SHOPPING VENUE VISITOR NUMBERS 'CONSISTENT', INSISTS LEADER OF CITY COUNCIL

TRADERS at Derby's reopened Market Hall have urged the public to give them a chance after concerns were raised about visitor numbers.

- By SOPHIE BUSCIMESE

While its opening weekend in late May brought in 34,500 visitors over three days, lately residents have claimed that visitor numbers have been dropping.

After a seven-year refurbishment project, the Market Hall currently hosts 24 traders, with more to be announced soon. In July, The Spirit Run Distillery and Bar arrived, offering an extensive cocktail menu.

Despite this, some visitors believe the Market Hall is not being utilised to its full potential. Donald Jackson, 70, who was born in Smalley and remembers the Market Hall from his childhood, said: “Straight away I was shocked by the absence of any central stalls, virtually a vast empty space.

“It was a Friday morning, 11am, and it was almost deserted, six people at most.”

“I salute the major restructuring of the main shell of the building, indoors and outdoors, it is admirable, but I cannot help but feel that the genuine ‘market experience’ has vanished.

“Hopefully it is early days and it may evolve into being a lively market again. It certainly deserves to be resurrected to its prior glory, attracting hundreds of people, daily, wanting to return time and time again”

Derby City Council's leader, Nadine Peatfield, said that on Friday, August 1, the Market Hall had welcomed over 1,000 visitors between 11am and 2pm.