The team behind Altrincham Market has accused Trafford Council of pursuing a “vendetta” against it after the council sent an enforcement officer to remove a number of Christmas market traders who it claimed were operating “without permission”.
Nick Johnson and Jenny Thompson said they were given no advance warning of the visit shortly after 9.15 this morning from Donna Grey, an enforcement officer for Trafford, on what was the first day of the Christmas market season.
Citing the lack of appropriate permission for traders positioned on Greenwood Street and Market Street, Grey gave each trader the option of either packing up or handing over their details in advance of further investigation by the council’s legal department (listen to her exchange with Johnson and the traders below).
But Johnson, the chief executive of Market Operations which runs the market recently voted the UK’s best in the prestigious Observer Food Monthly awards, pointed to a legal document agreed between the market and the council in October 2013.
It makes explicit reference to “additional portable stalls… with a view to expansion across the town centre, to connect the market with the town centre”.
Johnson said: “We think that the traders on Market Street and Greenwood Street are entirely allowed under the legal agreement we have – and not only are they allowed, we are obliged to do it under the legal agreement we have with Trafford.
“I am confused. The council seems to claim that what we’re doing is an event and that they have a policy on their website whereby people need to apply for permission for events. My position is that this is not an event, this is the market, it’s an expanded market which we’re obliged to deliver under the terms of our legal agreement. It’s not an event, therefore we don’t need to apply for what they’re asking.
“It seems very curious that given that Altrincham is supposedly being reinvented around the market – and I think we have a done a pretty good job in our custodianship of the market – the council is trying to prevent it from happening.
“I feel let down. It’s very disappointing given the effort that not only Jen and I put in, but the amount of effort that hundreds, nearly thousands, of traders that we have on our books now make. They are all incredibly committed to this market, they feel very passionate about it and very proud about it. And I think that if you talk to the residents of Altrincham and the pride they now feel about it being central to the town and the transformation that has taken place in the last two years, they would have some very interesting views about the behaviour of the council.”
He added: “I can only think that it’s a vendetta. I don’t know why, but it’s very odd behaviour. As someone said to me before, there are councils throughout the country that are jealous of what has been achieved within Altrincham and who would give their eye teeth for a market of this stature and this quality. I find it staggering at the way in which the council has behaved around this minor inconsequential issue.”
In a statement, the council maintained that “no one is above the law” and that they were left with no choice but to take action.
It said: “We have spent a lot of time, money and effort helping rejuvenate our town centres. When we discover a number of traders selling goods on the street without permission, we need to take action to support our existing businesses. Today we discovered this in Altrincham.
“We asked Market Operations to apply for a license in advance for these traders and to consult with existing businesses but they don’t think they should have to but expect the Council to enforce against everyone else. So they brought in traders from other towns to trade on the streets, without appropriate insurance and licenses.
“This has happened at no risk to MO (Market Operations) but each trader is liable for a fine. No one is above the law. We are willing to help MO to trade legally for future markets should they agree to work with us. #supportlocalbusinesses”
Listen to Trafford Council’s enforcement officer speaking to Nick Johnson and some of the market traders this morning:
One of the traders affected, Bernard Baron of Fairytale Toys, said it showed the council “haven’t got a clue”.
He said: “There are towns and villages throughout the country that would be delighted to have this market. People don’t come from just five miles around, they come from 25 and 50 miles around, and you (the council) are behaving in this manner. I understand it’s the law, but there’s a principle here: there’s trade and the good name of the town.
“It says the council haven’t got a clue and haven’t got their feet on the ground. They’re narrow-minded. My message to the council would be: where else can you do this around your council area, why are you trying to upset the apple cart and effectively restrict good business that is drawing people to your town.”
One visitor to today’s market, Nick Bowman from Altrincham, said the situation was “absurd”.
“What’s the problem here?” he said. “It’s a thriving, happy, busy marketplace, just what markets should be like before Christmas. The council should be supporting it, why would they want to do anything else?”
Johnson made an open invitation to Sean Anstee, leader of Trafford Council, to come and “see what all the fuss is about”. “I think I’ve seen council leaders from other authorities here more than I’ve seen the leader of Trafford Council,” he said.
We contacted Anstee for a comment but he said he had nothing further to add to the statement posted by the council and a tweet he sent that “being the best market doesn’t put you beyond trading illegally”.
Johnson also pointed to the “65 permanent jobs and 18 permanent businesses” that the market had created since Market Operations took control.
“This is all about enterprise and endeavour and all in line with the objectives of the current Conservative administration. I think it’s an absolutely diabolical situation when there is no recognition of what’s been achieved and there’s been a deliberate attempt now to prevent things happening in the way they naturally should.
“We are willing to escalate it to challenge the council if they choose so to do. None of the traders have left of their volition as was requested and I think that there’s a real sense of solidarity, and really that this shouldn’t be the way the council are behaving.
“I want to raise this in a public domain because people are here in their thousands and I think they would be interested to have an input in shaping the views of the councillors that purport to represent them.”
