Councillors should leave city’s market alone

I AM appalled to read that senior councillors in Leeds feel that Kirkgate Market is spoiling the city as a high-end shopping destination. What on earth are they talking about?

I suspect that the call for refurbishment may be an excuse for changes being made in order to justify charging higher rents to traders in order to increase council revenue.

If the council wishes to do something positive to make Leeds “a high end shopping destination”, I suggest they direct their efforts to clearing up the unsightly litter on the sides of the railway lines that you see out of the window as your train draws near to Leeds.

Kirkgate Market, with its stalls piled high with glittering wet fish, clams and fresh fish, mountains of luscious fruit, crusty meat pies, slabs of toffee and all kinds of mouth-watering goodies, is a reminder of Britain’s wonderful Victorian past.

Just wandering through the entrance thrills the heart of the dedicated shopper. It is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of delights, bristling with bustling life, prosperity and energy. The market has a vibrancy that warms the heart, unlike the vacuous emptiness of modern stores. It is the only reason I travel into Leeds every week.

I know exactly what the late great Keith Waterhouse would have to say to these foolish council officials. In his famous newspaper columns and in his wonderful book about Leeds, City Lights, he wrote about his passion for markets and for the colour they add to our increasingly drab and regimented lives.

We have too many cloned “higher end stores” all over the country, all selling the same stuff, and people are bored rigid with them.

Kirkgate Market is the gem in Leeds’ crown. Leave it be!