Stafford craft and vintage market

Arcadesteve

Arcadesteve

Active Member
I read this yesterday in the newspaper and was quite appalled.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/09/05/fears-for-stafford-craft-and-vintage-market/

I was wondering when i read this, if they do shut down this vintage and crafts market will they also have to shut down the christmas/victorian/farmers/italian and any other market held outside our guildhall shopping centre.

Or is it going to be a case of one rule for the council ran markets and another rule for markets organised by enterprising couples who don't want to be a burden to state when they lose their job?

The council say that they are just protecting existing businesses, but rumours of the indoor markets iminent closer are rife. Although i grant you that i've been hearing this rumour for some time now. Wouldn't it be better if the council tried to work with, instead of against local small businesses? Which is the overwhelming message i get from from friends who are staffordian startups.
 
Hothouse Flower

Hothouse Flower

Well-Known Forumite
I agree with you.
Why does their market fall foul of ancient rules but the farmers market in Market square is perfectly ok?
 
Miss Red

Miss Red

Well-Known Forumite
Hmm i thought it sounded bit dodgy......like hothouse said the farmers market is allowed to pitch in the square! At the end of the day, as long as its bringing in trade to stafford it shouldnt matter what or where it is!! Very Strange, something must have prompted someone to quickly rush to the vault and sit there looking for an excuse in a dusty old book!.....you would think with all thats going on at the moment, they would have something better to do with there time!!
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Arcadesteve said:
I read this yesterday in the newspaper and was quite appalled.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2012/09/05/fears-for-stafford-craft-and-vintage-market/

I was wondering when i read this, if they do shut down this vintage and crafts market will they also have to shut down the christmas/victorian/farmers/italian and any other market held outside our guildhall shopping centre.

Or is it going to be a case of one rule for the council ran markets and another rule for markets organised by enterprising couples who don't want to be a burden to state when they lose their job?

The council say that they are just protecting existing businesses, but rumours of the indoor markets iminent closer are rife. Although i grant you that i've been hearing this rumour for some time now. Wouldn't it be better if the council tried to work with, instead of against local small businesses? Which is the overwhelming message i get from from friends who are staffordian startups.
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Totally agree.

I can't see this craft and vintage being a direct competitor to existing market stalls or any other business in the vicinity. Good luck to them I say.

Perhaps it's more a case of they've dared to set up a pitch/business where the Council don't get a rental income from it?

Almost as silly as the Butler's Bell having tables and chairs outside the front but you're not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke at them?? Don't know if this is a Council or a Wetherspoons' ruling but it renders the tables and chairs pretty useless in my view.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Thehooperman said:
Almost as silly as the Butler's Bell having tables and chairs outside the front but you're not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke at them?? Don't know if this is a Council or a Wetherspoons' ruling but it renders the tables and chairs pretty useless in my view.
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There are ashtrays on the outside tables at the Stafford Ale House, I believe* - and, back in the Pie and Ale House days, there was a good bit of al fresco alcohol imbibing, particularly on the evenings of the open-air concerts..

img_header.jpg


*Subject to confirmation.
 
PeterD

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
believe cafe nero allow smoking on their outdoor tbles two doors away from butlers bell. May ask next time I am in posh spoons if it is their ruling or one from our glorious leaders.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I believe the correct term here is pisstake, they are making this crap up as they go along. I may put in a formal complaint about the Italian market being so close to the normal one (as its usually crap, I'll leave the noraml farmers market alone because I like the scotch eggs).
 
NJB81

NJB81

A few posts under my belt
Such a waste of time....completely different to what's in the indoor market! We need different things in town, as it's getting to be all the same things!
 
PeterD

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
Those shit weasels that own the telford town centre a few years back cancelled all book fayres in its environs as it wasnt in keeping. bastards.
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
PeterD said:
believe cafe nero allow smoking on their outdoor tbles two doors away from butlers bell. May ask next time I am in posh spoons if it is their ruling or one from our glorious leaders.
Click to expand...

If its just a Spoons ruling how can they stop anyone smoking in an open public space I wonder? Unless they now own the street ;)
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Actually thats a good point, the street is a public place I believe rather than spoons owning it. Maybe its just so they don't have to clean the ashtrays? You can't drink alcohol outside either, gits!
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Could the craft and vintage market run on a day when the indoor market is closed? It could hardly be considered to be in competition if the market isn't trading.
 
1JKz

1JKz

Well-Known Forumite
you can (i'd never dream of doing such a thing, but) eat and drink sat at a Greggs table Al fresco, am i right?

...i'm afraid i don't know the rules of such matters, i say just let them have the soddin' market, i for one would pop in and have a mooch, therefore i'm in town and other businesses may benefit from me being in town spending, so, times me by 100 and there you have it!?

It bloody stands to sense, CHRIST!!
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I can't see a downside of this at all, they aren't even selling the same stuff as in the market so nobody will lose trade?
 
Em L

Em L

Mental Floss
First of all I'd like to say a massive thank you, this is just more evidence of the overwhelming support we've had since we got the call from the council. To try and answer a few of the queries, we did ask the fella who called us why the farmers market was ok and got the answer that the farmers market is run through the council. So it must be ok to ignore the "ancient medieval charter" when it's the council doing the ignoring ;) Also Withnail mentioned we could have it on a day the indoor market is shut - this is something we thought of but as it happened Tuesday was the only full day Oddfellows had available at the time, so we took what was on offer.

We agree with so much that's been said, we never set up to be in direct competition and were hoping that this might even help, as 1JKz said, once you're in town you might just carry on mooching and spending! It was so disappointing to get that phone call, we have worked soooo hard to get this off the ground, ploughing a lot of our redundancy money into it. And not to sound like we think it's just affecting US, we have lovely stallholders who are just trying to sell their goods to make a living too, they were understandably upset when they heard about this.

So far we haven't heard anything back, despite someone from the council apparently having been to inspect our stalls (must be a part time ninja cause we didnt see anyone lol) so we are running as normal next Tuesday. But suffice to say if they come back trying to shut us down we'll fight it with everything we have!!

Thanks again guys, you're amazing xx
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
So ask the council to run it, but then subcontact it out to you for no fee.

I wonder if this medieval charter would stand up to current scrutiny, as from what I can tell they were designed to ensure the maximum amount of produce in one space to make shopping easier whilst also ensuring the highest draw of customers. We have already destroyed any real reason for the charter by allowing 3 supermarkets within half a maile (and a fourth on the way) so I'm not sure why it would still apply.
 
Withnail

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
I suspect it is still technically illegal to peel parsnips in Market Square.

If they really want to refer back to the Middle Ages, our first charter gave us the right of infangentheof so thieves beware...
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Just thinking about this ancient market law couldn't you just rename the Craft and Vintage market to a Craft and Vintage Fair and get around the rule that way?

If the law refers to setting up pitches does this mean that we can't have a car boot sale anywhere near the town as well?

Not forgetting a large number of events held at Shugborough.
 
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