FURIOUS street traders claim a 10,000-signature petition has been ignored.

The petition was signed by shoppers and supporters and handed to Colchester Council.

It demanded the traders be allowed to remain at their existing pitches, rather than being forced to move to the new High Street market.

Council rules state petitions with at least 1,800 signatures should be debated by full council, but Colchester Council has refused to follow its own rules, claiming the matter has been dealt with, so there is no need.

An inquiry into the street traders not being consulted over plans for the new market has also been shelved.

The traders and Colchester MP Will Quince have criticised the council’s approach.

Street trader Shahid Zaman accused the council of a “serious operational failure”.

He said: “10,000 people signed it in a month. They signed because they were genuinely worried.

“The council just brushed it under the carpet and said there was no case to answer. The petition should have pushed an inquiry highlighting where and how they went wrong.

“Recommendations should have been made and lessons should have been learned from this whole scenario.”

The fiasco started after the traders were told they faced eviction from their pitches in Culver Street West and were urged to join the newmarket, in April. Mr Quince, Colchester councillor at the time and since May, the town’s MP, campaigned for the traders to stay.

The petition was handed in on March 18.

Mr Quince called a special full council meeting in April to debate the matter further, but that was cancelled and traders were allowed to stay where they were while discussions continued.

Mr Quince, who still supports the traders, said: “The street traders were given a stay of execution until September.

“The council’s constitution is quite clear on this, it should go to a full council meeting.

“What has it got to fear from having a debate about it?”

The council has admitted a previous consultation on the market was “not adequate”.

It paid market experts Quarterbridge £7,000 to undertake a review in 2013 and has just extended this until Friday.

The latest phase of the review includes consulting traders, neighbouring businesses and customers.

The traders want the petition to be considered as part of the review.

COLCHESTER Council has defended its actions.
A spokesman for Colchester Council said: “Colchester Council cabinet considered the contents of the petition and subsequently agreed to withdraw all notices served on the street traders.
“It was agreed a full review into street trading would be undertaken, and would include consideration of the topic of the petition, allowing street traders to remain in their current positions seven days a week.
“A request, separate to the petition, was made for an inquiry into the handling of how decisions had been made in relation to street traders.

"This was also handed in at cabinet on Wednesday, March 18.
“This has been taken through the complaints procedure and has now been completed.
“The council does not agree an inquiry is necessary since it admitted the previous consultation was not adequate.
“It has withdrawn the notices served, committed to undertaking a review of street trading and to ensure all street traders are involved.
“Accordingly, it has actively sought to remedy the situation to ensure Colchester continues to be a vibrant trading centre.”