YEP Letters February 21

Rent concession at Leeds Markets - your views

All tenants at Leeds Markets are to be given a temporary rent concession for six months. Leeds City Council says they have taken the proactive step to give a 20 per cent rent concession for the next six months to help support tenants financially to ensure the viability of their business through this uncertain period. Chiefs say the market is a key shopping destination within the city centre and the authority is committed to its long-term future. During 2019 investments will be made into continuing to modernise and restore one of the city’s most iconic buildings to ensure it remains the home of a wide range of independent businesses and services. We asked YEP readers for their views and here’s what some of them said on social media..

Paul Dowgill

Too little too late. I love the market but they’ve neglected it and pushed the rent up massively over the years. Leeds City Council should be ashamed of how they’ve treated the owners.

Natalie Mcgrath

Keep going til you can’t anymore I say. Such a shame to see it in decline like this.

Ali Louise

Rents need to be reduced permanently to save what’s left of the market.

Lee Lifeson-Peart

It’s a shadow of its former self. People used to jump on coaches from all over the north to visit this extraordinary, unique building and its traders. But don’t just blame the council for upping the rents every year. I do hope those who are bemoaning its imminent demise are not the same people who are ordering stuff from Amazon every five minutes.

Brian Hobson

Bit late to try to revive the market, all Leeds City Council is interested in is getting rid and building another shopping centre.

Pauline Mary Brown.nee Bullock.

In the 80s and 90s you had a bustling market and could get everything there. Leeds Council has a lot to answer for. The big shopping centres are all the same, very pricey. These will soon be white elephants.

Natalie Mcgrath

Keep going til you can’t anymore I say. Such a shame to see it in decline like this.

Shaun Dolan

Just to let you know how much 20 per cent reduction in rent is per day. It works out at about £6 per day for my stall. How far does £6 go? Not very far, maybe a cup of tea and a sandwich?

Michael Duffy

I have such good memories of Leeds Market growing up and it’s a shame to see it like it is today.

I keep thinking surely there’s ways to bring it back to life, like maybe instead of the high rent since it’s an historic building etc there could be some kind of income based contribution policy and bring back the local produce and proper market stalls with some kind of contracted shared labour policy for shared communal areas to cut down on the extra cleaning costs a little?

I think it stopped being a market a long time ago but if people got as enthusiastic about it as they did the German market at Christmas it would help.

Unfortunately Leeds City Council have helped to kill the market when it was already sinking and this isn’t going to fix anything, just prolong it. Hopefully there’s more going on with the market than I know, I’d like my kids to have fond memories of it too.

Anna Durkan

The market is failing because people don’t shop there anymore. There are no stalls left because people don’t shop there anymore. Simple supply and demand.

People are lazy and to some extent snobbery has impacted it. They want to drive to supermarket, park next to front door, use shopping trolley rather than carry bags and get everything wrapped in plastic because they think it’s cleaner or safer or they don’t know how to cook mince without instructions on the packet.

Leeds City Council can only do so much. The market will thrive if people use it so take some responsibility and change your shopping habits if you all feel so passionate about it.

Leanne Friend

They won’t want the market if big posh hotels are getting built at the side of it facing John Lewis. Disgusting for all you hard workers who have been in the market for years.

Emma Louise Clark

I used to shop in the market all time. Since it’s gone down hill I wouldn’t waste my money going there, there are hardly any shops to buy from.

Joanne Senior

Used to go nearly every week with my mum when I was a kid. It’s nothing like it was, such a shame.

Mags Mcmichael

The market is good for people who don’t have a lot of money, they can always get what they need from there.

Ron Bird

This should have been done a long time ago to give them a fighting chance.

Mark Egan

Too little,too late for many

Cath Fanning

And so they should. Long overdue but hope it isn’t too little too late.

Kat Middleton

The market has been ruined by Leeds City Council, it is a shadow of its former self. I rarely go any more.

Jeannette Bingham

People do a lot of shopping online, that’s a big contributor to the demise of the shops and markets.

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