New private partner to run loss-making market

A company is to be appointed to run a market which has been losing money since it was refurbished at a cost of £8m in 2024.

The Cornhill Market in Lincoln will still be controlled by the city council, but a commercial partner would cover all costs and keep all the income.

The decision was made at a council meeting on Tuesday after advice from retail experts that a new direction was needed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Councillor Joshua Wells, the portfolio holder responsible for overseeing the market, said he was confident of the market's future if the changes were made.

"The environment in which markets exist now is completely different to five or even 10 years ago," Wells told the LDRS.

"When we put forward a plan, there were a number of assumptions which were sound at the time, but things have changed a lot since then.

"We will have a new partner responsible for implementing the model and strategy, and the crucial thing is that the council retains control of the market."

A report presented to the meeting said that while the market had brought in more business over the last year, the current situation was "neither sustainable nor desirable" and "a major rethink was needed".

A review of the market last month, said there was low occupancy, with just 69% of stalls rented out, up from a low of 38% in 2025.

The new vision described it as "a home for small businesses in the heart of the city, where fresh food, cooked food, interesting retailers, artisan makers, and specialists sit side by side".

Some shoppers the BBC spoke to said they would like the market to return to a more traditional offering.

"They've probably gone too modern and too costly," one man said.

Others said there was too little choice and that prices were too high.

"What they're charging in there, people just don't have it," a woman said.

Katrina Pierce, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said a "perfect storm" had contributed to the market's struggles.

"The market opened during that really difficult post-Covid period, and we're now in a high cost of living era and a high cost of doing business period.

"All of those things have changed the way people shop. But the council acknowledges, and I've certainly noticed, that the market hasn't quite lived up to its potential," she said.

She added: "I don't think it's been run badly, but I do think it has suffered from a series of issues.

"I do think it has improved in recent months, but it still needs more."

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