www.findamarket.net – *** NEWS ***

MARKET traders at Warrington face the possibility of a 79 per cent increase in the business rates they pay.
The potential impact on stallholders – and the increase in bureaucracy and administration for the borough council – could be substantial.
Town Hall bosses are in touch with other authorities operating six day-a-week indoor markets which will face similar increases to try and co-ordinate a collective objection.
The potential rise in rates payable arises from a changed interpretation of how National Non Domestic Rates are calculated.
Reason for this is that the Valuation Office has introduced individual assessments of stalls, rather than one overall assessment for the market.
Peter Taylor, Warrington’s assistant director for regeneration and development, in a report to the council’s economy and resources overview committee, says the development is “a significant issue affecting the future financial position of the retail market.”
A specialist tax advisor is reviewing the Valuation Office assessment and appeals are being lodged against the decision.
If it is not changed, negotiations over the phasing-in of any increase will take place.

Findamarket.net is now free for all market operators. Join now at www.findamarket.net/register.php

FRUSTRATION is growing among shopkeepers in Pocklington who claim market traders are losing them business by refusing to face their stalls towards the shops.

Several shop owners in the town have said their businesses are suffering on the Tuesday market day because the direction the stalls are facing is causing people to walk on the road and not the paths and consequently miss out shops completely.

One shopkeeper claims a large white van parks outside her shop most Tuesdays as well as a stall which blocks out the view of the shop from the outside and inside.

Trisha Brant, who owns the knitting store Poppy’s on Market Place, said: “It’s been going on for a long time. Since we opened in 2005 really.

“Tuesdays are the quietest days. It is a marked difference. If the market was on a Monday we wouldn’t open. We would extend our weekend.”

“The number of people who on a market day say we didn’t know you were here is astonishing.

“They even park vans in front of the shop so we are completely blocked out.”

Clare and Neil Saunders, who own Swirlz ice cream shop next to Pocklington Arts Centre, are experiencing a similar problem.

Mrs Saunders said: “We make no trade whatsoever on a Tuesday. Everyone walks down the centre of town.

“People don’t walk behind the market stalls and you lose business. It’s been going on for a long time.”

Last week the couple put out a sign in front of the C & N Wines shop which they also run to make people aware of their ice cream shop.

The sign said: “There is a lovely ice cream shop open but you can’t see it. There is a great big market stall in front of it.”

A market inspector from East Riding Council has been to talk to market traders in Pocklington to ask them to trade from both sides of their stalls and some have agreed to do so but only when the warmer weather arrives.

Steve Brackenbury, an officer with responsibility for the markets for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “We have asked the traders if they would be able to trade from both sides of their stalls. A number of them are able to and say they will in warmer weather. A small number cannot because of the design of their stalls. We will continue to work with traders and shops to help everyone to work together.”

source: Pocklington Post

Findamarket.net is now free for all market operators. Join now at www.findamarket.net/register.php

Chesterfield market traders have signed a new agreement with Chesterfield Borough Council to work together in keeping the town’s market clean and tidy.

The town’s Markets Consultative Committee, which represents the market traders in the town, has signed the agreement which details the responsibilities of the Council and the traders to maintain a clean market.

Chesterfield’s market plays an important role in the town centre’s economic prosperity, attracting thousands of residents and visitors every week and is a focal point for many people.

The market area presents many challenges. The permanent stalls and the traditional stone paving means the Council has to be more careful with its cleansing methods. The market is thoroughly cleaned down by Veolia, the Council’s waste contractor, at the end of trading. SpirePride, the Council’s street cleansing service removes litter and empties the bins throughout the day. The electric ‘Glutton’ vacuum cleaner introduced last summer is used, alongside the SpirePride team to ensure litter, including discarded cigarette ends, are removed.

Cllr Ray Russell, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: “We are pleased that traders have signed up to help keep the market clean.  We want traders to have pride in their market and to champion the SpirePride campaign which recognises that a cleaner town requires partnership between the Council, traders, businesses and visitors. As well as managing their waste properly, they can support us in keeping the area tidy and remind visitors to use the new bins for their waste and cigarette ends.”

The Council supplies refuse bags to traders when they set up their stalls and traders are advised on how to deal with their commercial waste as well as dealing with any litter created by their customers.

Cllr Russell continues: “This agreement is crucial to ensuring the best possible standards are achieved in the market area. We recognise that this is a key ingredient of a successful town and one we wish to promote as part of our ‘Destination Chesterfield’ ambitions. We are working with a range of organisations and I look forward to others following the market traders’ lead in signing up to a cleaner Chesterfield.”

