An artists' impression of a planned Friday market at Fish Hill in Holt.
PHOTO: Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners
Poll shows Holt market opinion is divided
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
5:31 PM
Opinion is evenly split over a controversial summer-long Friday market that some Holt traders claim will “devastate” shops.
A North Norfolk News online poll saw more than 300 people vote on whether they supported the planned market at Fish Hill.
Of the 319 people who took part in the poll, 159 (50pc) said “yes”, 152 (48pc) said “no” and eight (2pc) said “don’t know”.
As reported in last week’s News, angry traders are demanding the scrapping of the market, which will run every Friday from July 6 until the end of August.
Shopkeepers in Bull Street and Fish Hill fear lost car parking spaces and added competition from market stalls will harm their businesses.
Hundreds of petition signatures have been gathered against the trial scheme. But Holt Town Council has decided to press on.
The council said businesses had been given the chance to put forward their views about the proposal - part of a £30,000 vision for Holt’s future.
A council spokesman added that it was a trail scheme, and that 50 free temporary spaces were being provided at Gresham’s Pre-prep School car park during market times.
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3 comments
Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners were commissioned to undertake a Vision for Holt at a cost of £30,000. What was the need? Holt is not a town in decline ... it is a town that has become inaccessible due to a chronic lack of car parking space. A&M were obviously hard pressed to find any constructive measure to introduce anything visionary for Holt so adopted the Mary Portas principle for dying towns which have completely lost their core retail presence (usually associated with the swing of shopping trends to out of town superstores). The policy of introducing a market to kick-start a failing town centre is certainly unwarranted and absolutely ridiculous for Holt, a vibrant town with no empty shops or any sign of decline whatsoever. The Town Council have totally failed to understand the needs of the retail business community and with blinkered 'tunnel vision' simply ploughed on regardless of any constructive consultation. Why wasn't a public meeting called to discuss their reasoning for a market in Holt? Why wasn't each individual business in Holt circulated with information? It would have taken less than half-an-hour to hand deliver notices around all the shops in town. Its time for common sense to prevail and the councillors of Holt to wake up to their responsibilities and start representing their communities best interests. There has never been such a strength of ill-feeling in Holt as that experienced at this present time. The intransigent approach adopted by Holt Town Council is deplorable.
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Acle Straight
Sunday, June 24, 2012
The Council may have 'said' that businesses have been given the chance to put forward their views, but this is simply not true. The lack of consultation is the issue here, adequately highlighted in the report above which reveals that hundreds of petition signatures against the trial scheme have been gathered, only to be totally ignored by Holt Town Council who, in their infinite wisdom, decide to press on regardless. Little wonder the traders are so angry.
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Tufty
Thursday, June 21, 2012
it ' s one hour free parking at market time and three quid after . but it was only one hour free on fish hill any way at least there is more spaces at greshams
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Double Bill
Tuesday, June 19, 2012