented by traders, market manager James Ó Nuanáin has assured councillors that a target figure of 33 out of 35 will be reached by the end of March, with two kept in reserve for events.
At a recent meeting of SADC’s business and regeneration committee it was proposed to close the markets office in French Row, even though this is where the new gazebos are stored. The £90K per annum saving from not employing a team to erect traditional stalls was also budgeted as continuing for three years, despite assurances that the stalls debate would be constantly under review.
We asked SADC to answer key questions about the management of the Charter Market, including what strategy was in place to grow the numbers of traders and customers. See this week’s edition of the St Albans Times to find out more.