Findamarket.net, the original and largest independent market letting site, has announced that it is now going to be available free of charge to all market operators.  This will allow them to advertise nationally for all trades to fill empty pitches as well as posting details of special events and news items.

“We have always been free for market traders to use and now, with the increasing government cut backs, we want to extend this to ALL market operators.  We want traders to be able to search the whole of the UK for suitable vacancies and at the same time make it easy and instant for operators to fill gaps.

We believe that market managers/inspectors are the right people to decide what tenants they need/want and our easy to use members section allows them to instantly advertise for these trades. For instance if a butcher leaves your ‘gaff’ at 5pm on a Friday then by 5.01pm you can post a vacancy for a new one and our system will automatically tell suitable traders of your vacancy.  One of the great features is that matching traders/tenants would receive instant text notification of your vacancies!”

As well as recruiting new traders Operators will also be able to :-

1. Update their own market details on our UK map of markets. You can do this as soon as circumstances change and do not need to wait upto a year as with other sites!
2. Post details of upcoming events in our online interactive calender.
3. Publish your press releases.
4. Let your traders promote their businesses free of charge in our ‘find a trader section’.
5. Keep up with the latest market news – direct to your inbox!
6. Network with other market managers – great for receiving advice and help!

Findamarket.net wants you all to register and take advantage of 100% free promotion of all your market operations. Simply follow these steps :-

1. Goto www.findamarket.net
2. Click the ‘Register’ tab.
3. Fill in your contact details and submit them.
4. You will now receive an activation email – you must click on the confirmation link to ensure yours is a genuine application.
5. Once you do this your account will be activated and you are free to start using us !

STALLHOLDERS expect to trigger a full council debate on the future of Chester’s market hall after collecting 1,600 signatures.

Friends of Chester Market opposes council plans to relocate the market to a new £8m building on Frodsham Street car park as part of changes brought about by the ING-backed Northgate Development.

Now a 1,600-strong petition has been handed into the council to keep the market in a central location by the town hall, which automatically triggers a council debate after passing the 1,500 threshold.

Chairman Vic Button disputes council leader Mike Jones’s assertion most market traders want ‘a radical solution’ to the market’s declining fortunes.

He said: “The council are intent on relocating the market so they can sell the land that it is on to ING, so selling off the silver! This is so that the land can then be redeveloped with more unneeded, mundane shops and apartments.

“To this aim, the council says that the market is in a poor state and is losing money and must go.

“But the market is only losing money because the council has badly neglected it – leaky roof for more than 15 years, poor town signs, new traders turned away – so failing to rent out stalls, no attempt to improve people flow and with too many market employees, leading to a very large wage bill.”

Mr Button said the proposed Frodsham Street car park site, ‘next to the pigeon coop and outside the city walls’, was fraught with problems. He and others claim the area is designated as public open space and the building would be ‘illegally pitched’.

source: chester chronicle

Campaigners for historic Leeds Kirkgate Market plan to collect 10,000 signatures to persuade Leeds City Council to invest in its future – and cut traders’ rents.

Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market group was formed last year as fears grew over the Victorian market’s future.

More and more stalls were falling empty and traditional traders were moving out blaming high rents.

The market once attracted customers from across the North and tens of thousands still use the market and it is recognised as an important source of quality, inexpensive food for the city.

Leeds City Council is holding a public consultation exercise involving shoppers and traders on market’s future

The friends group and the traders have responded with their own three-point petition which calls for:

* Significantly reduced market traders’ rents – to be agreed in consultation with traders;
* Substantial investment over the next five years, including repairs to the roof;
* Involvement of traders and greater transparency in all aspects of market management, starting with traders having a say in the recruitment and appointment of a new market manager.

Traders have complained in the past of strict enforcement of petty regulations – such as telling butchers not to stand outside their doorways shouting their wares.

The friends group and the traders are urging supporters to join them from noon to 1pm on Wednesday, February 2, at Whitaker Farmhouse eggs stall, opposite Jamie Oliver’s stall and near the toilets, to support the petition.

A spokeswoman said: “The council is currently discussing the future strategy for the market and we are worried about their plans. We need everyone to show support and solidarity with the market traders.”

Sign the petition at: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/kirkgatemkt

THE City of Lincoln Council could have to pay back more than £118,000 to stallholders who forked out for a spot at this year’s Lincoln Christmas Market.

