AN historic market has officially closed down after 54 years - but "disgusted" traders have refused to budge.
Nottingham's Victoria Centre Market was supposed to have its last day of operation on Monday, March 31, according to the city council.
The historic site first opened in 1972, and once featured 138 traders across its two-floor market, as well as a 20 separate meat and fish stalls.
No more than 15 traders are now thought to be left in the once thriving market, and many intend to stay despite closure plans.
Two traders have legally challenged Nottingham City Council's intention to close down the market, arguing they still have years left on their leases so cannot be kicked out without compensation.
Owner of hardware store Aladdin's Cave, Stephen Taylor, told : "We still have 47 years on our lease and so the only way they can lawfully evict us is if we were to do something seriously wrong".
"Of those of us left, nobody seems to be moving anything at the moment and some are determined to stay".
He had hoped to maintain the business for his grandchildren to take over, after his late grandfather first signed the lease on the family store.
The council signed a 99-year-lease on the Victoria Centre Market site which is not due to expire until 2071.
M&S employees and electricians have been seen by traders walking around the markets in recent weeks.
This has sparked rumours that M&S may take on the remains of the Victoria Centre Market site.
Manager of store Tick King, David Bowey, says council officers have not denied these claims.
He added: "I love this market, I love the history of this market, and I don't want to go.
After receiving an offer that covers just one ninth of the cost it would be to relocate, Mr Bowey said: "I just won't go until I've had an offer that gives my business a chance of surviving, for now we're here to stay".
A Nottinghamshire City Council spokesperson confirmed last year there were plans to close the market due to the fact many traders failed to pay rent, and the council could no longer subsidise these private businesses.
Despite having outlined the March 31 deadline, the council admitted "some traders will remain in occupation beyond this deadline".
"The council has previously presented traders with the option to run the market, but this was never taken up".
Nottingham is not the only area forced to wave goodbye to a beloved market.
Top Town Market in Grimsby is being demolished to make way for a new entertainment unit, as part of the Freshney Place leisure scheme.
It closed back in February with customers saying it's was the "end of an era".
And it's not just markets feeling the squeeze a number of iconic department stores and independent shops have also been forced to close due to slow trade and rising rents.
Home Store in Romford's Market Place will pull the shutters down for the final time in weeks.
Beales, one of Britain's oldest department stores, has launched a closing down sale before it shuts its last remaining shop after more than 140 years.
The company will shut its branch in Poole's Dolphin Centre on May 31.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
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