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02
Dec
Ripon and Knaresborough market changes to be delayed
A move to implement controversial changes at Ripon and Knaresborough markets looks set to be delayed by six months.
North Yorkshire Council wants to end the current arrangement whereby traders have the option of paying £5.30 per stall, per week to have council staff erect and dismantle their stalls.
It wants to move to the self-erect model it employs at its other five markets in Thirsk, Northallerton, Helmsley, Pickering and Whitby where traders bring and set up their own stalls each week.
The council has said it provides the service at a loss and the change would save £35,000 a year.
However, traders have said the self-erect model would be impractical for traders and ruin the traditional appeal of Ripon and Knaresborough’s ancient markets.
According to one survey, two-thirds of stallholders will quit if the move goes ahead.
Now, the move to implement the model looks set to be delayed.
According to a council report due before Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the council, ahead of a meeting on Friday (December 6) has recommended that the implementation be pushed back by six months in order to minimise the impact on trading over the busy Christmas period.
It also recommends that the move is delayed to “allow separate discussions supported by the Localities Team to continue with Knaresborough Town Council and Ripon City Council in relation to their devolution ambitions”.
The report adds:
From an operational perspective, postponing a decision and continuing market operations ‘as is’ for at least six months is not viable without immediate further financial and management intervention. However, the complex stakeholder context is recognised and the need for North Yorkshire Council to support devolution of services and allow sufficient time for current discussions to conclude.
It is therefore proposed that any decision to cease the current stall set up arrangements be deferred giving all stakeholders certainty of the direction of travel and sufficient time to plan.
The report also recommends that the “existing promotion of the markets is expanded to mitigate any adverse impacts from changing the operating model”.
The move comes as campaigners in both Knaresborough and Ripon have previously called for the economic impact of the markets to be assessed before any decision is taken.
A Save Ripon Market petition was signed by 3,260 residents, traders and visitors to the city and subsequently debated by councillors at a Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee meeting last month.
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