Watford Market has been saved from closure, after Dorothy Thornhill made a U-turn on proposals to relocate the market to the Parade.

The market had been threatened with closure and relocation to the Parade in proposals outlined in a controversial report funded by taxpayers money, that Watford Conservatives believe did not take the interests of market traders to heart, as they faced closure and unemployment. However, following the climbdown by Mayor Thornhill, new proposals will now be put forwards to redevelop Watford Market.

Richard tells the other parliamentary candidates about his own experiences as a market trader.

Richard Harrington, prospective Conservative MP for Watford has campaigned strongly against the closure of Watford Market. He has condemned attempts by Mayor Thornhill to close Watford Market, and recently attended a council meeting at Watford Town Hall regarding Mayor Thornhill’s proposals.

Mr. Harrington said:

“Upon hearing about the closure of Watford Market, I consulted the market traders of Watford Market, and immediately saw the anger and disbelief from the market traders at her proposals, as highlighted by their substantial petition. Dorothy Thornhill would have immediately known the scale of opposition towards her proposals if she had properly consulted the market traders, as opposed to wasting taxpayers’ money on consultants, and then wasting further taxpayers’ money on party- political propaganda trying to clean up the political mess that she left.

“I have had the experience of setting up, and running a market from a young age, and fully understand the hardships that market traders would have faced. Clearly, Mayor Thornhill not only lacked the intuition to recognise the damage that closing Watford Market would have had on its traders, but was also misguided in basing her original proposals on a report that only included the views of 138 residents from Watford.

“I am committed towards preserving Watford Market. It provides a home for small businesses and is a trading and training ground for young entrepreneurs, and has been a key part of Watford’s identity since the Charter of 1100. It is my wish to see any future proposals to redevelop Watford Market to showcase these attributes.”