Welcome to Market News

HOT TOPICS!

The Old Fishmarket Transformed! Go to: www.fishmarketgallery.co.uk

Recent Survey by Pleydell Smithyman, NBC’s Consultants: click here

Farmers’ Market every third Thursday in the month.

The Market Square is once again hosting a Farmers’ Market on the third Thursday of each month. It is hoped that this will attract a new influx of shoppers into the town centre on what is traditionally a rather quiet day.

Latest Market News!

National Market Traders’ Federation Northampton Branch

Newsletter September 2008 (2)

This second newsletter of the month is to keep traders and the general public up to date with current goings on regarding the new market layout.

Northampton Borough Council (NBC) has rejected the plan favoured by the traders - see previous newsletter below - and after chopping and changing their own plan have presented at our Market Liaison Group Meeting a definitive layout.

This layout only caters for 148 stalls; however as the meat and fish wagons have to be accommodated within this number the true figure will be less than that. The shortfall on a Saturday will be around 15-20 stalls, and despite NBC’s offer of demountable stalls being purchased, when one of the 40 promised events is on there will be no room for them.

Therefore the market traders’ committee has registered its disapproval. We have suggested to the council that as we want one layout and they another perhaps the public should decide.

Our campaign has begun with interviews with the Chronicle & Echo and BBC Radio Northampton, where we have laid out our case for our layout pointing out that not only will all current market traders get a stall but the revenue from our layout is more than from the council’s layout.

Also on our agenda is to discuss with the national federation the options open to us from a legal point of view regarding the charter.

The council’s inability to come up with a workable layout has left us no choice in our actions. The attitude the council have is, we will do what we want and the traders can like it or lump it.

The council seem to want to favour an events area which makes no money over the market which gives them an overall profit of over a quarter of a million pounds.

Your committee will fight for the interests of all traders and will use any options open to us in this matter.

Please be assured that you will be kept up to date with all goings on as and when they happen.

National Market Traders’ Federation Northampton Branch Newsletter September 2008

The purpose of this newsletter is to inform all traders of the results of the Extraordinary General Meeting held in the Guildhall on Wednesday 3rd September.

The votes cast on the night were added to the proxy votes cast by traders unable to attend, and the results were as follows-

Issue 1: Do we want the layout suggested?

Option A: 14 votes.     Option B: 55 votes.

Therefore Option B, the alternative layout, will be the layout suggested to NBC. They can of course ignore our suggestions, so it was advised that courses of action such as using the press for public support, and as a last resort and with the support of the NMTF, long term legal action could be undertaken. This could obviously become very expensive.

A show of hands was asked for to see if traders would be willing to pay for this option, and it was carried unanimously. In the unlikely event of legal action being taken, traders who were not at the meeting would of course be asked to contribute.

Issue 2: How should the move be conducted?

Option A: 8 votes.     Option B: 13 votes.     Option C: 46 votes.

Therefore Option C, closest to current position will be advised as our preference of movement. Please note that should NBC choose to ignore our suggested layout and insist on their own layout, the committee would ask this question again to the traders. Any placing of traders onto stalls will be conducted by Market officials, not by your committee.

Issue 3: Removal of all stalls for large scale events?

Option A: 3 votes.     Option B: 65 votes.

Therefore option B, ‘No, the traders are not prepared to move for events under any circumstances’ will be conveyed to NBC at our next meeting.

The committee would like to thank all those traders who attended the EGM for their time, and remind those that did not attend, that you cannot moan if you don’t vote! Any further developments will be passed on to you all as and when we get them.

A printable map of the market can be downloaded from here.