Stallholders still do not know where they will be trading from once redevelopment of the shopping area is complete – two years after they were first told they were being moved – because no replacement site has yet been found.

George Glover, of the Moor Market Traders' Federation, said stallholders had been left disillusioned by "empty words and false promises" by the Labour administration, which lost control of the council at last week's elections.

He added: "There is nothing on the table, very little hope and complete disappointment."

But Lib Dem deputy group leader Coun David Baker has offered reassurance to Mr Glover. "Resolving this issue has to be a high priority. Immediately after we formally take control after the annual general meeting of the council on May 21, I'd want to set up a meeting with Mr Glover.

"I've promised him that we will listen to what the traders have to say. We'll look at what they want and see how we can take the matter forward. I'm hopeful they will be pleased with the outcome."

Coun Baker said he was not yet able to say which sites could be considered for relocating the market. But Lib Dems have previously supported the idea of a trial on Fargate, currently used for occasional continental markets, which is opposed by retailers in the area.

A vote on the idea was held at a full meeting of the council last autumn but the Lib Dems were defeated by Labour and the Sheffield Group, made up of Couns Anne Smith and Martin Davis, who have now lost their seats. There was also a proposal to relocate the market in front of the cathedral but the idea was subsequently rejected.