Watford Mayor Dorothy Thornhill has vowed to “rule nothing out” in the council's quest to redevelop Charter Place.

Although she said razing the 1970s complex to the ground would be “highly unlikely”, she said Watford Borough Council would wait until a development partner is appointed before choosing between a “Rolls Royce scenario” and a “Lada scenario”.

Speaking at a meeting of the Watford Market Working Group last night (Tuesday), Mayor Thornhill said: “We want to get Charter Place right for the next 20 to 30 years. So what we have said politically is that we don't want to do a refurbishment and people come into Charter Place and say 'What was that about?'.

“But until we have got a development partner we have no idea what amount of money we're talking about or what kind of deal there is to be struck.

“We're ruling nothing out and we're going to see but it's highly unlikely we would knock it down.”

Previously, in October this year, Councillor Iain Sharpe said Charter Place would not be demolished, following the appointment of Benoy as architects for the project.

He said: “When we talk about the redevelopment of Charter Place, we don't mean that we are going to knock it down and start again.”

The mayor's comments came as councillors and traders came together for the second Market Working Group meeting held since plans to move Watford Indoor Market outside next spring were shelved earlier this year.

Discussing how best to bring more traders into the market, it was suggested the council target businesses not already represented to see if they would like to come to Watford, such as music or clothing stalls.

The sizes and rental prices of stalls were also debated.

Mick Chapman, chairman of the Watford Market Traders Association, said: “Stalls are too small. It's not possible to make a living on that size stall. They need to be double the size, minimum. We know that stall size is a key inhibitor.”

Grant Adams said: “Bigger stalls would attract more people. They should be 12'x4', not 6'x4'. If you're running a retail business, I don't see how you can survive on 6'x4'.”

He added: “There has to be some sort of discount if you have a certain amount of stallage.“

Mayor Thornhill said: “We're looking at getting more stalls in there with the same level of income. To get a more vibrant market, it's better to get more stalls than fewer successful ones paying more [rent].”