February 17, 2014
MORE than 20 tenants of units next to Sneinton Market are being evicted to make way for a new creative area.
Notices were handed out to traders over the course of the last week and Nottingham City Council says it will help them find alternative places.
The authority wants to turn the old wholesale market into a home for creative businesses and workshops and was successful in getting £2.4 million of European money to make the vision a reality.
But one trader said that he felt let down by the council. The trader, who did not wish to be identified, said: “It’s cruel – we thought we were going to be part of the future of Sneinton, but it seems we will be part of the past.
“We’ve been here a long time and we were excited about what the city council were doing and then we get served with a notice.
“We like being here and we want to stay.”
A council spokesman said: “Part of the condition of the funding we have for this project is that we have vacant possession of Sneinton Market. However, we have kept tenants informed about the whole process and we will continue to work with them to help ensure they have plenty of notice and plenty of help if and when they need to relocate.
”We will work with individual businesses to help them find alternative accommodation either on the Sneinton Market site or elsewhere in the city.”
Work to regenerate the market is set to begin in the summer and be completed by 2015.
Jon Collins, leader of the council, said: “We have a long-held ambition to see Sneinton Market regenerated.
“I am pleased that the much-needed work to renew this important site in our city centre is now progressing and I look forward to seeing contractors on site in the coming months.”
The council added that the plans will feature 43 units on the site refurbished into workshops and studios for use by creative enterprises which they hope will establish a “vibrant creative business community” and revitalise Sneinton Market.
The plans for the council to spruce up the site have been welcomed by St Ann’s resident Sharon Day, 26, who passes the market to go swimming at the nearby Victoria Leisure Centre. She said: “The market just looks a bit shabby at the moment so it would be nice to see it given a bit of a lift.
“I’ve seen the litter and all these reports of rats and things and it doesn’t give a very nice impression of the area. I’m glad to hear there are plans to do something with the site – I just hope it happens quickly.”
Sue Greene, 45, of Sneinton, added: “It’s good to see money being spent in the area to give it a bit of a boost.”
And Julie Yeomans, 65, of Mapperley, said: “With the new leisure centre looking good, the market looks a bit down. It would be good for it to have a facelift.”
Source: Nottingham Post
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