Anything that affects the town centre is always likely to divide opinion, and Harrogate Christmas Fayre is no exception. 

Some revel in the atmosphere and see the market as a sure sign that Christmas is just around the corner, while others complain of high prices and a preponderance of food stalls. You can’t please all of the people, all of the time.

But what most would probably agree on is that the people of Harrogate should know what it costs to put on – and who pays. Most specifically: is the taxpayer picking up any of the tab?

The answer to that is a probable no. The Christmas market is run by a company based in Greater Manchester called Market Place (Europe) Limited, which is licensed by North Yorkshire Council to put on the 17-day event. Such licences are usually paid for, but in this instance the council granted the licence at no cost “to support the local economy over the festive period”, according to a North Yorkshire Council spokesperson.

Asked by the Stray Ferret for details of the costs of putting on the market, North Yorkshire Council referred us to Market Place Europe, and Market Place Europe declined to provide figures, citing commercial sensitivities. 

But there are around 40 stalls on the market – slightly fewer than last year – and those the Stray Ferret has spoken to have said they are paying a range of sums for their pitches.

A large ‘double’ cabin for a food business costs as much as £10,000, according to one such stallholder, while a small pitch for a modest-sized food trailer is going for around £2,000. Middle-sized cabins cost £5-6,000 for the full two-and-a-half-week duration of the fayre.

Back-of-an-envelope calculations suggest the stall fees for Market Place probably come to somewhere around the £250,000 mark.

From that will come: staff costs (two managers are always on site during opening hours); security measures (Market Place has hired 24-hour security presence and vehicle entry points have been blocked off); generator hire for lighting and power; and administration costs before, during and after the event.

One person familiar with the mechanics of it is Brian Dunsby, who organised Harrogate’s first Christmas market, at the bottom of Montpellier Hill near the Crown roundabout, in 2013 and continued until 2019.

He told the Stray Ferret:

Another difference between the current market and Mr Dunsby’s, which he ran through a dedicated company called Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd, is the number and provenance of the stalls. His market hosted around 200 stalls, all from Yorkshire businesses and 190 of them from within the Harrogate district.

The current market places no such restrictions on the origin of stallholding businesses, and some are reported to have come from as far afield as France, the Netherlands, Greece, and even Ecuador.

The charity element is also a point of difference between the two market models. Harrogate Christmas Market Ltd turned over its profits – nearly £100,000 – to local charities. By contrast, the current Christmas Fayre has one stall which North Yorkshire Council has donated to a different charity each day (at the time of writing, it was occupied by Nidd Valley Methodist Churches).

But whatever the differences, last year’s town-centre market, which was also run by Market Place Europe, was deemed by Harrogate Business Improvement District to be a success.

Bid manager Matthew Chapman told the Stray Ferret:

Let us know in the comments below what you think of the Harrogate Christmas Fayre.

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