Traders at Sheffield’s Moor Market fear they will have to pass on price rises to customers after the council increased rents for stalls.
Last month the Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee agreed to raise the service charge by CPI (a measure of inflation) plus eight percent.
The charge will rise to £3,249 for each business in 2024/25, increasing from its previous amount of £2,826. This upward trend will continue, with the charge projected to reach £3,729.85 the following financial year.
Hossein Sofiany, 59, who owns Green Leaves, a Greek food stall, said: “Last few years, especially after Brexit and the pandemic, it’s very difficult for small businesses to pay their rent and the service charge, but we have no choice, we have to pay.
“Many shops have shut down because they couldn’t manage the rent and service charge. I hope it gets better.”
The initial committee report acknowledged that in many instances, increases in costs are likely to be transferred to customers, as traders will have to increase their prices to make up for the loss in profit due to the increased service charge.
Mr Sofiany considered the rise of prices as unfair for the customers, especially the ‘old people’, who have a certain limit for shopping.
The decision to raise service charges by the Council was taken because of its inability to recover its costs adequately at the Moor Market. In the 2020/21 period, the Council was able to recover just 65% of its costs, amounting to less than £500,000.
Thomas Bullivant, 47, owner of Smokey Sam’s, said: “It [increased service charge] affects me obviously because it’s eating into my profits.
“The [Moor] Market to me and for my job have been really good, they worked with us through Covid, they helped us with rents and all that kind of stuff.”
The Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee reasoned that this rise in service charge will assist the Council in moving closer to full cost recovery, while also giving them time to ‘assess the impact on traders’.
The service charge will likely be enforced on the week starting 6 May, as the council has allowed a period of 12 weeks for the implementation of the new service charge.
