Call for 'accountability' on £5m empty market hall

A councillor is calling for people to be held accountable over a market hall left standing empty after a £5m refurbishment.

The market hall in Newton Abbot closed in October 2024 for a massive refurbishment using more than £5m from the government's Future High Streets funding.

Liberal Democrat-led Teignbridge District Council originally said the rejuvenated building would be open for business by "autumn" but then announced on social media in October that the "earliest we'll be ready to go will be in the spring".

Jane Taylor, leader of the Independent Group on the council, said the project had been a "failure" and has brought the issue for a debate at a full council meeting on Thursday.

Taylor said: "A market hall without market traders is not a success story, it's a complete delivery failure.

She said it was "time for accountability" after the project saw "£5m spent and still no opening date".

When work on Market Hall was completed in June, the council said a new operator would be announced "within weeks".

David Palethorpe, Liberal Democrat deputy leader at Teignbridge District Council, then said on 15 October the council was still "carrying out due diligence" with potential operators and the hall would not be open until spring 2027 at the earliest.

In response to calls for accountability, Palethorpe said he understood people's frustration but made "no apologies for wanting to get it right".

He said: "Our responsibility is to make decisions that deliver lasting benefits for Newton Abbot, not simply to meet an opening date or avoid criticism.

The real failure would be to rush into an arrangement that doesn't work, simply to silence criticism today, and leave Newton Abbot paying the price tomorrow."

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