Trader fears stall will not survive city works

A market trader in Coventry has said he is concerned his business might not survive as he has seen sales plummet amid a lengthy redevelopment of the wider area.

Amjad Hussain runs a sports supplements stall at Coventry Market on Queen Victoria Road, and said he was pleased the local authority planned to invest £1.25m in revamping the building as part of the City Centre South project.

Like many other traders, his rent has been reduced by the council to reflect the disruption, but he said sales had already dropped by "more than 70%" since work began and called for more support.

The council said it would continue "promoting the market" and "working with traders throughout the redevelopment".

Hussain said the plans for the indoor market were "really good" but that his future at the site hung in the balance because of the city's wider redevelopment works, due to be completed by 2034.

"It's going to be good for us when it's completed, but we have to survive until then," he added.

The City Centre South development is expected to bring more than 1,500 new homes to the city, along with 18,000 sq m (21,529 sq yds) of public space, restaurants, shops and other leisure facilities.

Coventry Market sits next to that development.

Hussain said that, as a result of the current works, the market had lost access to the nearby public car parks that his regular customers relied on.

"I used to buy stock every two weeks, but now I've stopped buying [it] because I can't sell it. My customers have stopped coming into the market because they can't park nearby," he said.

"I don't know how long they are going to take to do the work.

"We didn't know how much it was going to hit us, but it has hit us really, really hard."

Chris Charley, from Coventry Indoor Market Committee, said traders were mostly positive about the plans, but there are some who would be directly affected.

"There's still a few things that we need to work out with the council that are going to be impacted on specific traders," he said.

"We haven't had an investment like this for decades. So it's good, it's positive news.

"We're just looking forward to seeing exactly how it develops and comes to fruition, but we're thinking it's good at the moment."

Councillor Lynette Kelly said Coventy Market was a "cornerstone" of the city centre and traders were "a huge part of its character".

"Coventry Market has served generations of resident, and the £1.25m investment is about helping it thrive well into the future," Kelly added.