Traders furious at increased rents as Canterbury Market returns

The Market was originally shut down two years ago by the previous Conservative administration.

Transcript

00:00 It was here for 700 years, then it went away for a couple of years and now it's coming

00:07 back.

00:08 The Canterbury market was axed two years ago by the previous Conservative administration

00:13 to pave way for a million pound project to resurface the street, introduce new lighting

00:19 and seating.

00:20 But those against it at the time are now running the council and now they're in charge of

00:25 bringing it back to St George's Street, but rent for traders will be going up.

00:31 It's gone up by 10% but it's two years on and costs go up for the council as well as

00:37 for other people.

00:38 And as I say, I'm sure that what will happen is that we'll have a vibrant market, people

00:43 will come to the market, the more things we have in the market the more people will come

00:47 and it will be something for residents and for tourists alike.

00:51 It's costing the council £61,000 to bring it back. Half of that is paying the wage of

00:57 a manager who will oversee the market, as well as maintaining it and organising other

01:02 events in the area.

01:04 Much to the dismay of a local campaign group who've been calling for the return of the

01:08 market.

01:09 I don't believe, and neither do they and neither does anyone connected with our campaign, that

01:15 the council really wants the market to return as a traditional market. They want a money

01:20 spinning events market with these temporary themed markets that are essentially manned

01:26 by people from elsewhere.

01:28 All in all, residents were pleased to hear of the market's comeback due in the summer.

01:33 It's nice for it to be back and it brings a different vibe and it's just nice to have

01:39 part of the town.

01:41 I think the council needs to look very carefully who the traders are, what they bring to Canterbury

01:47 and just see if they can adjust the rates accordingly.

01:51 Nice to bring the centre of Canterbury back because that really was the centre. Canterbury

01:56 has had enough trouble coming back from the pandemic. You see it all around by the number

02:00 of empty shops. So it's nice to bring at least some commercial activity.

02:05 I think they charge enough anyway, just rip off the traders, bring back the traders and

02:11 reduce their rents.

02:12 This has been the home for the Canterbury markets for centuries and residents clearly

02:17 welcome the fact that it's going to be returning home. But of course there have been certain

02:21 concerns raised along the way. So now they're hoping things will be running as smoothly

02:25 as it has done for 700 years once the market traders return home.

02:30 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Canterbury.

02:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]