Traders have been given a six-month extension to present plans for the £10 million redevelopment of their run-down market.

Brighton and Hove City Council wants the stall-holders to have a say on the future of the Open Market.

But so far they have been unable to come up with a viable plan and the council has warned it will offer the project to private developers if a solution cannot be reached.

The Open Market Traders Association has unveiled plans to revamp the land between London Road and Ditchling Road into a continental-style covered area with 70 stalls, flats and a central square.

Forty homes would be developed and managed by Hyde Housing and it is hoped that this will help fund the rest of the project.

But council officers who have assessed the proposal said that although the traders had made good progress, the business case was suffering from a lack of detail.

The report reveals: "It is clear from the officer assessment that more detail is required for each area of work before a full assessment of the merits of the proposal is possible.

"The business case generally suffers from a lack of specific detail and firm commitments.

"While Hyde Housing are considering their role in the project their position requires confirmation.

"The build cost is not considered unreasonable but a detailed quantity survey report at Stage Two would allow further comments on its validity."

The £10 million redevelopment will inject new life into an area which has suffered a series of setbacks.

Several businesses in London Road have closed recently, including the flagship Coop department store which shut in February.

The new design includes a large central square to cater for farmers markets and will be overlooked by a first-floor gallery with workshops for artists and craftsmen to work and sell their wares.

Fifty of the ground-floor stalls will be held by permanent traders and the remaining 20 could be used by visiting stalls.

Traders have visited Borough and Spitalfields markets in London and hope to replicate their success in Brighton.

The business case has been drawn up on the basis that all flats will be "affordable".

Paul Reynolds, spokesman for the market traders, said: "This is what London Road desperately needs and it is depressing to walk around there at the moment.

"It is not something that just needs a bit of sticky plaster - it has got to be a major redevelopment.

"We are doing a lot of work and over the next six months we can get these details that the council is looking for."

Council leader Simon Burgess, chairman of the project panel, said the council is providing extra funding to finalise the plans.

He said: "This type of development is breaking new territory because normally the council gives detailed plans to a developer.

"We have given the traders the chance to see what it is they want and that takes a little bit longer but it means we get it right."

It is still hoped that work will start on the new market by the end of the year.

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