Former Liberal Democrat Councillor and ward activist Jo Barton has slammed the highly critical comments made by Councillor Sir Ron Watson, about the temporary market closure, in the press as being “insensitive and out of touch”.
Sir Ron has called for the market to be reopened in spite of the fact that it is being finished off by contractors but Jo feels that diners would not appreciate being surrounded by builders, dust, and rubble while they eat.
She agrees with Seftons decision to temporarily close the popular facility until February the 2nd in order to complete ongoing works.
She also feels that giving the hard-working staff the chance for a much-needed break is a good thing; She said, “These amazing local residents have pulled out all the stops since the venue opened and they rightly deserve a break to recuperate and spend time with their families after giving up large chunks of the festive season to make a success of the venture”.
Having visited the newly revamped food hall herself she is impressed by the staff who are working very hard and she is sure that once it reopens the popular venue will once again be buzzing with visitors and that the cost of the shut down will be negligible both to the council or indeed the restaurants that are involved.
Jo Barton says, “Councillor Watson has missed the mark with his ill-judged comments. There is some loss of income to the Council but that sits within a strategy that should within a reasonable time frame substantially reduce the council subsidy.”
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