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22
Nov 2024
Rescue package recommended for Ripon Market
Ripon's ancient market, whose future is threatened by a money-saving proposal put forward by cash-strapped North Yorkshire Council, received a timely boost yesterday afternoon.
While stallholders at the Thursday market made the most of the last hour of trading on a bitterly cold day, members of the council's Skipton and Ripon Area Committee met at Ripon Town Hall, where they voted unanimously to support a potential rescue package.
They did so after hearing that 91 percent of traders who use council-erected stalls will cease to trade in the city if the current stall-erecting service is withdrawn.
At the moment, traders can choose to pay a surcharge of £5.30 per stall on top of their pitch rentals to have the stalls provided and set up by council employees.
But the local authority has said it can no longer afford to offer this service in Ripon and Knaresborough, because it is running at an annual deficit of up to £35,000.
The rescue package
The rescue package proposed by Councillor Andrew Williams, a member of the Conservatives and Independents group who represents Ripon Minster and Moorisde, and seconded by Councillor Andy Brown, calls on the council's executive to defer for six months a decision it is due to take on December 6.
With Ripon City Council bidding to take over control of Ripon Market Square and other city assets as part of North Yorkshire Council's double devolution agenda, this would allow time for a marketing exercise to attract additional traders to take up space at Ripon Market, while enabling more discussions to be held with existing stallholders.
If, after six months, the council still plans to proceed with withdrawal of the stall set-up service, no decision would be made until an economic impact assessment has been carried out and its findings have been reported back to the area committee for consideration.
The area committee meeting in Ripon Town Hall.
Before voting in favour of the proposed rescue package, members of the committee listened to Cllr Barbara Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat who represents Ripon Ure Bank and Spa. She, along with three-times mayor of Ripon Cllr Pauline McHardy have raised a Save Ripon Market petition signed by 3,260 residents, traders and visitors to the city.
Cllr Brodigan said:
Withdrawing the market stall set-up service endangers the future viability of the market as 91 percent of traders who use it — 11 out of 12 — have said they will leave Ripon Market and go elsewhere.
Ripon City Council has bid to take over management of Ripon Market under double devolution and we feel that any decisions should be delayed until this process is finalised, enabling future options for the market to be considered by Ripon City Council.
We ask that this committee considers the aims of the petition and recommends to the executive that, before any decision is made, a full community and economic assessment is carried out, to measure the impact that withdrawing the market stall set-up service would have on the market's viability and the effect it would have on the wider Ripon economy.
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Green Cllr Andy Brown, who represents Aire Valley, said:
When you consider that the population of Ripon is 16,000, gathering a petition of 3,260 signatures in support of the market is an incredible return.
People do not want to lose part of the city's heritage and we can see elsewhere the benefits that have been derived in places that have invested in their markets.
Ripon Market is currently a bit tired and run down, but it could be transformed, particularly with the additional money that will be brought into the city through the development of the barracks site.
Cllr Williams added:
Footfall figures produced by Ripon BID, show that Thursday is only the sixth busiest day of the week, meaning that the market is not doing what it should be doing and drawing people in.
We need to actively and aggressively market the space that we have available to attract more traders and a six-month deferral on the decision-making process will give the time needed to do this.
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