Frustration of market trader as garden stall is refused

A MARKET trader has been left “frustrated” and “upset” by a council’s refusal to let him return to his stall.

Plant and garden supplies seller Steve Woods says thousands of pounds worth of his stock may “go to waste”, because Wakefield Council claim his service is not deemed essential under government guidelines.

But Mr Woods, who runs his business with his wife Joanne, disputes this and says stall holders selling the same produce have been allowed back at markets elsewhere, including across North Yorkshire.

Garden centres are open under the current lockdown rules, but nurseries, which are smaller and tend to sell plants from where they are grown, are not.

He says he has been incorrectly classed as a nursery, pointing out that he sells from the market despite growing them at a small holding in a nearby village.

Mr Woods, 62, said: “We don’t make a fortune, but we get by and we really enjoy what we do. I’d understand if it was the same for everybody. I’d happily accept it, but it’s the unfairness of it which is the problem.

“I was watching Calendar the other night, and there was a piece on Richmond where Rishi Sunak’s constituency is, and there was a plant seller in the background on the market. I’ve been in touch with Ripon Market and they’re allowing plant sellers to trade too. We know another lad who does the same as we do and he’s in the same boat and can’t trade.

“It’s frustrating and upsetting. They’ve really thrown us under the bus with it.”

Mr Woods, who lives in Leeds, said that the council allowed him to return to Ossett Market earlier than most traders during the first lockdown, when garden centres reopened just a couple of weeks after restrictions were imposed. He said that decision was now at odds with its current stance, given garden centres are open.

The council’s service director for leisure, Julie Russell, said: “We understand this is a challenging time for many traders. However the sale of plants from stalls is not a permitted activity under current government restrictions.”