A TRADER in Derby's Market Hall says she agrees with an idea to revamp Derby's city centre markets that would see the creation of a three-day-a-week outdoor market in the Market Place.
Lorna Margett, owner of Flowers by Joy, said she backed the view from councillor Mick Barker, who is president of the National Association of British Markets and wants to see the Eagle Market close, the Market Hall retained and the outdoor market created.
Mr Barker's vision is unpopular among Eagle Market stallholders, who believe better management from Derby City Council and fairer rent levels could see it boom again from a position of having many vacant units.
Shoppers in the city centre yesterday had mixed views on the idea, with some saying two indoor markets were unsustainable but that the one that should be retained was the Eagle Market. That, they said, was because the Eagle Market was convenient for the bus station and indoor links to car parks.
But Lorna said she believed it would be possible to bring current Eagle Market stallholders into the Market Hall.
She also owns a fruit and veg stall and said she would be happy for one of the traders selling similar produce in the Eagle Market to take over that business – if it meant a better future for the markets.
Lorna said she would keep Flowers by Joy indoors but also open up a stall on the three-day-a-week market.
She said: "I'd be the first one to get a stall there. People, whether they are 19 or 70, want to hear market traders shouting their wares and you aren't allowed to do that in the Market Hall whereas you could outside."
Lorna said the Market Hall needed to be advertised as an old Victorian market as it was "a beautiful building".
Among the shoppers in the city centre yesterday was Beryl Dawson, of Beresford Avenue, Ashbourne, who said she believed the Eagle Market should stay out because it was easy to access.
She said: "It's got the best link to the bus station and car parking."
Judy Woolley, of Greenway Close, Borrowash, said she believed the Eagle Market should be closed and replaced with a department store.
She said a new outdoor market would draw people to the Cathedral Quarter and Market Hall.
