Devastated baked potato man Nick Shepherd sees income halved after market traders forced off The Moor

Baked potato man Nick Shepherd says his new site at Moorfoot has no power and he is unable to operate his oven. The veteran stallholder says he has worked six days-a-week for 31 years serving generations of Sheffielders. But the decision by owner of The Moor, NewRiver, has left him, and other traders, struggling financially - during a cost of living crisis.

NewRiver has ordered traders off the precinct on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, forcing Sheffield City Council to step in and offer pitches at nearby Moorfoot.

Mr Shepherd said: “It’s been devastating, I’ve lost 50 per cent of my income. Most of my trade is from regulars and if I’m not there they go elsewhere. NewRiver don’t care, they are there purely to make money, it’s just the end result that matters to them.”

But he thought the firm had “shot itself in the foot” because more stalls are now required Thursday to Saturday. But they stand empty Monday to Wednesday, resulting in reduced footfall at surrounding stores, while those at Moorfoot were reporting more.

He added: “It’s a classic farce. They clearly don’t understand the value of the outdoor market, where everyone feeds off everyone else.”

NewRiver did not respond to The Star. Last week director Matt Johnson, said moving traders was because they wanted to “further enhance the goods and services on offer at The Moor for the local community, in parallel with the council’s own regeneration agenda for the city as a whole.”

The Moor was snapped up by NewRiver and BRAVO Strategies III in February 2021. Last year NewRiver had income of £73.7m and operating profit of £25.4m.

Sheffield City Council runs the markets and collects rents.

Coun Joe Otten last week said the authority was “legally obliged” to agree to the move. Stallholders were paying half price pitch rates at Moorfoot and they were doing “everything we can” to install electricity, he added. And he reassured traders a lease agreement prevents the firm reducing market days further.