The Stray Ferret can exclusively reveal that stallholders in Knaresborough and Ripon are launching a joint petition, as they fight for their future at the two ancient markets. 

With Harrogate Borough Council (HBC), proposing rent increases of up to 32.4 percent, both say it will lead to the loss of traders at each centre and they will be asking the public to sign a petition, calling on the council to rethink its plans.  

Steve Teggin, a member of Knaresborough Market Working Group and president of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade, says: “We are going to fight this all the way to protect our heritage asset. The town was granted its charter by Edward II in 1310 and we have the oldest continuous market in England.” 

He adds: “We have suffered enough blows with high shop vacancy rates and our market – an important footfall driver on Wednesdays and particularly Christmas – must be protected, or the town centre will find itself under water.”  

Knaresborough is anticipating the loss of up to six stallholders if the rent rise proposed by HBC goes ahead from April 1, while Brian Murphy, the stallholders’ representative for Ripon market – whose charter was granted by James I in 1604 – anticipates the loss of up to five traders from its Thursday market.   

Mr Murphy, whose family has sold fruit and vegetables at the market for more than 100 years, points out: “This is the biggest increase in rent that any of us can remember and news of it was greeted with absolute shock and dismay” 

He adds: “With some of our stallholders considering packing up because the rent rise will make them unviable, Harrogate Borough Council is about to shoot itself in both feet, because the market will be less attractive, fewer people will come into the city on Thursdays and all businesses who rely on footfall, including cafes, pubs and restaurants, will all be hit – it’s a lose-lose situation.” 

The Stray Ferret asked HBC questions, ranging from how the council justifies the increase in rent to possible effects on footfall in Knaresborough and Ripon, if some stallholders decide to withdraw from the markets. We received the following reply from an HBC spokesperson:

“The increase (£5 per week) is to cover the cost of erecting a stall on behalf of the trader (the percentage changes because the charge is lower during winter months). Currently, it costs the local taxpayer £15 each time we erect a stall on behalf of a trader. For both self-assembly and provided-stalls, our rates remains competitive with nearby markets.

“We have never distinguished between HBC-erected and self-erect stalls before but felt it would be unfair to increase the price across all traders when the cost is actually only associated with only some of them (many traders in Knaresborough and Ripon use self-assembly stalls at these other markets they sell at). As previously mentioned, the cost of putting the stalls up is heavily subsidised by the tax payer.

“It is great to hear that traders feel they are seeing more footfall through the markets in Knaresborough and Ripon. This is the reason we want to introduce more diversity and flexibility in the way the market is run and the traders we can attract. It would be a shame if some of the regular traders missed the opportunity on offer to invest in their own equipment which would actually increase their trading scope to include other towns where council erected stalls are no longer an option.

“The budget was agreed on 12 February including the fees and charges for the 2020/21 financial year. This included the incentivised offer of a £5 reduction per week for traders to switch to self-erect for 2020/21 (if signed up between April and June). We look forward to seeing how many traders choose to take this offer and help ensure our town markets continue to thrive.”

Staff at Wetherspoon pubs across the Harrogate district are on a high hygiene alert to keep their premises germ free as the coronavirus crisis deepens. 

The pub chain, which serves food and drink to thousands of customers per week at the Winter Gardens in Harrogate, The Crown in Knaresborough and Unicorn in Ripon, has introduced an alarm bell system, which reminds staff on a regular basis to clean all surfaces that can be touched by customers, staff and suppliers. 

The emergency procedures apply across the whole of the Wetherspoon estate and staff are receiving practical advice and updates from head office on a daily basis. 

The Stray Ferret witnessed a cleaning session at the Unicorn Ripon this week, which happened straight after the alarm bell rang. All surfaces including door handles, bar tops, coffee machines, tables and chairs were assiduously wiped over. 

Unicorn regulars, Tim Freeman and Russ Kell (pictured above), were unaware of the bell alert initiative, but were impressed when told about it. Tim said:

“The tables in here are clean enough to eat your dinner off and the bar is always immaculate. I didn’t know that extra measures had been brought it, but it’s reassuring to discover that Wetherspoon are looking after customers to this degree.” 

Russ adds: “I’ve eaten at Wetherspoon pubs all over the country and they operate to a very high standard. It’s good to hear that they are protecting us in ways we didn’t even know about.”