Leicester Market will not reopen on its new market square until April 2027 after traders unanimously rejected the opportunity to return before Christmas.<\/p>\n
Leicester City Council had planned to move traders back to the redeveloped square by the end of this year, but all 11 affected businesses expressed a preference to delay the move until the final phase of construction is completed.<\/p>\n
The decision follows a consultation in which traders raised concerns about winter weather, ongoing building work and conditions on the site.<\/p>\n
The council will now target April 2027 for the reopening, with the additional time being used to finalise stall layouts, utilities, access arrangements and other operational requirements.<\/p>\n
City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “We’ve worked closely with the traders throughout this major redevelopment of Leicester Market, so it was vital that their views were taken into account when planning their return to the market square.<\/p>\n
“We offered the traders the option of moving back in December, as our aim was always to have them back on the square by the end of the year, but the results of the consultation were unanimous and they made their moving date preference very clear.<\/p>\n
“As a result, we will now plan for Leicester Market to reopen on the new market square in April 2027, once the final phase of the redevelopment, Phase 3, has been completed.<\/p>\n
“That gives everyone certainty about the timescale and allows us to make sure that the move is properly planned, coordinated and supported.”<\/p>\n
Council officers will work with food traders on relocation arrangements, business support and the allocation of stalls.<\/p>\n
Separate discussions will continue with dry goods and unit traders to assess their individual circumstances and future requirements.<\/p>\n
A further meeting between Soulsby and traders’ representatives is scheduled for December, when more detailed information about the redevelopment and relocation plans is expected to be available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
All 11 affected traders voted to postpone relocation until redevelopment work finishes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2116951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47995],"coauthors":[95],"class_list":["post-2116950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail","tag-featured-story","tag-leicestershire"],"yoast_head":"\n