Criticism as revamped market loses £40k a month

22 December 2025

Harry Parkhillin Lincoln

News image — Several units have been vacant at the Cornhill Market in Lincoln since the building was refurbished

BBC A photo of the Christmas lights at Lincoln's Cornhill Market. The coloured lightbulbs have been strung between metal rafters. Empty shops are visible in the background. — Several units have been vacant at the Cornhill Market in Lincoln since the building was refurbished

A multi-million pound indoor market is losing £40,000 per month, councillors have said.

The two-year project to revamp the market hall, formerly known as Central Market, was completed in May 2024 at a cost of almost £8m.

The venue has been criticised for having vacant units since it reopened, but a number of stall-holders said they were doing well.

The City of Lincoln Council said it is "absolutely not satisfied" the market is losing money and it is doing "its utmost" to rectify the situation.

A row of three shuttered up stalls along the left hand side of a market. A stall in the foreground is unoccupied with a sign saying a new business is coming soon. In the background a fourth market unit is shuttered up. — The Cornhill Market underwent a two-year, £8m restoration project before it reopened in May 2024

Three months after the market opened in 2024, some stalls had closed, with traders complaining that rents were "pricey".

Several businesses including a plant shop, embroidery business, green grocers and flapjack maker have since left the building and set up elsewhere.

The City of Lincoln Council has defended the loss of traders and said the market was a place for new businesses to establish themselves.

Liberal Democrat councillor James Brown said the sums for the market did "not add up" and was costing taxpayers money.

"It's losing £40,000 per month," he said.

"Stall holders aren't make enough money to pay rent so they're having to leave. We've lost over ten stalls, and the occupancy rate is almost 50% which is far below the average for a market.

"When you're on the high street it's very successful, so there's something going wrong," he added.

In response, councillor Joshua Wells, portfolio holder for inclusive economic growth at the council, said he was "not satisfied with the fact the market is losing money".

He added the authority had "invested tens of thousands of pounds into a marketing strategy" to improve the situation.

A young woman with blonde hair scraped back into a pigtail smiles at the camera. She is standing in front of a large oven containing jacket potatoes. — Evie-May Capps said her business was going "really well" despite criticism of the venue

Despite some traders moving out of the new building, food vendor Evi-Mae Capps said business had been "going really well".

"It would be nice for it to be busier but it's not really impacted me heavily I don't think," she said.

When asked whether the council could do more to improve the venue Ms Capps defended the authority.

"I don't think the rent's that high, they do a lot of events," she said. "I really don't know what I could suggest they could do better."

Wells said he was "really pleased" with businesses at the market.

"We have a really good conversion rate from pop-up stalls to permanent stalls," he added and was bullish when asked whether the market would remain open in the future.

"There is more work to do and there are things we can fine tweak," he said and added the authority was "committed to making the market work".

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