Page 14 - Market Times April 2024

14 MARKET TIMES • APRIL 2024
What next for Retford’s historic,
much-loved market?
By NICOLA GOULD
BASSETLAW District Council has had a rethink over how best to improve the town’s ancient market after its original plan which would have halved the size of the market was met with passionate op- position from local people.
The council is proposing to invest more than £400,000 in the charter market, comprising funding from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Capital Funding from the council.
The original plan would have seen the large market, which fills the town’s Market Square on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, reduced by half, with the remainder of the square to be used as events space. The stalls in the original plan would have incorporated seating, according to traders, who felt this would have been impractical for their businesses.
Granted a charter by King Henry III in 1246, the market was huge in days gone by, but it is still popular with loyal local people and is regularly full, with 71 stalls and full markets on many Fridays and Saturdays. Thursday is quieter but it is still a busy, thriving concern in comparison to many in the area.
When local people learned of the original plans, they launched a campaign to “Save Retford Market”, collecting signature for a
petition in support of the market and against the planned changes.
The controversy caused the council to reconsider their proposals, and they launched a consultation with traders and local people asking for their views on two proposals.
The first is a £175,000 scheme to install bespoke, semi-permanent, multi-purpose market stalls on the Market Square. When not in use, they would be convertible to seating for events.
The second proposal is to invest £227,000 to regenerate the Buttermarket which is located in Retford Town Hall to provide trading space to
complement the existing market or for use for bespoke markets or standalone events.
Coun Jo White, the council’s Cabinet Member for Business and Skills, said: “This significant investment will allow us to safeguard the sustainability, vitality and viability of the three market days in Retford and open up new trading opportunities to traders and local businesses.”
The council says it is costing it £153,000 to run the market each year, after income.
Traders say they welcome the investment, but they are pleased that the council has changed its mind on the original plans following the
Market assistant Lynden Maddison