Statement about the Council’s offer of support to Levenshulme Market

“We believe that Levenshulme Market makes a significant contribution to the local community and is clearly a very popular attraction for local people.

“We understand how tough it is to make a market work at the moment. We have had to make the hard decision to close a number of Council-owned markets in recent years because of the ongoing challenges of making them viable.

“However, although the Council can’t subsidise a private business, we do want to support Levenshulme Market where we can. The profit-sharing deal means if the market doesn’t make any profit, they don’t pay for the site. As opposed to a flat licence fee, which they would be required to pay even if they make no money.

“Given the challenges to make a market viable, we would expect the costs to Levenshulme Market to operate as part of this deal to be minimal – and far below the market rate for a business to operate at a site such as this.

“This is a bespoke offer to Levenshulme Market and we feel it is a fair way to balance the commercial and social benefits of the market. It’s not a model that would be adopted at other markets in the city. And we have also offered to invest in signage for the market to help drive footfall.

“Our hope is that the market takes up the offer so they can continue to operate for the benefit of the local community.”