Open Market traders say new rules leave it half-closed

Traders at Brighton’s Open Market are worried reduced core trading hours now mean it appears half-closed.

In May, market management reduced the number of days traders have to open from six to five and reduced the hours. Since then, some traders say even these reduced times have not been enforced and several units are closed midweek, or only open a few hours a day.

They say this has led to fewer people coming into the market – which is in turn damaging the businesses many of them have built up over years or even decades.

Sarah Jones from the Fruit Bowl said the letter in May also reduced the number of hours traders are required to open from eight to five – a claim disputed by the board which says it is now seven hours.

She praised two new managers who have recently been appointed – but says unless more is done to get the whole market open midweek, the whole place could be under threat.

She said: “Nobody goes shopping in there because not everything’s open.

“We have lost trade from mums on the school run because no shops are open in the early mornings any more. Most people shut at 3pm so afternoon trade’s gone.

“Customers ask us all the time – when is everything open? It’s embarrassing.

“Now it’s getting to the scary part. At this rate, by January or February this market won’t be here.

“The new management have been thrown in the deep end.

“The longer term traders agree with me. The new ones think they can make more money from Thursday to Sunday.

“They’re trying to make it into an upper class thing but it should be a market. Bring it back to an old school market like it used to be.”

Brighton and Hove News spoke to a number of other traders who confirmed they were also concerned about reduced core hours and closed units midweek.

None would go on the record, some because they feared they could lose their licence if they spoke to the media.

The market is run by Brighton Open Market CIC, whose directors include councillors, traders and representatives from Hyde Housing and Ethical Property Company, which rebuilt the market and the social housing next to it.

In a statement, the board said it held a meeting recently to discuss opening hours, and intended to launch a consultation for both traders and shoppers in January. No consultation was held before the reduced core hours were introduced in May.

It said: “Hours and days of the week is a complicated matter that needs consensus and input and cannot be driven by one or two voices.

“What is clear is that we need a collective agreement that reflects the capabilities of all businesses, particularly the smaller ones, and this is an important ongoing process.

“Public awareness of the market is of key importance, as are consistent opening but the board is also sensitive to the need for days off for small owner operators without additional staff. The vast majority are open five days per week and several operate every day.

“To say that it is the newer traders who are not opening as often as long-term ones is not true.”

It also said that over the last year it had made repairs to the roof, replacing bird netting, cleaning graffiti and repainting stalls.

Longstanding traders also had their rent increased for the first time in more than a decade. A new cheaper cleaning contract was also put in place.

It said it intended to implement a “whole graphic treatment” of the market, and a new website will be launched soon, through which stalls can be booked.