A petition has been launched to bring back market traders back to The Moor after site owners brought in restrictions on operating hours.
One market trader said he had seen an 80% loss in profits after he was told he could only trade on The Moor for three days a week by owners NewRiver.
Anna Feeney, manager at PoundBakery in Sheffield city centre, started a petition on the 14 March to give the market back to traders.
She said: “There is no market left, they got rid of it. Before NewRiver bought it, traders were here for 12 years.
“Everything changed completely overnight. It’s disgusting, absolutely disgusting.”
NewRiver is an investment trust specialising in acquiring and managing retail assets in the UK.
Miss Feeney’s sentiment was shared by the only trader who was present when ShefLive visited on Monday, Valentin Crangea, 42, who sells clothing and footwear.
His business was moved from the main outdoor market to the Moorfoot, where there is no electricity. Mr Crangea said there is no advantage to be there since the footfall is slim to none.
He said: “There are days where you don’t see anyone around. We are making 20% of what we used to make when we were over there. 80% of profits are gone. I sell for nothing. I have to lower the prices just to sell the stock.”
Mr Crangea said he loses £45 pounds every day just to cover routine expenses such as diesel, parking, stall rent and the Clean Air Zone charge.
He added: “There were a lot of us, but many gave up in the first two or three days after being moved here.
“There’s also problems in this area, usually starting in the afternoon. People do drugs and then throw our clothes to the floor. People around here are much more aggressive.”
Miss Feeney said that all kinds of people used to come to the main market area, many for the social side of it.
But now she said stores are empty and elderly do not come around for a chat anymore.
She said: “The community side of it is completely out of the window. To me, this is a disgrace.
“There are plenty of complaints. They need to think about the people.
“I can’t see what argument they have for the market to be empty. Why would they prefer having empty stalls?”
So far 250 people have already signed the petition. Anyone who is interested in signing should contact Anna at anna_feeny@hotmail.co.uk.
