Westmorland & Furness Council said a new temporary home for Barrow Market’s traders could be open within four to six weeks.
The 12 traders were told on Tuesday afternoon that they were being made homeless immediately as it was necessary to close the existing indoor market on health and safety grounds.
Westmorland & Furness Council said the 55-year-old building – and the next-door Forum – had reached the end of their lives and it was no longer viable to retain them.
Experts have carried out detailed assessments on the buildings, the authority said, which showed that to reopen either or both of the buildings – even temporarily – would lead to expensive and extensive remedial work.
It added: “Wet weather has also highlighted some immediate issues with significant leaks in the roof of the market, which has brought forward plans to close the whole building.”
A statement released by the council this evening, Friday February 20, said its teams were continuing to support traders.
It said: As of yesterday, all 12 traders have been moved out and where appropriate their stock placed into storage.
“Every trader has received an immediate compassionate payment, to ensure they have some financial breathing space at a very difficult moment.
“We continue to support them with regular updates and each has been assigned a key contact for queries and concerns and we will be looking at what more can be done.
“We are working at pace to create a new Market Village option through the Heart of Barrow. Prior to the Market Village, we expect to have temporary cabins available that can accommodate up to seven traders, along with an additional storage unit.
“These could be on site in approximately four to six weeks, and we are doing everything possible to fast‑track delivery so traders have a viable space to continue operating. We will provide details on this as soon as possible.
“We have also held positive conversations with partners who have identified some potential retail space for a few traders. We are also going to enable some traders to operate from the outdoor market.”
A Westmorland and Furness Council spokesman added: “We would like to assure the community that we are listening and everything possible is being done to support traders and to bring forward short, medium and long term plans to help the town centre thrive.
“We are committed to providing further updates on immediate plans for the town centre and our teams continue to prepare for discussions with Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet in March on longer-term options.”
