Every five years the city council, as landlord of the Covered Market, carries out a rent review and issues notices of the proposed new rents to the covered market traders. The latest batch of notices were sent out on Friday, July 13.

In the five years since the past review there has been one of the most serious economic downturns in the past 100 years.

Retailers have faced great difficulties and nine of the units in the Covered Market are now up for sale.

It seems that the council, or the agents they pay for “professional” advice, are completely unaware of this. Although the rate of inflation over the past five years is less than 18 per cent, they have proposed rent increases of between 40 and 60 per cent.

What will happen next? Well, to judge by the reaction to a similar 50 per cent proposed increase five years ago, there will be a prolonged period of dispute, leading to a series of arbitrations in perhaps 18 months’ time.

Both sides will pay for professional advice and, for at least a year, the council will not receive any increase in rent. The relationship between the council and the traders will continue to deteriorate, more units will be left empty and the character of the market will be eroded.

I appeal to the council to withdraw the latest set of notices, to have the courage to sit down at the table with the traders without “professional” advisers and work out a new agreement that both secures a reasonable level of rental income for the council and encourages most of the traders to continue in the market.

JIM CAMPBELL (Cllr) Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Oxford