Market traders in Bilston are to receive a significant financial reprieve after a major regeneration project for the historic site fell months behind schedule. City of Wolverhampton Council has announced it will offer 100 per cent rent-free periods for both indoor and outdoor stallholders over the festive and new year period.
Compensation for Disruption and Delays
The council confirmed the rent holiday will run from 22 December to 14 February, resulting in an estimated £118,000 loss of income for the local authority. This sum will be covered by drawing on the council's financial reserves. This gesture follows a previous support measure where rents were cut by a quarter for over ten months.
The root cause is the severely delayed redevelopment of the 200-year-old Bilston Market. Originally slated for completion this year, the "state-of-the-art" new market is now not expected to open until June 2026 – a full eight months later than planned.
Project Problems and Soaring Costs
The project has been plagued with issues since outdoor market stalls were relocated in October last year to make way for what was intended to be a year of construction. Work ground to a halt after surveys, which could only be conducted post-relocation, uncovered "poor" ground conditions. This necessitated a costly redesign.
As a result, the council has been forced to set aside an additional £2.5 million for the scheme. This has inflated the total project budget by more than a third, from an initial £6.4 million to £8.9 million.
Features Scaled Back
Despite the ballooning budget, several planned features have been removed from the designs to manage costs. In November, the council approved its own planning application which scrapped multiple elements, including:
- A proposed 12-metre 'beacon' structure.
- Several benches and planters.
- Plans for solar panels and new signs and entrances.
Furthermore, some pavements, thoroughfares, and car parks will now only be cleaned and repaired instead of fully resurfaced.
Impact on Trade and Community
The disruption has hit traders hard. The relocation of the outdoor market has significantly reduced footfall for the indoor market stallholders, impacting their trade. Traders had initially been told to prepare to return to the new site by October of this year, but instead, the market's bicentennial was marked by the site being a construction zone.
The area where the old outdoor market stood was flattened but then lay as a pile of rubble for months while the project stalled. The council's compensation through free rent is a direct response to the ongoing economic hardship faced by the traders due to these protracted delays.
