RE: Oh dear2 Jul 2025 12:24
Indoor, semi-outdoor (undercover) and outdoor markets have died a death in the UK in the 2020s due to extortionate costs from public and private landlords, extortionate council business rates (tax), as well as the unsustainable "minimum" wage, and a tsunami of council and centrally-controlled state red tape. Know someone who, until recently, ran a little fruit-and-veg stall in the bottom half of England. For just a couple of tables in size, he was being charged ~£3k a month in rent and rates. You simply cannot recover those kind of ridiculous costs by selling a 50p apple, a 25p onion, or a 10p banana.