Dear Editor,
‘Putting Crewe First’ made a Freedom of Information request about the financing of Crewe Market Hall.
Cheshire East Council is refusing to state what subsidy the Market Hall receives, if any, from the Council taxpayer.
What we do know, however, is that Council taxpayers have made very substantial contributions to the operating shortfall of Crewe Market (see below) and the refurbishment of the Crewe Market Hall cost over £3.7m.
We are challenging their refusal to disclose.project
We feel the residents of Crewe have a right to know what their Council taxes are being spent on, so they can judge if they are getting value for money.
Crewe Market Hall is now a Live Music venue, with fast food and booze. There is very little actual retail in the Market Hall.
Crewe Market, both inside and outside, has been effectively destroyed by Cheshire East. Which is very sad.
It used to be a thriving market that attracted shoppers from long distances away, which was a major boon to the town centre as a whole.
I know because for many years I had a butcher’s stall in the inside market.
A live music venue for Crewe is welcome but there was no need to destroy the market to bring it about.
There are plenty of vacant buildings and empty space in the town centre, where over £3m could have been invested to create a Live Music venue.
Below is a summary of the key answers:
What did it cost to refurbish, including the cost of removing existing tenants?
The overall Crewe Market project, including all costs, professional fees, etc, was £3,711,725.
Of this, £2,290,457 was funded by a Government Grant (Local Growth Fund) awarded by Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
The contract for managing the Market Hall is part of a wider contract with Market Asset Management Ltd, which includes Crewe Market Hall, the covered market (south) and outdoor market.
In the first year of the Council’s contract with Market Asset Management (Nov 2020-Nov 2021) the Market Hall (and Crewe’s other markets) made a loss, and the council contributed £207,892.50 towards the operational shortfall in this period.
In the first year of the Market Hall’s operation (May 2021 – May 2022) the Market Hall (and Crewe’s other markets) made a loss, and the Council contributed £126,546.50 towards the operational shortfall in this period.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr Brian Silvester
Leader
Putting Crewe First
@Jay
You should have told her to wind her neck in until the ‘market’ stands on its own two feet and would she like to pay a stipend on her rent to help that situation?
Are Crewe TOWN council contributing anything? Because Nantwich market is run by Nantwich town council, I would expect the same to pertain to Crewe market.
I think Crewe Market is GORGEOUS but a woman that worked at the pizza stall publicly shamed me for eating my own pear at a table there (I did order food from her stall aswell so I was supporting the stalls).
I felt SO EMBARRASSED that I went to eat my little pear outside in the -7°c weather on a bench.
She was walking around as she yelled at me saying
“Don’t eat your own food here, we work very hard! Put it away!”
Then as she returned to clean a table she yelled again
“We work very hard here!” While giving me a mean look.
She was most likely correct but I wished she would’ve just asked me quietly to put my pear away instead making other customers look at me, causing a scene.
I actually didn’t know I couldn’t eat my own pear so I understand now that I was in the wrong, I apologise.
Again, Crewe Market Hall is a Gorgeous place with Great Opportunities for events and jobs.
Overall I have a HUGE amount of respect for the rest of the stall workers, they’re all profesional and friendly unlike that one woman…
I wouldn’t mind knowing if the tax payers pay any to the Market Hall, it is our money after all. We do have the right to know.
indeed too many negative views, if you cannot suggest good ideas then, why say anything other than to confirm the character you are
Saying the market has been destroyed is an absolute joke.
It is that bad of an opinion it shouldn’t even be given publicity.