'Absolute rubbish': Angry traders slam council for saying that footfall at Northampton's market has increased by 18%

Traders have criticised the council’s ‘absolute rubbish’ statement saying that footfall at Northampton’s temporary market has gone up by 18 per cent.

On Thursday (March 16), West Northants Council (WNC) said on its public relations Facebook page, ‘Love Northampton Market’, that footfall had increased at Commercial Street car park by 18 per cent since traders were forced down there at the end of January.

The reason traders have been dumped at the site is to allow WNC to carry out an £8.4million redevelopment project at the historic Market Square, with those works appearing to move slowly so far but ‘set to intensify’ in the coming weeks.

Love Northampton Market Facebook page wrote: “We're so happy to tell you that footfall at our market has increased by 18 per cent compared to when we first moved to our temporary new home in Commercial Street. Thank you everyone for supporting us.”

This newspaper went down to the temporary market on a sunny Tuesday morning (March 21) to simply ask them, is what the council saying true?

Chron and Echo has also asked where this 18 per cent figure came from and how was it calculated. We are still awaiting a response.

Fruit and vegetable vendor Dave Dunkley said ‘footfall has definitely not gone up’.

He said: “I don’t agree with them. I’d like to know where they get their figures from. It’s not got any better and it’s not got any worse. It hasn’t gone up 18 per cent since we moved here, no.

"We haven’t got a footfall here. When we were on the Market Square it wasn’t busy but we had a constant flow of people walking through, so we had a chance of taking money. We have no chance here. Footfall has definitely not gone up.

"WNC really needs to come down here and spend a week down here and see what it’s like, then they will realise how bad it is.”

Veteran fruit and vegetable vendor Mick Andreoli said the statement is ‘absolute rubbish’ and ‘an absolute lie’.

He said: “How did they work that out when they don’t leave the office? Maybe they should come down here with us and try trade with us and see if it has gone up 18 per cent or down 20 per cent. I think it’s more likely gone down 20 per cent since we started.

"It’s absolute rubbish. An absolute lie. It’s gone down. The footfall has gone down. The only people holding their own is the fruit stalls and the meat bloke. The other stalls are not making a penny because we don’t have enough people coming down here.”

Nick the butcher, who has been M&G Butchers for 20 years, echoed the previous traders’ sentiments. He said: “Whoever thought that up is totally wrong. No way near.

"Footfall is not up. It’s not up 18 per cent. I have no idea where that’s come from, someone has made it up. You’ve only got to come down and have a look and you will see it’s not happening. WNC should ask us if it’s true.”

Asked how the first two months have been down at Commercial Street, Nick said it has been ‘terrible’.

He said: “It’s been terrible, absolutely awful. Weekends are a bit better but it’s absolutely nowhere near to what we were doing on the Market Square. Nowhere near.

“We’ve been shoved out the way and forgotten about. It’s heartbreaking.”

He added: “That footfall thing is definitely not true.”

Jade Greatorex, who works at Cafe Continental, said WNC ‘must have come down one busy day and believed the location is working’.

She said: “Some days are better than others but in general it’s worse than at the Market Square.

“WNC must have come down one busy day and saw that there was a few people down here and thought ‘yeah, it’s working’. A lot of traders have stopped trading on a Monday because it’s not very busy.”

Asked how the first two months have been at Commercial Street, Jade said: “It’s hard down here, worse than Market Square but we’re just trying to struggle through to the end.”

WNC has been contacted for comment.