Farmer's Market

[Kintyre Forum News]

Interesting story on this on the front page of the Courier which means the market place must move.

http://www.campbeltowncourier.co.uk/new ... _move.html

Farmers’ market must move

CAMPBELTOWN’S farmers’ market will not take place on Saturday after Argyll and Bute Council withdrew permission for the use of Burnside Square.

The organisers are now hoping to find a new, compromise, venue for August.

A letter dated June 11, to Katie Ritchie, secretary of Argyll Country Market from Alison Younger, the area manager for the council said that local councillors had met with Campbeltown Trading Association to discuss the loss of car parking when the market is held. The letter said: ‘The local councillors have determined that they wish the council to withdraw its consent for the market to operate from Burnside Square on the monthly Saturday programme.’

Campbeltown Trading Association has stressed to The Courier that the last thing its members wants is to see the market close.

On our letters page this week traders chairwoman Marjorie Brown says that car parking was the main issue, as they have been campaigning for years for improvements.

‘The most serious concern of the moment is the closure of businesses in the town centre leaving shops empty and we would welcome any ideas to alleviate this,’ she said.

Katie Ritchie said how disappointed the market organisers and stall holders were.

‘They must be the only council in Scotland to withdraw permission for a market to trade in a town centre,’ she said, adding that the alternatives offered were out of the town centre.

The market will be held instead on Saturday at the Tarbert Seafood Festival and will continue as usual on the second Saturday of the month in Lochgilphead.

[Ileach B]

I always think the parking in the square is more due to people that live in the area, plus shop owners who park in the square or workers! Anytime I go passed that's who's cars are there! Not shoppers! Surely they should be parking further away to make way for mass influx that comes to Campbeltown on Saturday that can't find a space! Such a small local place you know the cars and where they work, even parking right outside thier own shop in main street!

I think it is a great loss for town and as usual outsiders driven away from the town as the local traders fear competition from something that comes once a month! And again Tarberts gain, the Sea Food Festival! What's more perfect for a local farmers market!

A market that happens once a month is hardly going to affect the parking, if anything the town will be busier. Therefore locals parking should make use of the space that is available, along the esplanade, the duel carriage way, long row, glebe street. kinloch road! Crikey imagine walking the whole way along the duel carriage way into main street to the shops that close for a lunch time or half day on a wednesday when all the buses come in!!

Maybe the market should be at snipefield and take the locals who shop in the centre away!

[EMDEE]

The closure of businesses in the town centre should be a serious concern to everyone, not just the Trading Association.

It is difficult to believe however that the monthly market is a serious threat to the viability of businesses in the town centre. It may be that these businesses are under pressure, and see the market as an additional threat to viability. As stated earlier on this thread, the real threat to town centres and local businesses the length and breadth of the UK is the supermarket. They have changed the whole pattern of shopping in this country, and it is customer led. If there was not a demand for this type of shop it would not exist.

The sad fact of this is that whilst these supermarkets create local employment, they kill employment in locally owned businesses, and they have no loyalty to communities. All profits are taken out of the local economy and given to shareholders and “fat cat” directors. Sometimes these companies support local charities, but this is a marketing tool.

Well do I remember when the centre of Campbeltown was a bustling place where you could buy anything you wanted or needed, day to day or week to week. For anyone who is too young to remember this I would recommend “Campbeltown once More” by Freddy Gillies. The town centre is just a shadow of its former glory, and it is all down to characterless supermarkets.

I also remember my pre-school days when I used to go “doon the toon” with my mother to get the daily “messages” and a weekly order came from McIlchere’s on a Thursday. My mother must have dreaded passing D M Brown’s every day.

At this time, most of families didn’t have cars, far less be concerned about parking in Burnside Square, which didn’t even exist then! Have we become so decadent in this country that we can’t walk 200 yards to go to a shop? I’d bet many will go to Braehead, park their car, and walk the equivalent of the length of the Longrow and further, to get to the shops, and think nothing of it.

Just as an additional comment re Ileach B’s half-day observation. In the early eighties the Waverley used to come in every Wednesday afternoon, with several hundred passengers, and the only shop that was open was McIlchere’s, and that was after they had walked the length of the pier to get to the shops!

This appears to have turned into a nostalgic rant.

[Malky]

I think the traders are barking up the wrong tree by attacking the farmers market. I also think that the local councillors who made Argyll & Bute remove their consent for the market need to take a good long hard look at themselves. Do they really think they are helping the viability of the town centre by this move? To me it looks like electioneering - the councillors taking the easy option and making sure of votes in the future. Well you can't always do that.

