THE SUPERVISION of Wednesday’s Hedon Market will be scrutinised a lot more closely by Hedon Town Council.
The council currently delegates supervision of the market to an appointed manager and the licence for that appointment is currently up for review. That licence stipulates the frequency of the market, its location, setting-up and exit, according to town councillors who were discussing its contents at last week’s Property Committee meeting. The review of the licence should be an opportunity to discuss issues of concern regarding the current supervision arrangements.
Councillors recalled that the idea for running the current modern market (in what is an ancient market town) originated in the late 1980’s championed by then councillor John Ledger. Wednesday was chosen as an appropriate day for the market because that was the day when local resident traders’ takings were at their lowest. The market was seen as a way to bring more people into the town as a way of supporting local traders, in fact the first market traders were actually local town centre shopkeepers and business people who ran the market themselves. That situation didn’t last for long recollected Cllr. Neil Black, and management of the market was put out to tender.
One of the main purposes of the market was to generate an income for the town council to spend on the town’s Christmas festivities.
The whole issue of the Wednesday Market has been brought to attention of Hedon Town Council as a result of recent traffic problems and concerns caused as the market sets up and closes down. Recent photographs showing some of those traffic problems were passed around the meeting which seemed to reveal haphazard parking by market traders vans as the market sets up, but also shows unauthorised stopping by all manner of vehicles outside of the bank building and shops opposite the market place at all times of the day which narrows the road.
Ward Councillors Mike Bryan and John Dennis said that they have also met with parking enforcement senior officers at the market place on a Wednesday morning to see the problems first-hand.
traffic problems wednesday market
hedon market traffic 11th feb aly smith 2
Councillors say that the situation will be made much clearer for drivers when the East Riding of Yorkshire Council installs new red lines opposite the market place. These will indicate clearly that ‘no stopping’ is allowed.
Alongside a commitment to review the Hedon Market management licence, councillors also gave a general ‘thumbs up’ to the market at the meeting last week (Thursday 12th February 2015). The council had not received any notification of a challenge to staging the market on a Wednesday or in its current location. There had been a suggestion that local traders would write or petition the council for a change to the current arrangements, but in absence of such, the general consensus amongst Hedon councillors was that the market was beneficial to the town and would continue on a Wednesday.
The review of the market licence is the remit of the council’s Finance & General Purposes Committee and will be undertaken by members via those meetings.
Note: The above observations are based on attending meetings and do in no way represent any official record of Hedon Town Council’s decisions or stance on issues.
Photo: Thanks to Aly Smith for photo No.3.
We have been trading in the market place for over 23 years , sometimes you do have problems with someone parking on yellow lines while the market is setting up , but that happens because people don’t think before leaving their cars . Vans come ,deliver their goods and go , if you put no parking / stopping how will traders get deliveries into and out of their properties ? Let’s not over react , people still have to make a living , before any plans are passed let’s have some proper dialogue between the council and the traders . Some of people who are jumping on the bandwagon don’t see it like we do we are there from 7.30 till 5.00 daily and don’t really see a big problem , again I say don’t over react …..why are we being penalised for something that only happens for at the most 4 to 5 minutes tops every Wednesday morning when a bus stops at the bus stop ……worse things happen ……
It’s good to have a market in the town but it does make parking a problem on a Wed (and any other day for that matter) why not do as Driffield does. Close a road!! If the main street from Sherriff Highway to the top of George street was to close it would free up parking places in the square. Keep some parking behind Queens for deliveries to those shops on that street and the rest for visitors. There is enough room to put market van side by side of each stall in a long one sided market.
Ray.
I think you may have mis-heard a comment made at the meeting, regarding red lines. A suggestion was made that red lines might sort the problem, but the idea hasn’t been broached with traffic officers yet. We will however be asking them the question.
At present there is an agreement with ERYC that the stretch of road from the zebra crossing zig-zags to the post-office will be re-classified as ‘No Loading’ which will mean the double yellows will be re-enforced by bars across the kerb edge. My understanding is that this means no one can stop there for any reason, including blue-badge holders, post office vans or Securicor style vans.
What would then be needed is for regular visits from Parking Enforcement Officers and those regularly stopping/parking there so close to the George Street junction would soon get the message.
John P. Dennis. F.R.I.C.S
668th Mayor of Hedon
.
The current arrangement allows vehicle to load/unload and allow disabled drivers to park on the double yellow lines. A red route would not allow any vehicles to stop but it would have to be enforced, I’d expect it could be quite a money spinner for the council.
Actually vehicles are technically not allowed to stop on those double yellows at present because they are within 32′ of the junction with George Street. But that doesn’t seem to deter them!
JD
Will the red lines then become, No Parking, unless you are the GPO picking up parcels and the mail, and the security van picking up and dropping of money at the banks, and the chemist supply van dropping off supplies. Three examples, or will they have to sit and wait somewhere holding up traffic, or keep driving round the streets until they can get parked elsewhere.the market is so small now it could easily be moved elsewhere leaving the parking area for shopping at the local traders, being that some market traders actually take business away from the local shops.
Can I say that this morning in the cornmill cafe, Gary Robinson owner of Green print was verbally abused by a stall holder. He has been accused of being the ring leader in trying to get the market closed down, and called a W***** in the process. I would like to speak up for him and say that this is not the case, where has this information come from. He will be putting in a formal complaint to the market inspector in due course, this behavior is unacceptable.
Carol – just to say I’ve removed the bit where you identify the stall holder; it’s important the Blog doesn’t get used for tit-for-tat banter. However, I realise you’re speaking up for Mr Robinson and would confirm that on this website he has not called for the market to be closed down, in fact he emphasised the point that Hedon is a market town and should have one.
The discussion, on here and elsewhere, has broached the subject of where the market would be most effectively located to everyone’s mutual benefit. Although at the moment that is just a discussion point and nothing else.