Market traders forced to pay up in rent rise dispute
Market traders who refused to pay their rent in a dispute with council bosses over a fee rise have been forced to accept defeat – and now face paying back the money they owe.
More than 100 traders at Bilston Market refused to pay a five per cent rise in their rent after Wolverhampton City Council put up costs on April 1.
Traders had argued that they had not been given enough notice about the increase before it was implemented earlier this year. It was supported by a 180-signature petition which went before a committee at the local authority.
The city council said it had to put up the rent costs at the popular market to help meet savings of £123 million over the next five years. The authority said the rise would bring in an extra £35,000.
Jag Sandhu, who runs Sedgemoor Textiles at the market, said: "After the outcome of the petitions committee we considered independent advice on our next step but a few traders got jittery because their rent arrears were rising.
"What we will be doing is meeting with the council on September 1 where we hope we can agree to new rules where we are given more notice and that we have a better say when it comes to changes to Bilston Market."
Mr Sandhu added that despite their unsuccessful bid he said lessons had been learned.
He added: "It was picked up in the committee meeting that there was a breakdown in the communication between the traders and the management so hopefully this will be improved and we can move on from there.
"We had a lot of support and we appreciate all that we got we hope that in the future we won't have to resort to such campaigns."
Letters have now been sent to the traders asking to arrange payment of their arrears.
Council spokesman Tim Clark said: "The council has been in regular dialogue with the trader representatives at Bilston Market and we're pleased to say that all of the traders who were withholding their rent have now either paid their arrears in full or made arrangements with us to pay."
Last month councillors voted to keep the rent rises. Traders had gathered support from shoppers with business owners claiming the council was using the market as a 'cash cow'.
