City council has paid out £90k for health and safety staff who 'sit there all day doing nothing'

NOTTINGHAM City Council has spent just over £90,000 in a year on staff who “sit there all day doing nothing” at a market it wants to close.

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

One of the traders remaining at the Victoria Centre Market has accused the council of a “waste of money”, but the Labour-run authority says the staff are needed to meet its health and safety obligations.

A standoff continues between the council and the small group of traders it is now trying to force out of the once-thriving Victoria Centre Market.

Just five businesses are now left and those remaining are determined to stick it out until they receive fairer treatment from the council, with some demanding more compensation and others wanting to continue trading in and around the site.

The remaining businesses say they are on “solid” legal ground in staying at the market beyond its supposed closure date of March 31.

As the dispute continues, with the council recently boarding up vacant areas, the authority has now confirmed how much it has spent on securing the near-empty site.