Traders at Sheffield’s Moor market have been hit by a 26.5% service charge hike.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee members announced the decision to increase service charges by 26.5 per cent in 2024\/2025 for the first time since 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheffield City Council said that the increase is to cover inflation and higher energy tariffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firas Al Bermawi, owner of Moor Perfume, said Moor Gate used to be a \u201ccosy place\u201d for Sheffield residents and students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he believes =the number of people visiting the market is dwindling due to inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u201cWe noticed a big difference. There aren\u2019t as many shoppers and they are worried about prices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They used to buy in bigger quantities, now they check everything and this is understandable,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Craig Goodridge, owner of Goodridge Travels echoed Mr Fermawi\u2019s thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Goodridge has only been trading in Moor Market since June and said he had observed falling sales over the past few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a little disheartening. Prices are going up already and I\u2019ve only been here for a short amount of time. I hope it doesn\u2019t go up year on year. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, shop owners received a summary letter from the Sheffield City Council informing them of rising rents. Traders who were unable to stay afloat were forced to shut their businesses.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark Holmes, who is a small business owner himself, called the price hikes a \u201cstruggle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomething’s got to give and nine times out of 10, it’s usually my wage that gives,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think if I equated the hours that I put into the business, I’d be [earning] way below minimum wage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said small businesses struggle particularly because they have to keep prices low to compete with supermarkets and bigger chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the markets have been busier than it was during the pandemic when compared to the costs of products, the sales are insufficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calling the price hike a \u201cdouble-edged sword\u201d, he added while the rise in minimum wage is positive, the subsequent rise in cost offsets the positive effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Traders at Sheffield’s Moor market have been hit by a 26.5% service charge hike.\u00a0 The Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee members announced the decision to increase service charges by 26.5 per cent in 2024\/2025 for the first time since 2013. Sheffield City Council said that the increase is to cover inflation and higher energy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":50823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[794,634,9,58],"class_list":["post-50735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cost-of-living","tag-moor-market","tag-sheffield","tag-sheffield-city-council"],"yoast_head":"\n