1:05pm Thursday 11th March 2010
By Michael Pickard
Plans to rejuvenate Watford Indoor Market will be put to traders in an attempt to increase business.
The redevelopment of Charter Place and, it is hoped, a new market hall will not begin for at least two years, once Watford Borough Council appoints a development partner.
Until that time, stallholders, councillors and council officers agreed at the Watford Market Working Group meeting on Wednesday to explore two courses of action to try and increase footfall and trade in its present location.
The first plan would see the council finding “something” to fill the space vacated by stallholders who have left the market.
The council has been in discussions with Post Office Ltd about opening a branch in the market, and it is also looking at the possibility of an internet cafe.
However, plans for a children's play zone will not be realised after Jamboree, which runs a scheme in the Harlequin, said it would not pursue a similar project in the market.
The second plan would lead to a complete reconfiguration of the market layout, removing empty stalls and creating more space for existing businesses.
Representatives of the market agreed to take these ideas back to stallholders, with comments and reaction to be relayed at the next working group meeting in May.
Carol Chen, head of legal and democratic services at Watford Borough Council, said: “We haven't picked anybody [a development partner] yet. We are still in the process of waiting for them to come back with their final written submissions. What we won't get back is a proposal of what they intend to do with Charter Place.
“The next phase will be working in agreement with them and how we will develop Charter Place. We are still quite a way from knowing what they are going to be proposing. At the moment, everything is still open.
“We have given them very clear parameters in terms of our priorities [for facilities, such as a cinema]. But we have to work that out. We do have to then do the nitty gritty of a formal development agreement. That's the bit that's going to take the time.”
Meanwhile, plans to visit successful indoor markets, such as those in Ashton-under-Lyne, Luton and the Birmingham Bull Ring, were postponed until it was clear how a new indoor market hall would fit into a redeveloped Charter Place.
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