'Positive' plan for market before sudden closure
BBCA council has said it was working towards "positive plans" for the future of a market hall when it was told it had no viable future.
Westmorland and Furness Council announced on Tuesday the Market Hall and Forum theatre next door would be demolished, giving traders just three days to remove their belongings.
Peter Gott, who had traded at the market since it opened in 1971, said the sudden decision "beggars belief".
Chief executive of the Liberal Democrat-led council Miranda Cannon said the immediate closure was "not ideal" but health and safety had to come first.
Plans to redevelop the hall have been on the cards for a number of years along with The Forum theatre which closed in 2024 after asbestos was found.
That same year, surveys of the market also found asbestos present.
Despite the structural issues being known for some time, Cannon said the recent wet weather revealed additional leaks that could cause asbestos to become dislodged.
"I absolutely understand the upset that traders feel," she told BBC Radio Cumbria.
"The buildings have had their challenges for a number of years, typical of these buildings of that kind of era, they do have asbestos and other challenges."
She said the expert advice at the beginning of the week was "to take rapid action".
"Not ideal, of course, but absolutely health and safety has to be our primary concern."
Gott said the council had previously promised traders a six-month notice period following any decision on the building.
Cannon said the local authority had been "busy working towards positive plans" on the market and decisions were due to be made in coming weeks about the market and theatre in a "much more managed way" by working with traders.
The council said it was supporting the traders to find appropriate arrangements now they had all vacated the building and was working with other partners such as Barrow BID and BAE to find solutions.
"Everyone is really pulling together, as Barrow does, around this immediate challenge that we've got and we are hopeful we'll find the right way forward for each of those traders," Cannon said.