Rochdale’s outdoor market and indoor food hall are to close next month because they are ‘no longer financially viable’, according to the local council.
The market, which obtained a charter in 1251, was taken over by Rochdale Borough Council this year, which reports it is losing between £3,000 and £4,000 a month.
Over the past year the number of traders regularly attending the market has halved, the council says. There have been four days when no traders turned up.
‘We began running the market after the Exchange Shopping Centre, where it was previously based, was sold,’ a council statement said.
‘In 2017, as part of efforts to maintain and enhance it, an external operator was selected but the relationship ended after failing to live up to expectations.
‘We took control of the market again, including the renovated indoor section, in October 2018 but the quality and number of traders has not improved.
‘On 47 of the 151 market days held since 1 October 2018 there have been fewer than 5 traders.’
