Tonight vendors at the Queen’s Square Market are up in arms over plans to move them. This morning the City Council gave the vendors a letter informing them that they had three days to leave the market and relocate to the old city council compound at the Pound Yard Bridge. The vendors say it was done without consultation and without notice. The city council says it was in their manifesto that they will proceed with a plan for new market. Ellis Humes is one of the more than hundred vendors who will be affected.
Ellis Humes, Vendor
”A lot of concerns from the vendors are, the first thing is they don’t have bathroom facilities. Secondly they don’t have water, they don’t have electricity. Almost all the places in this present market has electricity and running water. You have approximately six meat shops in this market. You have several food stalls. Those people cannot do business over there in that
condition. Nobody objects to a new market because we know we need a new market but our concern is that if they are going to send us there we need proper facilities, we need accommodations. Like I said, we know we need it and we welcome it anytime and we need somebody from the City Council to come and explain to us because they didn’t have any meeting with us to explain what is the expectations from them.
We expected that they would have called a meeting of all…first passed a letter or a notice saying that and on such and such a day there would be a meeting with all the vendors, please be present and hopefully the Mayor I think who should be back here to explain something to us concerning our relocation to the old City Council compound but nobody came to explain anything to us.”
This afternoon the City Council conceded that there was one mistake – the vendors have until July 10th to move, one week after Friday July third. But the fact remains that they have to move since the market will be redone. As to their concerns about proper facilities, City Councillor Kevin Singh this afternoon made no commitments.
Kevin Singh, City Councillor
“I think the vendors had been consulted already more than once by the market clerk that they will be relocated sooner or later just that we didn’t know when it was going to occur.”
Jules Vasquez,
I am sure you’ve been told that there are issues, they have told us that
they don’t feel comfortable with dust and the buses that use that compound.
Kevin Singh,
“Yes are aware of the concerns but this place is not for City Council, this is owned by Mr. Arun and he has given us the area so we can use to relocate the people them. It is up to him if he takes the buses out there, right about now the buses will still be there. The people will be on one side and the buses on the other side.”
Jules Vasquez,
It is not an ideal situation.
Kevin Singh,
“No it is not an ideal situation but the only one that we have. Because of the weather we think, we put it up to almost eight months because it is the raining season now.”
Jules Vasquez,
That is a big transition for people with eight months being out of your area of comfort. What will be the great reward at the end of it?
Kevin Singh,
“Each and every one of them will be able to relocate back in the market when it is all done and beautifully built. As we were told, it is going to be a two storey market up and down so I think we will have enough space to put back everyone.”
Construction is expected to start in late July. It should take 8 months and will be funded by the social investment fund to the tune of $700,000.
