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05
Oct
Knaresborough market already growing just one month after takeover
Having finally been taken over by the town council last month, Knaresborough market is growing and "in a very good place", according to one of the councillors behind the move.
Cllr James Pickard is one of the directors of Visit Knaresborough CIC, the community interest company set up to run the market for its first six months away from control by North Yorkshire Council.
He told the Stray Ferret that numbers of traders at the market have already spiked since the CIC started running it on September 1. He said:
We were down to about 22 stalls before, but we've got 36 or 38 each week now.
The traders themselves are doing quite a nice push for us, talking to stallholders at other markets and saying, 'Knaresborough's under new management – why not give it a try?'.
We've got two new traders starting this week, and if we can ride this wave until spring, we'll be fine. We're in a very good place.
Knaresborough Market
According to a joint statement published today by Knaresborough Town Council and Visit Knaresborough CIC, the initial six-month period is intended to "give the council a clearer understanding of the requirements and practical details of running the market each week, enabling a well-informed and transparent procurement process".
At the end of the period, the town council will invite tenders for the future operation of the Wednesday market. But Cllr Pickard said:
Running the market is an operational struggle, so it will go out to tender, but I'd be very surprised if anyone bid for it.
We'll listen to anyone who wants to bid, but given the infrastructure we'll be building over the next six months, I think the CIC will probably be best placed to run it.
Cllr Pickard, who works in events management, said he hoped Visit Knaresborough would also be able to get involved with other aspects of the town's cultural and commercial life, in addition to running the market.
He said:
It was rather an arduous process to get [the market], but now we've got it, we're quite excited, to be honest. But that's just the first step.
Governance is quite strict where the town council's concerned, but having the CIC means we can look at doing other things we couldn't through the council.
A stall on Knaresborough Market.
In the joint statement, the directors of Visit Knaresborough – who besides Cllr Pickard include Bill Taylor and David Morris – added:
In time, Visit Knaresborough will be looking for more local people to get involved with several new and exciting projects. Interested parties are encouraged to reach out and let us know.
But speaking to the Stray Ferret, Cllr Pickard declined to provide any more detailson the "new and exciting projects", saying:
There's nothing on the cards as it stands. There are a few things North Yorkshire Council may ask us to look at, but I'd be silly to start listing those now.
The CIC's only been formed for five weeks, and for now the market is its primary focus.
Local produce has been sold on Knaresborough market for centuries.
In the meantime, Visit Knaresborough's directors said they hoped people would fully support the market through the period of transition.
They added:
The market is part of Knaresborough’s identity and has been for generations. These first few weeks have given us real encouragement, particularly seeing new traders joining us and familiar faces returning.
There is a great deal of work still to do, but we have an opportunity over the coming months to listen, learn and build momentum. We want to create a thriving market that works for traders, complements our town-centre businesses and gives residents and visitors another reason to come into Knaresborough every Wednesday.
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