THE CHAIRMAN of Blackburn market traders has delivered a stinging attack on council bosses as he closes his stall for the final time today.

Chris Appleby is set to shut his discount grocery stand after 20 years rather than move to the new market, in the shopping centre, which opens on June 1.

A long-standing critic of the plans, Mr Appleby accused Blackburn with Darwen Council of ‘destroying’ the market with the way it has gone about the move.

But council bosses hit back, insisting that it represented ‘a great opportunity’.

There are 127 spaces in the new £8million market, on the ground floor of The Mall’s £66million extension.

So far, a total of 27 leases, covering 35 stalls, have been signed, while 89 stalls have been unofficially ‘allocated’.

The council expects the market to be between 50 and 75 per cent full on opening day, with some stallholders taking longer to fit out their pitches before they start trading.

Mr Appleby said: “We’ve reached the end of the road.

“We have been losing money since before Christmas, and I have been hanging around hoping that the council would reconsider the terms and conditions of the new market.

"But it’s apparent they’re not going to do that.”

Mr Appleby said he had been trading ‘pretty well’ until the move was announced.

His objections include the rent increase in the new complex, and traders being forced to trade for six, rather than three days.

He added: “My view is quite straightforward. The council has destroyed an extremely fine existing market.”

But Coun Dave Harling said: “We are sorry to see any trader go from the existing market.

“The market had been struggling for some time, and action needed to be taken.

“Most people don’t dispute that.”