Traders 'priced out' of £12,000 Christmas market pitches

Traders claim they have been priced out of this year's Christmas market.

They have told Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson that they cannot afford to take space at the event now that a new operator has taken over running it.

Anthony Grice said he had been quoted £12,000 to take a stall at the St George's Plateau attraction.

Robinson said he had met business owners to "understand the challenges and the issues that they might have had this year" so the authority could look at different options in future.

He said the council had been aware of the price structure being offered to traders by the new operator, Underbelly, when it won the contract to run the event.

And he added that the council would get a share of some of the income.

But Grice said it felt like local traders' concerns were being "swept under the carpet" during a meeting to discuss the plans.

He said: "I asked how many local traders had signed up, and the council didn't know".

He added: "These markets should be a chance to showcase the best of what you've got, but not having the 'Scouse soul' there is so annoying.