St Johns Market has closed due to unpaid rent and service charges. The businesses within the market owe the Council more than £1.7m, dating back to August 2020. Last October, the Council asked the businesses to pay the outstanding monies and invited them into negotiations, but unfortunately, negotiations failed. Despite an offer being made, it was deemed unviable. As a result, tenancies have been stopped and the market has closed as of Monday, March 11.
30 non-paying businesses made a repayment offer last week of 33% for past and future costs, which was the same made during the mediation process in 2022. However, this was deemed insufficient as it does not represent the best value to residents and was therefore rejected by the Council. Of the 43 non-paying businesses, 13 made no offer.
The non-payment of rent and service charges has meant that the Market now costs the Council more than £1m a year to operate, which is unsustainable given the pressures on the Council’s budget to support key services. All businesses will be invited to arrange a date and time to collect any stock left within the stall they operated from. The Council has also offered assistance to help find alternative retail locations for those who wish to continue to operate in the city.
While the Market hall is closed for the foreseeable future, the Council remains a tenant of St John’s Shopping Centre and is committed to a viable and sustainable future use for the market hall site. The Council has 63 years left on its lease and will now review all feasible options. St Johns Shopping Centre, however, continues to operate as normal under its normal hours and is not affected by the decision to close the market
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