£13,000 pledge to give market a spruce-up
Welshpool Town Council is set to invest £13,000 in doing up its market hall, just months after traders protested against a plan to move onto a town car park.
The council will discuss a proposal at a meeting on Wednesday to spend the money on redecorating the hall and providing new facilities.
It comes just months after traders started a petition to stop the authority moving the market into huts on the Church Street car park.
A counter petition was set up by a member of public calling for the market to close, but after consultation with traders the council decided against the closure.
Town mayor, councillor Stephen Kaye, insisted the huts on the car park was just one option and the council had decided the best way forward is to invest in the market.
He said: "In the long run it will save us money by doing the improvements, it is the best thing to do and in the interest of the traders.
"We have to look at all the options to see what was the best way to move forward, we did that and now this is the best option.
"People like having the market hall, and we are sprucing it up and investing in it.
"Now traders are happier and there is a lot more positivity about it the market."
Involved in the scheme will be new LED lighting and heating, power doors, a redecoration of the hall, new ceiling tiles at the front of the market, and new lighting in the toilets and cafe.
The total cost will be £13,000, with £8,000 of the money coming from the Burgess Land Trust.
Councillor Kaye said rents had also now been revised so they were the same across all stallholders.
He said: "We've now revised the rents so everyone pays the same for the same sized stall, if you want two you pay double.
"We are always looking at ways to move forward and plan for the future, and this investment is one of those ways."
