New rules for operation of Barnard Castle's weekly charter market

A NEW set of rules and regulations for Barnard Castle’s weekly charter market have been drawn up.
The move follows an audit of working practices which said that while the council was operating well, it should introduce its own regime for managing the market.
In the year since the town council took over responsibility for the Wednesday market, it has stuck to the rules and regulations enforced by Durham County Council.
At last week’s town council services committee meeting, members were told the main changes would be to how much stallholders were charged.
A standard pitch with a frontage of up to six metres will cost £10, while a larger stall of between six and ten metres will be £15.
Stalls larger than ten metres will be charged £15 plus £2 per additional metre.
One charity pitch per market will be available free of charge. The market timings will remain the same. The operating period on Wednesdays will be from 7.30am to 6pm and all stallholders should be ready to trade by 9am.
They are not expected to close up until 2pm at the earliest, except in bad weather.
Councillors were told that the shake-up in charges would affect two traders, who were currently paying £12 a week for their pitch.
However, until their stalls had been measured, deputy clerk Jane Woodward said she didn’t know if they would have to pay more or less.
The committee was also told income from the Wednesday market between December 7 and February 8 had been £945.50 (£94.55 a week).
Income had been hit as the result of bad weather on three Wednesdays during this period when there had been snow, high winds and rain. The majority of traders were also on holiday between Christmas and New Year.
However, in the first 12 months under town council management, the market is expected to generate a surplus of about £5,000.
Committee members agreed to recommend to the full council that the new rules and regulations be approved and introduced from April 1.