Bosses at City Hall have confirmed any trader who paid for a stall can get a full refund – but with 262 stalls ranging from between £450 and £5,465 per pitch, cash being paid back could total hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The authority was forced to cancel the four-day event after the county was blasted by Arctic weather conditions last week.

As reported on This is Lincolnshire yesterday, as well as the option of a 100 per cent refund, traders can opt not to have a refund and instead be guaranteed a stall of equal size at next year’s Lincoln Christmas Market at no cost.

The council has confirmed that it does not have insurance to cover cancelling the event, so will have to cover all costs.

Councillor Darren Grice, leader of the City of Lincoln Council, said: “We sympathise deeply with stall holders and businesses, to whom the cancellation comes as a real financial blow. The council continues to invest in the market for the very reason that it brings so much economic benefit to the city, both during the event and with the return visitor.

“Having had the chance to look at the finances, we have set out a range of measures that, hopefully, will go some way to softening the blow for stall holders and local businesses.

“We believe offering a full refund is the right thing to do.”

The council will now write to all stall holders with details on how they can apply for a refund.

If it had gone ahead, traders would have been flogging their stock to around 160,000 punters.

Business owner Rod Taylor, who runs Sox Maniac in Lincoln Cornhill Market, had paid £3,800 for a spot inside Lincoln Castle grounds. He said: “It’s absolutely excellent news that the council is going to give us a full refund. It was a concern for us that we would have lost the money, which we couldn’t have afforded.

“I do completely understand the council’s decision to cancel the market and it hasn’t put me off. I’ve had a place there for the past 18 years and I will apply for a spot next year. Hopefully the traders and the council won’t find themselves in this position again.”

To ease the financial burden on business in the Bailgate area this weekend, the council has also said it will provide free parking at The Lawn, Westgate, Langworth Gate, St Paul’s Lane and Castle Hill car parks on Saturday and Sunday.

Blackburn traders have been given a further rent reduction until the opening of the new £8 million market in March 2011.

Many of the traders left in the current market have signed up to move across the road into the new state of the art facility on the ground floor of the Mall shopping centre.

Ninety four of the possible 127 stalls in the new Blackburn Market have already been allocated and interest among traders from outside the town remains high.

Councillor Dave Harling, Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “The vitality of the existing market is seen by the Council as being an important key to the prosperity of the town.

“Most of the traders in the new market are already in the town and we want them to keep going until March 4th when the market has to close.

“It is my priority to ensure that we explore all our options to see how we can help traders through this Christmas.”

Rents have been reduced to 50 per cent in November, December and January, and there will be a 75 per cent reduction in February.

This reduction applies to the full stall rent. Those on concessions will be adjusted but they will only reduce to 50 per cent and 75 per cent of the full rent levels.

Traders, who are isolated in the market due to closures of other stalls, have also been asked if they want to move into a vacant site in the main trading areas.

Four have accepted so far and will be moved in the near future.

The Market roof top car park is also now free after 3pm everyday including Saturdays.

Chesterfield Market once again gave away cotton market bags to encourage shoppers to shop local and to recycle. Last year’s bag swap was a huge success and they collected over 20,000 plastic bags which were all recycled. This year, the idea was for shoppers to exchange an item of clothing which will be donated to Ashgate Hospice for the eco-friendly green bag.

The re-usable organic cotton bag was launched by the Mayor, Cllr Keith Morgan at a ‘Cotton for Cotton’ exchange on Chesterfield Market on 8 November. Despite it being a very cold wet Monday morning it still managed to attract some faithful shoppers who braved the weather to swop their clothes for a cotton bag.

The bag, which has been screen printed by hand rather than by machine, boasts the days of Chesterfield Market on one side and a ‘think global shop local’ message on the other and has been sponsored by Chesterfield Market Traders, Banner Jones Solicitors and Chesterfield Borough Council.

Cllr Ray Russell, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: “Chesterfield Market is very keen to support the shop local message and encourage shoppers to support their local traders. Building on the success of last year’s Cotton Bag Swap we are delighted to once again have the support of Banner Jones Solicitors and Chesterfield Market Traders and have also partnered with Ashgate Hospice to donate the clothes collected.

The Cotton for Cotton exchange will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week so what are you waiting for… have a rummage through your wardrobe, donate your unwanted clothes and receive a free re-useable Chesterfield Market Bag in return.

FLORIST FOR SALE.

A long established florist for sale, in the indoor market [New Market Hall], Kings Square, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 7NW.

Contact A Duffy on 07578 641711.

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