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18
Sept
Details revealed of Knaresborough Market takeover plan ahead of council meeting
Knaresborough Town Council’s plans to take over the running of the town’s historic weekly market – and run it at a profit – will be up for discussion at a council meeting in Harrogate on Thursday (September 25).
The town council took the decision in March to make a bid for the market, after North Yorkshire Council announced its intention in December to stop subsidising the stall set-up service as part of its drive to “harmonise” operations across the county’s markets.
Speaking at the time, Bill Taylor of the Save Knaresborough Market campaign said:
I find it hard to believe anyone thinks Knaresborough Market can survive harmonisation. With so few traders left, it just wouldn’t be worth it for the few remaining ones to keep going.
Our only chance is for Knaresborough Town Council to take over the market.
Fellow campaigner Steve Teggin told the Stray Ferret in May that the number of stalls on the market had fallen from 40-plus to about 20 over the last 15 years.
A market has been held in Knaresborough since at least the 13th century, and probably before. The town was granted a market charter by King Edward II in 1310 and one has been held every Wednesday ever since.
Even though there are fewer stalls than there used to be, the market is still popular.
Knaresborough Town Council submitted its business case to run the market to North Yorkshire Council four months ago, but its contents were not made available at the time.
But now a summary of the document published by North Yorkshire Council ahead of its Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee meeting next week has provided some details.
It reveals that Knaresborough Town Council wants to build on the market’s heritage and develop its standing at the heart of town life, linking up with the education and voluntary sectors, and providing a place for entrepreneurs to “test out ideas within a supportive environment”.
As far as the day-to-day running of the market goes, Knaresborough Town Council proposes continuing the stall set-up service, but using its own contractor.
It also aims to invest in software to provide an e-booking system and engage someone with accredited knowledge of Chapter 8 traffic management to ensure the correct temporary traffic management arrangements are in place each week.
Chapter 8 refers to the part of the Department for Transport’s traffic management guide that covers roadworks and temporary situations.
A stall on Knaresborough Market.
Knaresborough Town Council has also proposed forming a markets committee, which would be open to the public and report to the full council. The town clerk and markets officer would meet weekly, and an annual meeting would be attended by town council officers, councillors and regular market traders.
The business case assumes direct operating costs of approximately £50,000 a year, with projected income of £70,000 – suggesting an annual profit of £20,000.
North Yorkshire Council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area committee will meet at the Civic Centre in Harrogate on Thursday at 10am. All 13 members of the committee are currently expected to attend the meeting, which will be chaired by Farnham resident and Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Lacey, who also chairs Knaresborough and District Chamber.
A formal decision on the running of the market and Knaresborough Town Council’s business case is expected to be made by the North Yorkshire Council executive on October 21.
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