BOLTON Market Hall traders will meet on Monday night to voice opposition to plans for a multi-million pound development.
The ambitious plan to revamp the Grade Two listed Victorian building and convert it into an ultra-modern mall full of big name shops has been submitted to Bolton Council.
Bosses at the Market Place say the development, which will involve utilising the basement of the Market Hall and building a glass-fronted extension onto Bridge Street, will put Bolton back on the shopping map.
Some of the 70 stall and shopholders will be offered spaces in the new development, but concerns over higher rent costs and a shortage of units are at the forefront of traders' minds, leaving them fearing for their future.
They claim stalls that have been around for generations would be forced out of business, resulting in a loss of up to 400 jobs.
Tonight's meeting of the Market Hall Tenants' Association's executive committee aims to set a date for a public meeting in which traders will be invited to discuss the options.
Association co-ordinator David Woods, who also owns sunbed business Equinox, said: "People are understandably angry and upset. They see their family business being taken away from them.
"We have to formally decide whether or not to oppose the plans. Judging by the uproar when people saw the plans, we know what the outcome of the meeting will be.
"I have spoken to some councillors and intend to canvass the rest immediately.
"It seems the meetings with individual traders to discuss whether they want to move into the new development have already started to take place."
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