West Bromwich market traders hopeful after move from 'smelly' site delayed
Traders from a neglected market say they remain hopeful for the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ after a planned move to a new location has been hampered by delays.
West Bromwich’s indoor market in the Kings Square Shopping Centre saw its best days a long time ago and the remaining traders are struggling to find customers in a building long past its sell-by date.
Sandwell Council is working on a new location for the market – with a spot on West Bromwich High Street earmarked – but progress has been slow and hampered by delays.
The market is home to a handful of traders, who sell clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, pet supplies and African and Caribbean clothes and food, and say the council’s recent rent cut has gone some way in helping but has nevertheless come far too late.
One trader, who chose to stay nameless, said she was regularly counting the number of paying customers on one hand when totting up the day’s trade.
“Some days are better than others,” she said. “But a lot of the time it’s a struggle. There’s no footfall around here so we don’t get much passing trade and we have to rely on a few regulars who know we are here.”
She was relying on regular customers to survive and battles with the council over improving the market and the delayed relocation had left her patience at its thinnest.
“We’ve been trying to get rid of the smell for 15 years,” she said about the fishy stench that hangs over the market – a smell that would put off the most ardent of regulars let alone passers-by.
The struggle for trade and a reliance on regulars, as well as theories on the decrepit state of the building, were common themes among the traders I spoke to.
