Petition over plan for listed food hall
APETITION demanding transparency from Stockport council over the deal to develop the Market Place Produce Hall has attracted nearly 2,000 signatures in two days.
Following a tendering process, restaurateur Steve Pilling, former owner of Damson, was selected as the preferred tenant to create a gourmet food and drink offering in the Grade II listed building.
It will be along similar lines to one at Altrincham Market and, according to discussions at a full council meeting, is believed to need around £500,000 investment from the council.
But Joe Barratt, whose team submitted a rival bid to make a street food and entertainment venue, says their’s would have required just £50,000 investment and returned a profit within two years.
He has queried the selection process and has been frustrated that questions about the winning bid’s content have remained unanswered.
Joe, 25, from Woodley, said: “It is important to know how much money is to be invested and could be lost and it is concerning that this information is not public knowledge.
“Anyone who supports transparency and accountability of large public funds being invested into a private business in a public building, we urge you to support this campaign.
“We need to end any ambiguity and confusion over this matter. The petition has stimulated a lot of debate, which is good.”
Joe, along with four street food traders and a micro brewery, submitted their bid in September and a decision was made in November.
They had wanted to provide a venue to support up-and-coming music and art talent, hoping to continue the work of Seven Miles Out.
This venue, also on Stockport Market Place, will shut at the end of April.
Joe’s petition, launched with the hashtag #RevealTheDeal, began on Friday and by Sunday had attracted more than 1,800 signatures.
He has previously said that his invite to the council selection panel to meet and find out more about the bid was refused while another bidder’s was accepted.
A council spokesman said: “We are fully satisfied and can reiterate once again that the process to award the leases on both the Produce Hall and Blackshaws was fair, equal and transparent.
“We undertook a competitive selection process, in line with established commercial property practice, following which Steve Pilling was selected as the preferred bidder.
“Details of the individual submissions are commercially sensitive, and it would be inappropriate and breach confidentiality to release information provided to us by third parties as part of this process.
“We can confirm they are in line with other arrangements we have in place with many other tenants across Stockport.
“Throughout the process we have stated that we want to work with all of the other applicants to try to find them a place for their proposed offer.”