00:00So we're here at Blackheat Market and we're here with Trader Sean. Hello, sir.
00:05Hi.
00:06Sean, we'll try and hear you over the govins going on in the background.
00:10Not grateful, I mean, stuff needs to be done, yes, but as a Trader,
00:15you must be concerned this is going to affect your business, what's going on. Fill us in.
00:19Well, yes, I mean, it's not been too bad to a certain degree.
00:21As you can see, it's still quite busy around here.
00:24The only downfall of every single side street have got roadworks.
00:27If you'd thought they would have conspired and worked everything out,
00:31they wouldn't have had so many roadworks on. I mean, it's everywhere.
00:35Trade-wise, it hasn't been too bad.
00:37I have got to give a shout-out to the workers to a certain degree.
00:40They do keep it quite neat and tidy and they try not to work directly in front of the market on a market day.
00:45So your great release, why do all these works at the same time?
00:50I mean, I've just come down from Dudley and just a few hundred metres up there on the top of the hill,
00:55we've got road closures and everything up there.
00:57That road close up there, it's not just that road, every single side street to get to it is all closed as well.
01:01So there's a big number of details around.
01:03I mean, some of the work down here, well, we'll see what happens once it's all been done, the bus terminal.
01:08My argument is, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
01:11Yeah, yeah.
01:12What are they meant to be doing then? Why are they digging it all up? What's happening?
01:15Bus terminal.
01:17A bus terminal.
01:17A bit like a mini bus station, I suppose.
01:19OK, and how long is this going to be going on for, do we know?
01:2220 weeks, too long.
01:2320 weeks.
01:25That's a long time, innit?
01:27Yeah, yeah.
01:27That's it, the wrong time.
01:29Yeah.
01:30Our other work then would be, if we wish, Christmas slot, if it overruns, that would be our biggest
01:35trade.
01:36Yeah, that's the concern, yeah.
01:37So, you know, you were chatting to some of your fellow traders in there, and some of
01:43them have noticed quite a difference on the takings, yeah?
01:46Some of them, you know, went into over £1,000 a week down on trade.
01:51Yeah.
01:52That's a big hit, innit?
01:54Real big hit, real big hit.
01:55And that's generally from the people that just really stop off quickly to get bits and pieces.
01:59So one of the stores on there, for example, is Dave, and that's, he sells fresh cakes,
02:05he's got all the biscuits, cold meats, and so on.
02:08So a lot of people on the weekend, they're coming in just generally just for them bits
02:10and pieces.
02:11Yeah.
02:11And they just won't park up, just to run in for that as well, before generally.
02:14They park right in front of the market, or the lay-by, run in, get it, and back out
02:18again.
02:19So how long have you been a trader here then, Sean?
02:21I've been on here for about eight years, but I've been in the trade, well, since I was
02:2518.
02:25Yeah, oh yeah.
02:26All right, fair do's, matey, fair do's.
02:29So your question would be to the council, just, you know, why don't you get together and work
02:34out, do one project at a time, do one closure at a time.
02:38Well, yeah, and things like, I mean, they've given nothing back either, I mean, they would
02:42have given free parking.
02:43Yeah, good point, yeah.
02:45They could have abolished the parking for the, you know, for the 20-week period.
02:48Yeah, that's a very good point, yeah, to offset kind of any, yeah, very good point, actually,
02:52yeah.
02:53And the only other gripe is the traffic lights behind us, the main sets don't conspire with
02:59the sets that they put up.
03:00So, you come over on green, then you hit red, there's no point really, should have been
03:05synchronised with both.
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