Traders baffled as nearly £180k spent on staffing costs to manage three Walsall markets
A cost breakdown for the three markets managed by Walsall Council reveals the reason the events are causing a strain on the authority’s finances.
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For the year 2023/24, Walsall market earned the council £33.5k, but Bloxwich ran at a loss of £38.4k and Willenhall at a loss of £89.3k.
The council pays £177,030 a year on staffing costs for the three markets, it has been revealed.
When Willenhall traders were interviewed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, they said they were ‘unsure’ of what the staffing costs paid for.
They reported "poor management and no promotion of the event" and said it was "very difficult for new traders to get onto the market".
All of the traders have stalls at other markets in the region and said the council could learn a lot from how they are managed.
The council recently launched a Facebook page to promote Willenhall Market and has been posting on it daily.
In a bid to make the three markets more viable, the council appointed Market Curators to review them at a cost of £22,090, funded by the Government’s Community Regeneration Partnership.
For this price, a report was produced outlining several recommendations.
But traders at Willenhall were unaware if anybody "had even visited the market".
The council reported that "doing nothing" to improve Willenhall Market was not a viable option.
In what one trader, Chris, described as a "half-baked" scheme, Market Curators suggested that the council should invest in new pop-up stalls in Willenhall to replace the current practice of paying a company to supply, erect, and dismantle market stalls, which costs £53,050 per year.
The company said a kiosk could be installed in the town centre to store the pop-up stalls and double as a coffee shop.
It is estimated that it will cost £104k in capital investment to implement these changes.
They also had concerns about traders working alone, putting them up in the dark, the anchor points on the ground being filled with grime, and the length of time it already takes to set up the stall without putting the gazebos up too.
They agreed that the contractors’ current practice of installing the stalls works well.
In response to the contractor costs, Willenhall trader John Dawkins said: “The council has it in their remit to negotiate a better contract.”
The authority has confirmed that staffing costs of £177,030 cover ‘two dedicated officers’ and waste collection services for the markets.
A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “We can confirm that the staffing costs for the markets cover two dedicated full-time officers, plus the staffing costs for waste collection services across all council-operated market sites.”
Market Curators has been approached for comment.
