Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Byrne, Palmer and Shelton.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on Wednesday 25 February 2009 are attached and the Task Group is asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

                        That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 25 February 2009 be confirmed as a correct record.

Matters Arising:

Councillor Naylor agreed to provide further information on the ‘Change4Life’ campaign.  Nick Rhodes explained that the Council was registered as a ‘Change4Life’ partner.

In response to a query from Dawn Alfonso, Nick agreed to organise distributing leaflets to council employees to promote the use of the market.

Nick Rhodes, Head of Markets and Enterprise explained that the outdoor market consisted of 261 fixed wooden stalls, which comprised approximately 70 blocks.  Further to this, Nick stated that there were fifteen fixed units within the outdoor market. The overall occupancy rate was currently 82%, with fewer vacant stalls on Fridays and Saturdays. 

In terms of the composition of the outside market stalls, it was reported that approximately 40% were food stalls with the remaining 60% of stalls selling non-food goods. 

In terms of the indoor market, Nick explained that there were five levels of trading space.  He reported that there were 13 non-food units on the ground floor, all of which were currently let.  The first floor had 13 non food units and 4 food units out of a total of 21 available units, with 22 out of 26 let on Floor 2, 12 out of 12 let on Floor 3 and 18 out of 19 let on Floor 4.  The market cafeteria was situated on Floor 5.  It was also stated that a number of non-fixed stalls often traded within the market square.

In was reported that the following food goods could be consumed from the market: 

The following non-food goods and services that could be consumed from the market were listed:

Please note that it was made clear that this list was not exhaustive of all goods and services that could be consumed at the market.

Some Members were of the view that the general second-hand stall lowered the overall feel of the market due to the way the goods were displayed on the table.  Nick explained that there was a demand for quality second hand goods, and that this stall was often the busiest one within the market.  Whilst discussing the layout of the market, it was also felt that some level of re-organisation was needed, which could encourage people to walk towards the indoor market.  Nick acknowledged the suggestion, but felt that it would difficult to persuade more established traders to move towards the indoor market.  It was suggested that stall-holders, particularly those who provided second-hand goods, could be offered assistance with displaying their goods on their stalls.

The Task Group discussed some of the problems around the distribution of stolen goods, and the possibility of customer fear from shopping at the market.  It was acknowledged that a greater level of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Task Group agreed to undertake a site visit to a market similar to Leicester to particularly look to alternative non-food items that could be offered at the market.  It was agreed that Birmingham Market would be an appropriate destination for this site visit, and that this would be undertaken by Councillors Naylor and Newcombe.  Furthermore, Councillor Russell agreed to similarly visit Bury Market.   

It was agreed that the site visit to Leicester Market would take place on Friday 8 May at 11am to view the storage units within the indoor market, before looking at some of the problems with waste collection at the outdoor market. 

It was also agreed that Councillors Naylor and Newcombe would undertake a questionnaire survey with both users and non-users of the market.  In addition, both councillors agreed to set up a focus group with users to discuss what could be done to improve the facilities and experience of shopping at the market. 

A date for the next meeting would be determined following the completion of the research exercises by Councillors Naylor and Newcombe.

The meeting closed at 5:45pm.