VETERAN trader Margaret Henshaw says the long-awaited revamp of Bury's famous market could see the end of her business.

Ms Henshaw, proprietor of Margaret's flower stall, has worked on the market for 42 years, since she was a girl of seven. Her family have had a stall on Bury Market since 1890.

But now she has been banned from opening on Thursdays while work on the new meat and fish hall is underway.

She said: "I do 50 per cent of my trading on Thursday, I'm busier than I am on a normal market day. I could go out of business if the council does not relent."

But council bosses say that health and safety must come first.

Traders have been stopped from opening on non-market days while the new meat and fish hall is being built on the site of the former NatWest Bank.

Eighteen stalls are being moved to temporary stalls in the market square, which opened for the first time on Wednesday. Another eight are being housed in temporary accommodation around the building site. Ms Henshaw said: "I have been open on Thursdays for years - it's a normal trading day. I need to be allowed to open or be compensated."

Fellow trader Mr John White, who runs a pot stall nearby, added: "Traders would be prepared to pay rent at £12 per day for Thursdays while the work is carried out."

Bury Council's borough property services officer Mr Keith Beamer said builders would not work or take deliveries on market days, but building work had to be allowed to continue at other times, and health and safety had to take precedence.

He added: "Although we could earn rent from traders this could be heavily outweighed by claims from contractors in terms of building delays."

And Mr Adrian Christian, chairman of Bury Outdoor Market Traders' Association said: "Bury Council has accommodated the traders according to their wishes. If Ms Henshaw is unhappy it is because of a failure on her part to communicate with the council."

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