And as for parking spaces - do the traders actually think anyone believes this is about parking?

One thing that annoys me is the way the market traders are portrayed as outsiders. It is Argyll County Market and all traders are from Argyll. And you can't get any more local than Ifferdale Lamb for goodness sake! At least when you buy from the farmers market you are buying produce from Argyll. How many traders in Campbeltown can say that? Not many I bet - not even the butchers who have of course never sourced their meat locally anyway. And as for other goods, how much is produced in Argyll? Or Scotland? Or even the UK? Look at the labels on what they sell and tell me it isn't the far east somewhere.

Of course something needs to be done to help the viability of the town centre but stopping an event that actually brought more people into the town is not the way forward. We need to curb supermarket power. Emdee is right, the supermarkets are here to stay because that's what people want, but they should not be allowed to have it all their own way. Make supermarkets source their goods as local as possible. That is something that local councils could do when they agree to supermarkets being built or redeveloped. Make it a condition that they have to use local produce where it is available.

Perhaps that's what the local councillors should be doing. But then again a large supermarket chain is not such an easy target as a handful of stall holders. The councillors need to stop focussing on the minutiae and look at the root causes of town centre business viability. Stop wringing your hands and going for sound bite politics and actually take some big decisions. Someone has to.

Malky

[WC1]

Agree completely with both Malkie and Emdee. I can understand why the traders are worried, especially in the present economic climate. But I don't think any of the shops which have closed in the town centre, apart maybe from Weir the butcher, specialised in anything that's sold at the farmers' market, so competition can't be the issue they think it is. If you look at it 'in the round', they have more to gain by tapping in to the extra people the market brings into the town centre than by forcing it out. I think our elected representatives rolled over a bit too quickly on this one. Let's hope they'll reconsider their decision equally quickly.

[Mary G]

Hear, hear!
I fully endorse the three comments above - very well said.
M

[Ship called Dignity]

Agree completely with the comments above.

Might add that not all three Councillors agreed to removing the consent for using Burnside Square. Councillor Semple stood by his original stance - well done you for common sense.

IF car parking is such an issue then why are the traders parking their cars in Campbeltown centre?

[Tubby the Tuba]

Again, why cant the farmers market just get held in the Heritage centre car park?! Seems to me a simple and easy solution to me!

[WC1]

It's less central, for a start. It's more difficult, and potentially dangerous, in terms of pedestrian access. And it's a good deal less attractive, for want of a better word - much more uneven underfoot and generally more 'unkempt' than Burnside Square. It would be akin to moving the Edinburgh farmers' market from Castle Terrace to the Haymarket car park.

[mrn]

IF car parking is such an issue then why are the traders parking their cars in Campbeltown centre?

Do you never park your car at work?

Hate to admit it but I am a supermarket shopper. Quick and convenient and generally open when I need.

[petewick]

I think if farmers want to trade they should do it on their own turf rather that take up a public facility.

[Kintyre Lad]

I think if farmers want to trade they should do it on their own turf rather that take up a public facility.

Since when did famers stop being members of the public?

[petewick]

Not saying they are not members of the public, the fact remains that Burnside carpark is for
the public to park cars.
Additionally, I can understand where the traders are coming from as they have to pay very expensive rates before
they even start, whereas the farmers don't.

[Scoop]

If the Campbeltown Traders are so concerned about losing trade to a farmers' market once a month then why do they still have a half-day closing, once a week?

This is NIMBYism. Nothing more - nothing less.

[Ileach B]

It's not really just the farmers market that is apparently taking trade away, people shop on the internet, go "up the road" shopping too. Plenty people fill their cupboards, freezers from supermarkets up the road. Do the farmers markets actually sell much that is in competition with the shops? Apart from maybe the butchers?

I personally do shop in the supermarket for food, but I do shop locally too (all for supporting your local shops, I would get a row if I never said it)! The supermarkets don't have everything, that the main shops have. Like cards, candles, jewellery bla bla. But then Tesco's have a catalogue, so do Woolies ( are they seen as a threat?), so technically I think the supermarkets are more a threat than a monthly market? Which who can stop that? People like a change and a bargain!

There are shops closing all over town, but that is due to lack of money in town. And as I said thinks like access to internet it's easier and more options.

Do the shopkeepers of Tarbert feel threatened by the traders coming every months? Would be interesting to see.