Council leader defends Market Hall after criticism

The leader of Derby City Council has defended the city's £35m Market Hall after an internal review found it opened without "clear commercial objectives" or a comprehensive marketing plan.

The report criticised aspects of the management, strategy and lack of footfall when the Victorian venue reopened in May 2025 following a major refurbishment.

But Nadine Peatfield said the findings "needed to be viewed in the context" of the challenges facing the project and insisted significant improvements had already been made to date.

"We were up against the wire for opening day, so we learnt our lessons very quickly, we've implemented the changes and we're looking forward to the future," she said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Peatfield rejected suggestions the reopening had been "a mess".

She said the council had been working to a fixed opening date and a limited budget for launch events, while also trying to create a successful market from scratch after the hall had been closed for several years.

"A lot of market halls across the country reopen with a solid bank of traders that were there previously and we didn't have that. We were starting from absolute scratch," she said.

Asked whether anyone should be held accountable for problems identified in the report, Peatfield said responsibility could not be attributed to a single individual.

"There is no one single person accountable for this... at the end of the day, there's a lot that has gone right."

The review found the Market Hall reopened without "clear commercial objectives" and "without a single insight-led commercial and marketing plan".

The council leader defended the decision to retain direct control of the Market Hall rather than outsource its operation following reopening.

Peatfield said keeping the venue in-house allowed the council to "balance commercial interests with community use", pointing to events held at the site and space provided for organisations such as Derby Food for Thought.

Cabinet members are due to meet on Wednesday to explore and possibly commence the procurement of a commercial partner to manage the operation of the Market Hall.

Peatfield also said she acknowledged some shortcomings identified in the review, including criticism that management capacity had been focused on reactive problem-solving rather than proactive development.

She said that was partly due to ongoing challenges associated with reopening a Grade II-listed building.

The review comes after concerns were raised about footfall, trading performance and the experiences of some businesses operating in the venue since its reopening.

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