Oasis Market trader who survived stroke says ‘our lives don’t matter’ after being ‘thrown out’

Rob Suckling says he ‘only made £50 a week after everything’ at Birmingham’s Oasis Market but it’s not just his livelihood he feels has been torn away from him by the closure of Priory Square

An exasperated stallholder who lost his pitch when The Oasis Market shut says he feels ‘all over the place’ following the abrupt closure of the city centre venue.

Rob Suckling ran an army surplus stall at the market and had traded within the 54-year-old venue on and off for the last 20 years.

The 56-year-old stroke survivor, who lives in Kingstanding, was told on Monday, March 31, that Priory Square, the shopping centre that The Oasis Market was situated in, would close ‘indefinitely’.

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Read more: Birmingham market traders given ‘just two days’ to clear out ’54 years of history’ after sudden closure

At the time, Hammerson, which owns the building as well as a number of properties in the city centre including the Bullring and Grand Central, said that it had carried out health and safety inspections which revealed fire risks.

It said that remedial works to improve and mitigate the high fire safety risk would be ‘beyond what is reasonably practicable to implement’ and that it would be bringing tenancies to an end.

Following the closure, retailers including Rob were given limited access to The Oasis Market to clear out their stalls.

Since then, Rob says there has been no support, no compensation and no help finding a new place to trade.

He told BirminghamLive: “Everyone’s left fixtures and fittings in the market because they just didn’t have the time to get any of it out.

“I didn’t have insurance, I’m just a market trader. Others might, but I didn’t.

“My head’s all over the place at the moment. I’ve had so many ups and downs over the years, I’m not in the best of health and I care for my Mrs.”

He added: “I feel like I’ve been thrown out on to the street. We’ve been treated like crap, literally. Crap. Like our lives don’t matter.”

Community was a big part of life at The Oasis Market, Rob explains, and he found company and friendship in the multi-floor venue.

“Being a stroke survivor, I just wanted an easy life. I didn’t make a lot of money but I love playing guitar and I loved to have all the young customers coming in and having a jam with me.

“I only made about £50 a week after everything but it didn’t matter, it was a social thing. Now my social scene has gone.”

Rob says that he feels wronged by the sudden closure and that the lack of support for traders has been ‘disgusting’.

He said: “I’m all over the place. My stress levels are high and I don’t want to have another stroke. I’m trying to battle on.

“I want justice for us traders. I want people to see what they’ve done to us; Hammerson owns half of Birmingham, they’re a huge company. For a company like that to treat people like us this way is just disgusting.”

Hammerson told BirminghamLive that it has been engaging with occupiers of Priory Square units and exploring options for them to find a new space to trade though it is not clear whether The Oasis Market was one of these tenants.

A spokesperson said: “We have had discussions with tenants on a range of matters including any feasible relocations in the city.”

Hammerson owns a number of empty units is spaces such as Link Street, the walkway of shops between Grand Central and the Bullring.

It said that it was forced to close with ‘the safety of all tenants and the public a priority’ adding ‘this difficult decision has not been taken lightly’.

Rob said he’s been struggling since the abrupt closure.

“I’ve got a house full of stock and I’ve bought a shed so I can put it in my garden because it’s the cheapest way and I’ve got no money.

“I don’t know, I go from tears to anger, frustration, and now trying to work out what to do next.”

This week, former traders of The Oasis Market told BirminghamLive they were ‘walking the streets’ of the city trying to find a new place to sell their wares.

Rob says he’s scared that some of the traders are suffering the loss of their businesses in silence.

“Some of my colleagues have just given up, another stallholder now has a house full of stock and I’m worried he’ll be suicidal now he’s stuck in the house on his own – he hasn’t got a fight in him.”

BirminghamLive has reached out to Oasis Market to discuss the closure of Priory Square but has been unable to make contact.