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12
Sept 2024
Council to press ahead with controversial changes to Ripon and Knaresborough markets
North Yorkshire Council has confirmed it plans to press ahead with changes that threaten the future of Ripon and Knaresborough’s ancient markets.
The council wants to make traders put up their own stalls to save £30,000 a year.
Two-thirds of market traders at Ripon and Knaresborough have indicated they would pack-up if this happened.
Some say they would be unable to fit the metal frames and their goods in their vans; others say they would simply find it impossible to erect and dismantle stalls themselves.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee today after a petition against the move attracted the required 500 signatures to trigger a debate.
Knaresborough traders Steve Teggin and Bill Teggin, who organised the petition, said in a report to councillors the change would “threaten the sustainability of the market itself”.
Councillor Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, told today's meeting there were “no plans to close Ripon or Knaresborough markets”, adding:
While several traders own and erect their own stalls, some take advantage of the stall set-up service provided by North Yorkshire Council. However, this is a subsidised service, costing taxpayers around £30,000 a year.
After reviewing the current arrangements, we would also need to invest tens of thousands of pounds in new trailers and vehicles to overcome logistical problems created by the weight and size of the stalls.
As a result, we are looking to bring Ripon and Knaresborough markets in line with the other five outdoor markets we manage across North Yorkshire, so that all stalls are erected by traders.
We continue to engage directly with stallholders at both markets, along with stakeholders, to gather their feedback on the proposals and options for traders to erect their own stalls. A formal decision will be made later in the year.
Traditional market
Knaresborough has the longest continuously run market in the country, which attracts bus loads to the town.
Mr Teggin said Cllr Duncan's comments suggested the council had put the value of its continuation at £15,000.
He said the self-erect option used elsewhere would not work in Knaresborough due to the market place's history and geography, with strong winds making lightweight self-erect stalls unsuitable.
Mr Teggin said the town needed a traditional market to maintain its economic appeal, as markets with lightweight self-erect stalls tended to be little more than car boot sales with gazebos.
He also pointed out the council was committed to exploring letting Knaresborough Town Council run it as part of ongoing talks instigated as part of North Yorkshire Council’s own double devolution agenda set up to devolve power to local areas. He said:
Knaresborough Town Council want to take it on and North Yorkshire Council need to co-operate with that as part of double devolution. The town, the traders and the town council will take over the market — that’s the direction they should be going.
Mr Teggin also said it was “shameful” that Ripon City Council was not supporting its market in the same way Knaresborough Town Council was. He added:
If I was a Ripon trader I would be disgusted by the city council’s lack of support.
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