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18
Mar
Knaresborough to draw up business case to run weekly market
Knaresborough Town Council has agreed to draw up a business plan to take over the running of the town’s weekly market.
The council was urged to take action to avoid a “catastrophe” for the town at a packed meeting last night.
Councillors agreed unanimously to do so, after North Yorkshire Council confirmed it will no longer provide set-up services for traders from July as part of plans to ‘harmonise’ its approach to county markets.
Town councillors must now see if they can reach an agreement with the council over the terms of running the weekly market as well as the Christmas market, which attracts up to 20,000 people over two weekends.
They must also decide whether the cost of any such agreement, which could fall on local council taxpayers, is prohibitive.
Local businessmen Steve Teggin and Bill Taylor, who are leading the Save Knaresborough Market campaign, spoke at last night’s meeting.
Mr Teggin said:
If there’s ever been a time when we need the town council to step-up it’s now. There’s a lot of Knaresborough people behind you, including the business community, so please, please save our market.
Knaresborough's Wednesday market
Mr Taylor said many traders could not erect their own stalls, and the market place is too small to accommodate vans for those able to do so — unlike other North Yorkshire market locations. The market place wind tunnel would also make flimsy self-erect stalls unsuitable, he added.
Mr Taylor 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.
In brief – this is catastrophic for the weekly market and also the Christmas market. Our only chance is for Knaresborough Town Council to take over the market.
'Too many unknowns'
Cllr Kathryn Davies, a Conservative who represents Aspin and Calcutt, warned there were “still too many unknowns” over costs and the lack of information from North Yorkshire Council made it difficult to produce a “robust business case”.
Cllr Davies also pointed out the precept, the amount paid by council taxpayers for town council services, was already due to increase from £26.92 to £36.99 — a rise of 37% — next month.
Cllr David Goode, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough Castle ward, said the town council had to act now rather than spend time on a feasibility study. He added:
We’ve got to create almost a crisis point that gets us the answers. Moving to the business case is the way to do that. We still have time to do it but we need to get on with it.
Shan Oakes, a Green who represents Scriven Park, said:
We can build up a really good vision and make it fantastic. There’s no way we can let the market fail.
Ripon Market is also under threat. Image: Ripon City Council
Historic threat
Knaresborough’s Wednesday market, which dates back to 1310, is one of the oldest in the country. But question marks hang over the future of it and Ripon’s weekly Thursday market following North Yorkshire Council’s shock statement last year.
Jon Clubb, head of parks and grounds at the council said in a recent letter to stallholders:
After extensive engagement and discussions throughout the summer and autumn of 2024, a formal decision was made on 6 December 2024 by the corporate director of environment, in consultation with the executive member for highways and transportation, to cease the set-up of market stalls by North Yorkshire Council, harmonising all our outdoor markets to ‘self-set.’
The letter added the current set-up will remain unchanged until early July to allow Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon City Council time to formulate bids to run the markets but added: “We understand that these proposals represent a significant change for some traders.”
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