Traders fear civic quarter plans will shrink Cambridge market
Traders have shared fears that Cambridge market will shrink under the latest plans to upgrade the market square set out by Cambridge City Council.
The Labour leadership has stressed the market will not be reduced in size under its plans, and has committed to taking on board feedback from traders.
Changes are proposed as part of the civic quarter project, which also includes plans to improve the Guildhall and the Corn Exchange.
In the market square, the council is proposing to install a lightweight canopy over half of the market, under which 27 permanent stalls would be provided.
The rest of the market would feature 64 demountable stalls for “additional trading” on the weekends and during busier months.
When not in use by the market, the council hopes to use the space for events.
It is estimated the project could cost around £12.6million. The authority said it does not have the funding for all of the works at this stage but intends to invest £3m to resurface the market.
But some traders voiced concerns to the strategy and resources scrutiny committee last Friday (22 November).
Glenys Self said traders felt like the proposals had “landed out of space” and argued the project should have “started from the ground upwards”.
Having only 27 permanent stalls was a “huge issue”, she argued, saying traders believed it would cause a “shrinkage of the market”.
Ms Self said: “This 27 stalls plan, it is not going to help the future of the market. We need it changing. We need to save the market through that.”
Trader Edward Cearns agreed the changes would make the market “smaller in scale” and asked for assurances that the authority would work with traders to “deliver something that works for everyone”.
Julia Cox said many traders would not be able to work off demountable stalls.
She said there were 33 traders trading five or more days a week using 54 permanent pitches. Having 27 permanent stalls will create a “massive shortfall in terms of space”, she argued..
Ms Cox said: “Everybody I have spoken to on the market, my fellow traders, everyone feels that same - no one wants to work from demountable stalls.”
Cllr Simon Smith (Labour), executive councillor for finance and resources, said “nothing is set in stone” and stressed the market would not be reduced in size.
He said he had heard the views on the amount of permanent stalls proposed and said in the next stage this would be a “key” point to examine to find a resolution. The council was “listening and learning”, he added.
The civic quarter project also includes improvements to the Guildhall and the Corn Exchange.
The Guildhall would be refurbished to make it more sustainable and the council is seeking ways to open it up to the public, potentially including a redesign of the entrance to make it more accessible.
Office space and a “cultural attraction” - something it is discussing with the Museum of Cambridge - are also proposed.
The council wants to replace the leaky roof at the Corn Exchange and upgrade the fabric of the building to improve its energy efficiency.
The capacity could rise, and additional bars offering food and drink could be created.
Improvements outside of the Corn Exchange to Parsons Court have also been proposed to bring the area “back to life”, as it was described as a “quite ugly road, full of bins”.
Officers said this would help improve the attractiveness of the Corn Exchange as a venue.
Projected costs for the initial phases of the civic quarter currently total around £55m, including £3.6m design costs for the whole project; £41m for the Guildhall; £3m for the market resurfacing, £4.5m for the Corn Exchange roof replacement and £2.9m for ‘council on-costs’. Total costs could rise to £87m.
Cllr Tim Bick (Lib Dem, Market), the leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, said he supported the potential outcomes, including the aim to “enable substantial ongoing savings”, and a reduction in underused facilities.
He said the market square had “unfortunately been dwindling” and “badly needs investment”.
Cllr Bick asked for the financial plans for each part of the project to be separated out, so the council could ensure each part offered good value for money.
He also highlighted that tackling anti-social behaviour in the square after market hours was an issue raised by many in a public consultation on the plans.
Cllr Bick suggested that should be one of the objectives.
Cllr Smith agreed with this and the committee supported it.
Cllr Karen Young (Lib Dem, Queen Edith’s) said there was “huge concern” about where the money for the future phases would come from.
Ben Binns, assistant director for development at the council, said it was “much easier” to get grants and other external funding for a project once a planning application had been submitted, because he said a scheme was then “effectively ready to go”.
Cllr Naomi Bennett (Green Party) had concerns about the disruption for stallholders and said the council had to be careful not to harm the market by trying to save it.
She noted that markets were in decline and in some other cases improvement work on a market “is the final blow that finishes it off”.
Cllr Bennett said: “While I think that if we do nothing on the market we will lose it, I also think there is a threat to the market from what we are proposing and I would like to see a lot more detail on business continuity in place for the market.”
Cllr Smith said more details would be worked on in the next stage, including a support package for traders.The council wants to pass on the market to the next generation “in a better condition than we found it in”, he concluded.
The civic quarter plans are due to be presented to councillors at the full council meeting on Thursday (28 November), where members will vote on moving the project to the next stage.
Work could begin in autumn 2026.
