A GROUP of traders in Newport Market have expressed serious concerned about plans to drastically revamp the site.

Last year a new £12 million revamp of the Grade II-listed building was unveiled, including flats, office space and a hotel on the upper floors.

Loft Co, the company behind the project, has been responsible for high-profile regeneration projects such as Cardiff’s Tramshed and Barry’s Pumphouse.

(VIDEO: Wendy Altree talks about the future of Newport Market. Credit: Josh Thomas)

But, although the scheme has been officially backed by the market traders association, a group of 19 businesses trading from the market have joined together to protest against a number of elements of the scheme.

In an email to council members, Mark Rogers of Troutmark Books, speaking on behalf of the group, said he and his colleagues believe the plans "will not deliver the modern market that the city requires, kills its potential to act as a catalyst for regenerating the quadrant it resides in and ultimately may well end in the extinction of the building as a market".

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"We are also concerned that the proposal contains plans to remove the majority of the Victorian stalls in Market Hall, the bulk of which contain the original Victorian facades, hidden under inappropriate fascias installed during the 1950s-1980s, and that the greatest feature of our building, the market’s magnificent barrel-vaulted roof, is going to be fatally compromised by the developers plans to suspend office space within the voids of the atrium."

The traders group has also made it clear they do not agree with the official backing given to the scheme by the market traders association.

But association chairwoman Annette Farmer said she was "all for" the plan.

"Sometimes you've got to break a few eggs to make an omelette," she said.

"Not everyone will be happy but that's the way it goes."

South Wales Argus:

Annette Farmer

Mr Rogers also said, while the businesses he was speaking on behalf of "are aware that the market cannot survive in its current condition and are open to bringing in private sector involvement", they were concerned Loft Co, which is run by developer Simon Baston, had no record in the market industry.

“Cardiff Tramshed, Barry Pumphouse and the Jennings Building in Porthcawl have all been developments in derelict or empty buildings," he said. "Working in a ‘live’ building is an entirely different and challenging proposition.

“We do not consider this to be acceptable and puts all our businesses at risk.”

He added: “We would urge that expertise is brought in from the worlds of markets and development to look at the current proposal from an objective viewpoint and to explore the possibility that there may be better and more effective ways of securing the future of the market and placing it at the centre of a regeneration process that Newport so clearly needs.

“We believe that the direction of travel is right, but that the development proposal is a case of the wrong scheme and the wrong developer."

South Wales Argus:

The top floor of Newport Market. Picture: Andrew Perkins

But a council spokeswoman said "a developer who has prior experience in the redevelopment and re-use of heritage properties" approached the council over the scheme, not the other way around.

She added the market "continues to experience significant challenges and does not trade to its full potential.

"Issues affecting high streets across the country, including the fall in demand for traditional retail opportunities, are well documented," she said. "It is also widely acknowledged that successful city centres offer a mix of office, housing and leisure provision, not just retail.

She added: "Council officers have engaged in regular dialogue with the Market Traders Association and representatives elected by the traders. The developer has also met with traders.

"All issues regarding specific features of the redevelopment and related building work will be subject to full planning and listed building approval as per any project of this nature."

The scheme would see Mr Baston's company given a 250-year development lease in exchange for 15 per cent of rental income.

Loft Co was contacted for comment.