Opposition forces rethink on market
BOROUGH chiefs are to look again at a decision to potentially outsource Hinckley’s street market after opposition from traders and fellow councillors.
It could mean the plans to launch a procurement exercise for the 700-yearold retail institution are abandoned.
Members of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s executive committee made the decision to investigate offloading the market, which is managed by the authority and costs around £158,000 a year to run.
While maintaining any tender submissions would include a council-run option, the report to the executive made it clear the idea behind bringing in a private operator was to increase the range and diversity of stalls.
However many holders claimed stallthey would stop trading in Hinckley if the market went private, saying it would be a backwards move.
After a presentation by a stallholder representative at the latest council scrutiny commission meeting, committee members aired their concerns and made the following recommendation: “That the executive takes no further steps on the procurement of markets’ management until the scrutiny commission has had the opportunity both to examine the tender specification and to review the business case for change.”
This recommendation is being considered by the executive at today’s meeting.
Hinckley market runs on Monday, Friday and Saturday with a farmers market on the third Thursday of every month and a summer-time Sunday market running every second and fourth Sunday until September.
Directly it costs the coun- cil £122,000 a year to stage the market with the money going on staff wages, national non-domestic business rates and contract cleaning.
Overall, including support expenditure, the spend is £158,000. Council officers say any new contract would have to demonstrate value for money.
The town’s market was first recorded in 1311 and was mentioned in Shakespeare’s play King Henry IV Part II.