To close the market to the public on safety grounds but to facilitate delivery and access by some traders.

To close the Covered Market to the public but to facilitate delivery and access by some traders.

1.    Government guidance still does not appear to require the City Council to close the Covered Market. As such, one option is to keep it open. This has been discounted on public health grounds - Space is key for traders to be able to sort, pack and despatch whilst social distancing, therefore if the market were closed to the public, this is easier to achieve.  Interrelated to this point is the significant drop in footfall, which has meant the majority of units are now closed. The number of closures makes fire safety a real risk to the public.

2.    Shutting the Covered Market completely is also an option. This has been discounted due to the high demand for produce and need to plug supermarket gaps and because traders feel that the public health and health and safety issues can be mitigated by closure to the public.

Tom Bridgman, Executive Director for Development.