Indoor market: Proposals call for new building for historic town

A public meeting in Carmarthen on Wednesday heard 60,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans to move the town's historic indoor market for planned redevelopment.

The proposal is to move traders to a new site, allowing a Debenhams department store to go up, as well as a cinema, multi-storey car park and shopping units.

But a representative of the market traders' national association told the meeting that experience elsewhere in the UK had shown that traders would be expected to pay out thousands even if a developer pays for a new market building.

We thought the traders did not have the same thoughts on it as the marketers -we were quite surprised Councillor Philip Grice

Each of the proposals unveiled last month, with backing from the Welsh Development Agency and county council officers, involves relocating of the provisions market to a new purpose-built site.

But the more than 120 people at a public meeting at the town's Lyric Theatre were unanimously opposed to moving the facility.

Guest speaker Terry Parkins, of the Market Trader's Federation, said: "Our experience in Widnes was that the traders were moved from their different-sized stalls to stalls which were all a standard size.

Debenhams will anchor the development

"They then had to pay for fixtures and fittings to fit the place out, like lights, refrigerators, cold counters and sign-writing.

"Some of those had to borrow money from the council to pay for it and ended up owing �5,000-�6,000.

"The way it's going, if it is going ahead, you will have a building site for three or four years.

Town councillor Philip Grice said a survey of traders had found 80% opposed the proposed move.

But this claim was challenged by Ron Mounsey, chairman of Carmarthen Chamber of Commerce, who said his organisation had not been sent the questionnaire.

Plans on display

However, Mr Mounsey agreed to report back to the liaison committee on a visit to Redditch he is to make where a similar scheme involving Debenhams has gone ahead.

Councillor Grice was voted on to the new action committee as its chairman.

He said the results of the survey had surprised both him and his colleague on the project, county councillor Arthur Davies.

"We thought the traders did not have the same thoughts on it as the marketers. We were quite surprised."

Carmarthenshire Council is conducting a consultation exercise on the redevelopment of Carmarthen town centre.

A spokeswoman said: "It is not an option to leave the market in its current position as it blocks the mart site and stops the extension of the town centre."

"The market would not be closed at all during the works, traders would only move when the new hall had been completed.

Traders would be compensated during the five or six months of disruption, she said.

A display of the four redevelopment proposals runs at St Peter's Civic Hall in Carmarthen until 24 November.