New era as Skipton Town Council takes over market (From Craven Herald)

New era as Skipton Town Council takes over market

10:00am Thursday 28th February 2013 in News

A new era for Skipton Market begins tomorrow when it is officially taken over by the town council.

The four-days-a-week market has for the past ten years been the responsibility of Craven District Council.

A year ago, the market became the joint responsibility of both councils and, tomorrow, it will become the sole responsibility of the town council.

On Monday, a new ten-year lease was signed by the holder of the market charter, the Lord of the Honour of Skipton Castle, Sebastian Fattorini, and Skipton Mayor, Councillor Wendy Clark.

“There is a great opportunity having the market managed by Skipton Town Council from its central position on the High Street which should benefit the town as a whole,” said Mr Fattorini.

Coun Clark said it marked the start of a new era for the market.

“In the coming months and years, the town council will be looking to make some improvements to the way the market operates and to maintain and improve its position at the heart of the town,” she said.

“Skipton Market is an iconic part of our town. It attracts thousands of visitors each year and we want to make sure that it meets the expectations of those visitors and that people from across the country are in no doubt that Skipton is a great place to come and shop.”

In the run up to taking over the market, the town council appointed a new market officer, Stefan Bodnarczuk, and is currently getting traders to sign up to new consent to trade agreements.