Trouble blowing in the wind at Blyth Market
Nov 24 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal
A FRESH row has blown up after a warning of strong winds forced the cancellation of a market for the second time since a £3m revamp.
Saturday’s Blyth Market was called off for health and safety reasons, amid fears its new stalls would be blown away by winds forecast to gust at more than 30mph.
It was the second time winds had caused the cancellation of the market since it resumed trading two weeks ago following the completion of its £3m facelift.
Stallholders say they warned Blyth Valley Council months ago that the market’s new stalls would not be robust enough to withstand even moderately strong winds, but claim they were ignored.
On Friday they were told they could trade on the market place on Saturday as long as they used their own stalls and had adequate insurance cover.
Yesterday local independent councillor Colin Brown said: “This is appalling. The market traders have tried to advise officers about these stalls for almost a year but the council has refused to listen. This gives the impression we are anti-market.
“The new stalls might look nice, but they are not very practical and we are talking about people’s livelihoods here.”
Michael Nicholson, secretary of the Blyth branch of the Market Traders’ Federation, added: “I believe most traders would prefer to use their own stalls rather than these new ones, which are basically just four-legged tents. I think the council realises it has got this wrong.
“This latest cancellation is an admission that these stalls can’t withstand windy weather. I don’t believe you can plan for revenue from the market when there is the constant threat that the wind will cause up to 20% of trading days to be lost.”
Last week’s Tuesday market was cancelled because of high winds and several of the new stalls were damaged by the wind after being erected for Thursday’s sale.
A Blyth Valley Council spokeswoman said traders who worked on Saturday using their own stalls would not be charged any rent.
She added: “We selected the best possible market stall supplier that would enable us to have flexibility of stall location on the market place. The alternative would have been fixed permanent stalls that would have been left out all the time and would have been prone to vandalism.
“We would also have lost the flexibility of being able to use the whole of the market square to put on events. The stall supplier recommends that the stalls should not be erected in wind speeds averaging 25mph and above, or with wind gusts of 30mph and above.
“There are a considerable number of staff who are committed to making this new market a success. It is extremely disappointing that some traders and individuals are criticising our efforts to the detriment of the market. This is a fantastic new facility and we look forward to being recognised as the leading market in the North East.”
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