The Council’s previous decision to cease the Sunday Market earlier this year was a reluctant one, but was necessary to address the financial losses arising from the Sunday operation.

28th October 202428th October 2024 Francesca Lilleystone Politics, Romford Market, Sunday Market min read

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Cabinet Lead for Development & Regeneration Councillor Graham Williamson today writes in the Havering Daily in response to a recent article by Councillor David Taylor.

I am writing in response to Councillor David Taylor’s recent comments about Romford Sunday Market trading (21/10), which warrant closer examination.

As always, proposals such as this need to be considered from a range of financial/operational perspectives and decisions taken in the best interests of the Market as a whole, and the proposal to allow an individual trader, or traders, to set up independently in the Market Place on a Sunday is not recommended for a number of reasons:

• Without Market staff present, Market Place is unregulated, allowing any number/manner of traders to potentially fly-pitch.

• Lack of traffic management – Market Place has been reinstated as a public car park on Sundays, as reflected in the Traffic Management Order, presenting potential conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.

• Waste – notwithstanding assurances about the removal of the rubbish, it is considered that support would be required from our waste and street cleaning contractor, which would incur a cost.

• Electricity supplies – regular Market days this is monitored and controlled by the Markets team. Without Market staff controlling the supply on the day there is scope for inappropriate use resulting infurther cost to the Council.

• Crowd management provided by the Markets staff would also not be available to help minimise any disruption. We received various noise complaints resulting in the Public Protection team setting up noise monitoring from the flats above Romford Shopping Hall, again, which would go unmonitored.

• The operational needs are such that any Sunday proposal requires resources from the Markets team and our waste street cleaning contractor – once the cost of these is factored in, they would quickly exceed any perceived shared income.

As a broader issue, whilst some traders are disappointed about the loss of the Sunday Market, there was equally strong support from other traders to cease the Sunday operation as they felt it diluted their trading on the three regular market days. Whilst the proposal here is for a limited period of less than two months, we nonetheless have to consider the interests of all market traders and the viability of the wider market.

Our compromise, as in previous years, is to allow the opportunity for all traders to operate continuously in the fortnight running up to Christmas.

Turning more specifically to an external supplier running a Sunday operation at no cost to the Council, with a potential profit share, this has already been included when we considered the options to improve the performance of the market last year. The challenges laid out above still remain.

In conversation with councillors at that time, we concluded that, if progressed, this would have to be a comprehensive approach, spanning market operations across all trading days. We would not advocate a piecemeal approach for Sundays only, as there remains a risk that the Sunday operation competes with, rather than complements, the traditional market days.

The comprehensive outsourcing of Romford Market has not been discounted, but requires wider considerations in the context of future investment, control, risk and the open procurement/evaluation of an appropriate operator.

Cllr Taylor has queried why the Council is allowing the Diwali celebration, but appears reluctant to permit temporary reinstatement of Sunday trading in Market Place. The Diwali event is being funded and managed by Romford BID rather than Havering Council. I am aware that the costs borne by Romford BID for this event, over a single weekend, are significantly higher than the income being offered to the Council for the two-month trading period leading up to Christmas. The Council’s previous decision to cease the Sunday Market earlier this year was a reluctant one, but was necessary to address the financial losses arising from the Sunday operation.

The opportunity to derive additional income is always welcomed and the Market team strive to improve both the trading offer and financial sustainability of the Market within a challenging retail environment, but any proposal inevitably requires careful consideration in the wider context, as illustrated above.

Finally, had Councillor Taylor waited for a response to his queries from Council officers, which was sent on Monday 21 October at 2.30pm, rather than going ahead and publishing his article that same day, he would have been fully informed. Some might see through this behaviour and call this approach performative and a waste of officer time, and my time, for having,once again, to set the record straight. I could not possibly comment.