'Frustration' as £5m market remains shuttered
Shoppers want the market reopened, but the council says checks need to be done to ensure its future.
‘Frustration’ as £5m market remains shuttered
Work on the market hall has now been completed, but the long-awaited opening of Newton Abbot’s new Market Hall is still on hold while “due diligence” is carried out on its future operations.
Shoppers said they were frustrated that the new market building was standing empty, with many expressing their annoyance on social media and one saying: “At the moment it’s another white elephant.”
The Market Hall regeneration was funded by £5m from the government’s Future High Streets Fund and was finished in June.
It had been due to open in the autumn, but Teignbridge Council was still working through the formalities. David Palethorpe, the councillor leading the project, said: “We understand the frustrations but we’d rather do this slowly and get it right.”
One shopper told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “If this was a privately-owned building tenants would have been lined up before the work was even finished. No excuse for these delays.”
Palethorpe, the council’s executive member for economy and major projects, said: “Much like a house purchase, you carry out due diligence, which can take longer than initially foreseen due to complex legal frameworks.”
He said rents had not yet been decided and would be set by the operators who take on the market.
Palethorpe had hoped it would open before Christmas and said there were discussions about holding festive events in the market square.
He said he was “as disappointed as anyone else” about the delays to reopening and added that he hoped the development would help make Newton Abbot a 21st Century market town.
Teignbridge Council said it was working with organisations interested in taking on the market, which is set to include dedicated street food units, a bar, a cafe and up to 10 fixed stalls, along with flexible spaces for day-traders, craft markets and community events.