TRADERS have rejected a wi-fi system for Oxford’s Covered Market saying it would be another financial burden they could not bear.

And stallholders expressed concern that it would make it easier for shoppers to use the internet to find cheaper prices elsewhere.

Oxford City Council offered traders the wi-fi service at a cost of £25 each a month.

But Vicki Alder, who runs the Macsamillion shoe store and is joint chairwoman of the Covered Market Traders’ Association, said the offer had not been received positively.

She said: “Wi-fi sounds good, but it is a cost we couldn’t bear.

“With regard to Macsamillion we wouldn’t be able to afford it because we already pay for our own broadband services. It’s an offer that was open to everybody, but we’ve all got so many expenses going out.

“The £25 may not sound a lot, but it’s hard to afford when you’ve got all your rents and other expenses.

“We’ve got to scrimp now, and every expense we have has to be justified.”

The measure was discussed at a meeting of the council’s scrutiny committee on Monday when councillors discussed an action plan for the Covered Market for the coming year.

Ms Alder added: “A lot of people who come in are already using their mobiles and we don’t necessarily want them to be able to compare prices more quickly if they are searching for things online.

“Most businesses who want wifi already have some facility and a lot of businesses in here like the butchers and baker wouldn’t really have any need for it.”

Cllr James Fry said he felt the traders would feel the benefit of free wi-fi and called on them to take advantage of a free Government scheme, which offers businesses up to £3,000 to install wi-fi.

He said: “The council is trying to do a lot to attract people to the city centre and I would have thought wi-fi is essential for the Covered Market, especially if it is in competition with places like Starbucks and Costa.

“There are lots of food places in the market where people could sit and use wi-fi.

"I would just hope that they could come back to this, otherwise they may start to feel they are missing out.”

The committee heard that over the past year the council had made a series of improvements to the historic market, including appointing a retail manager at a cost of £104,000 and extending trading to Market Street for a number of days each year to help bring in more customers.

Members were told another £75,0000 had been set aside to make further improvements to the market in 2015/16, including signs and an awards ceremony for the bestperforming traders.

Mrs Alder said the rejection of the wi-fi scheme showed traders were frustrated because they felt the council had not done enough to help them.

She said: “We’re getting a lot of people talking about not wanting to come into Oxford at the moment because the traffic is so bad.

“We get a lot of tourists coming to town, but they are often just enjoying the environment rather than spending a lot of money.

“The council can make it look as if it is doing all it can, but it’s not.”