Market's opening hours cut despite £500k revamp

A market hall in East Lancashire is to close on one of its three trading days despite recently undergoing a major refurbishment.

Haslingden Market will now shut on Thursdays after a fall in footfall, but will be open for longer on Fridays and Saturdays, Rossendale Council said.

It comes despite the completion of a £500,000 regeneration project to improve the market in December.

Rossendale councillor Scott Smith, leader of the council's opposition Conservative group said the move raised serious concerns "about the council's ability to provide our town centres with the investment they desperately need".

In a statement on social media, Labour-run Rossendale Council said the decision had been made with traders so they could focus business on busier trading days.

They said: "Concentrating activity on Fridays and Saturdays will help traders build momentum, reduce operational waste on quieter days, and offer an improved experience for customers."

Stalls, which open at 09:00, will now close an hour later on Friday and Saturday, shutting at 15:00 BST.

Under the changes, food traders will be allowed to stay open from 12:00 to 19:00 on both days.

Haslingden Labour councillor Ann Kenyon told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The market has been struggling.

"It and businesses in the town have been hit by the town centre improvement works around Deardengate which were scheduled to take 24 weeks."

She said: "Hopefully when they are finished things will look up for the market and other traders in the town centre."

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