Council has twisted truth over market, say traders
BRIDGEND council has described Maesteg Town Hall as “mainly vacant” in a bid for European regeneration cash that would force the closure of the historic indoor market in its basement.
Stall holders fighting to retain the market made the discovery when they were passed information about the authority’s bid to the Welsh Government Building for the Future fund.
And despite there being 12 independent businesses supporting 20 jobs in the indoor market, Bridgend council has described its bid as “accurate”.
Market traders have stressed they are not opposed to regeneration, but wish to be part of future plans.
A council spokesman said: “As stall occupancy rates vary, the bid is an accurate reflection of what the situation was like at the time the plans for developing a cultural hub were submitted to Welsh Government.
“The indoor market still has a number of empty stalls, some are paying nominal rents and the hall itself is no longer capable of supporting artistic and cultural events to their full potential.
“The bid takes all of this into account to try and find a way of keeping the hall open while making the building financially sustainable for the future.”
Marcelle Humphreys, chairwoman of the Market Traders’ Association and owner of the Sew and Sew stall, said: “We were shocked to say the least to find out that it was being classed as mainly vacant.
“We are disgusted with the way they have twisted the truth for their own benefit.”
Bridgend council has said that despite regular maintenance the 135year-old town hall, which was originally funded by the valley’s miners, is letting in water, has wet and dry rot and needs £1m of urgent repairs.
The authority has warned the building will close if nothing is done.
It has decided to pursue a £4m-plus regeneration plan to create what has been dubbed a cultural hub.
This would see the closure of the indoor market in favour of a new library to replace the town’s current library which is split over two sites, bars, cafes and a performance space. A glass atrium would also be built on the side of the building.
Bridgend council said that in order to qualify for European funding the project must be “transformational”.
They also want the building to become “financially sustainable” so it “does not require a substantial subsidy from public funds in future”.
“That’s why we are looking at this as an opportunity to strengthen the outdoor market and turn the town hall into something new that would not only keep the building open for future generations, but also put it firmly at the heart of the community by developing additional facilities for local people to use,” said a council spokesman.
But with just three or four empty units in the outdoor market area around the market square, Marcelle said it is clear that some of the indoor market’s 12 businesses will disappear altogether.
She said even though help with relocation costs has been offered by the council, some businesses will not be able to survive in more expensive units.
She also hit out at the council’s insistence that the new “hub” includes a library, when it has now admitted that “a stand alone library would not qualify” for EU funding.
The council spokesman said: “Funding for the cultural hub would come from a variety of sources and the library element would be funded as part of the overall package.
“We are not aware of any other external funding sources that would be sufficient for enabling a £4m-plus development to take place, and scaling down or diluting the current proposal would only serve to lessen its chance of success.
“The timelines for the project keep changing following the results of the EU referendum, but we have informed traders of the proposals as early as possible in order to give them plenty of time to plan ahead, meet with us and discuss how we can best support them once the project begins in earnest. These discussions are taking place on a regular basis.”
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “The Building for the Future scheme is designed to support a limited number of infrastructure projects which identify key regional or urban growth opportunities and encourage business investment and employment growth.
“The Welsh Government is currently assessing proposals before submitting them to the Welsh European Funding Office for consideration for EU funding support. The Welsh Government expects to review all proposals by autumn 2017.
“This is a proposed project by Bridgend council, which has not yet produced a project plan to be assessed by the Welsh Government. As a result we cannot comment further.”