Victoria Centre Market once boasted hundreds of traders - now the five that remain are fighting to secure their future

ONE SAYS HE WILL BANKRUPT HIMSELF RATHER THAN LEAVE WITHOUT SECURING A 'FAIR DEAL'

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

ONE of the last five traders remaining at a Nottingham market says he would rather bankrupt himself than leave without a fair deal from the council evicting him.

A standoff continues between Nottingham City Council and the small group of traders it is now trying to force out of the Victoria Centre Market. The site boasted hundreds of traders across two floors when it moved to the Victoria Centre in the 1970s, with the market having a history dating back all the way to the 12th century.

Just five businesses are now left after the city council dispute has led to more and more traders gradually leaving the site.

Yet those who remain are determined to stick it out until they receive better treatment from the city council, with some demanding fairer compensation and others wanting to continue trading in and around the site. They say they are on solid legal ground in terms of staying at the market beyond its supposed closure date on March 31, and, without a shift in position from the city council, it is a dispute which could rumble on for years.

'I'm just trying to run a business, pay a mortgage and provide for my family'

Nottingham's market dates back to the reign of Henry II in the 12th century, with markets continuing in the former Great Market Place until the Exchange building was demolished to make way for the Council House in 1928. Markets then moved to the Central Market on the corner of Glasshouse Street and Parliament Street, before finally settling in the Victoria Centre when the shopping destination opened. A plaque charting this illustrious history still retains pride of place in the market, but one of the remaining traders says there is a cruel irony in the council now boarding up units and taking down signs around it.

David Bowey took over the Tick King store around a decade ago, but the business itself has been based at the market since it opened in 1972.