With snow and ice gripping the nation over the past couple of weeks, local market businesses have been hit hard. The icy road conditions have been unsafe for many traders to travel to markets and for those brave enough to make the journey it means standing out in subzero temperatures all day.
Fair enough, some will say setting up a market stall business is a personal choice so complaining when weather conditions are unfavourable is par for the course. This is true, trading outside in this country is very much a gamble but then all business is a gamble. Any business owner will understand this.
Markets come with ancient history as sites for trading. This is where shopping began from the year dot. It is very important to keep this tradition going as it is part of our country's rich culture and heritage.
Markets have many attributes, not only do they add interest to a town, they bring in tourism, boost the local economy, and play an important part in local communities.
What a shame then, that when bad weather strikes that more cannot be done by the council market traders pay their rents to. Often passers-by think that traders only have to pay a tiny sum if anything at all to trade at markets. This is not the case, regular traders pay a weekly rent and they have to cover that in their takings.
When the car park ices over at Sheringham Station road car park like other car parks across the county, it is not NNDC council policy to grit them. Fair enough, it would take a lot of grit to cover all the car parks and grit as we know it, seems to run out quickly. However, when it is known market day falls every Saturday and the gritters and snow plough are out in the town the day before market, surely they could make the car park safer for traders and customers alike.
Apparently not. It remains council policy not to treat the car park. No special dispensation for extreme weather conditions or the fact that it becomes unsafe for traders to set up their stalls and customers to visit them.
Last year, I set up my stall on Sheringham car park in the snow. I gritted my area and so did the handful of other traders who managed to get there. However, it was not possible for us to grit the whole area to make it safe for customers to get to us. Consequently we did not get many customers and our efforts to trade in the snow went unrewarded.
Why can't NNDC think beyond policy in extreme conditions? Sheringham Market brings business to the town. The shops, pubs, restaurants etc must be affected by this policy too, if potential customers can't park and walk safely into the town, they won't and trade gets hit hard all over.
The EDP does a great deal to support local business. Everyone is trying to stop the demise of small business and the rural and coastal towns in which they trade but the most powerful possible ally the NNDC appears to turn its back when help is requested. Why?
The usual argument is legal insurance implications, well perhaps these for once need to be challenged or ways to be found round them. Otherwise, if we are set to have snow every winter, markets could disappear.
Please note: this article has been written by one trader and may not represent the views and opinions of all traders (but without doubt a fair few of them!)
