Council Should Take Market Stall Petition Seriously
IT seems ironic that the costly Masterplan only attracted 207 responses, while the petition to save the markets has received nearly 1500 signatures in just five days. Something, councillors should be taking very seriously indeed. I noticed in the latest E
IT seems ironic that the costly Masterplan only attracted 207 responses, while the petition to save the markets has received nearly 1500 signatures in just five days. Something, councillors should be taking very seriously indeed.
I noticed in the latest Ely Masterplan leaflet ('some snippets from the consultation report) that there is an iconic view of Ely showing the markets with their distinctive striped awnings set against the background of the cathedral.
When I suggested (rather foolishly perhaps) that to give visitors more to do on Sundays, there could be the occasional car boot sale on the Market Square,
I was told quite firmly that '"car boot sales had no place in a historic city like Ely".
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Yet under these new arrangements this is how the market could look. A mish-mash of odd tables, or perhaps stallholders will just sell out of the backs of their vans.
I very much hope that councillors from all parties who care about Ely, will now get together to work out a compromise solution which is agreeable to everyone. I certainly think the health and safety aspects of people trying to put up their own stalls needs looking into, and perhaps traders could be asked to make a reasonable contribution (depending on the size of their stall) to the costs of erecting them.
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A cynical view of what the council have proposed could be that they want the market to wither away, so they can turn the square into a paying car park.
TED CONEY
Waterside, Ely
