Birmingham wholesale market dealt with its “darkest ever day” last Friday as it faced imminent closure.
Traders at the market are “very angry” after it emerged the Pershore Street site could be closed as early as February 2013 at a meeting with market management on Thursday.
Chancellor George Osborne spoke of the regeneration of the area in addressing reporters from a site opposite the market just a day before traders found out the 35-year-old market could be closed within two years.
Birmingham City Council (BCC) announced at a cabinet meeting last Monday that it had scrapped plans to move to a site in Witton and was looking for private development partners. Traders remained positive after a number of waste and recycling initiatives and savings were decided upon for the Pershore ST site.
But in a meeting between BCC assistant director of leisure and support services Penny Smith and traders on Thursday, she said the market may be closed by February 2013 and they need to work to find a new site.
Birmingham Wholesale Fresh Produce Association head Mark Tate claims he has been asking whether traders could look for a new site for five years and that it would take at least three years to build a new market.
A council spokesperson told freshinfo that February 2013 was only “an indicative date” and that “remaining in the existing building is not an option due its ageing state”.
“The city council is not going to pay for a purpose built facility but we are working to try and find an alternative site,” he added.
Tate said, on hearing the news that an exit from the market could be relatively imminent, traders were “devastated”.
He said: “I’ve never seen this place so depress in my life and I’m the fourth generation of this business. There’s always laughter on the market but there’s just anger.”
It is no secret that BCC is looking to save money and the redevelopment of the area is part of its Big City plans.
The council said it is looking at two sites for a new market, in Longbridge and Saltby, and will consult with traders on them in the near future.
There are 120 businesses on the market with around 2,000 staff. There will be a consultation process to collate figures relating to the market until September with a final decision on the market in November.
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