This unique market town should not be turned into a clone town
This is a copy of a letter sent to Cllr Michael Rook at Harborough District Council.
I WAS not surprised to read in last week’s Harborough Mail (Feb 2) of the angry confrontation with the stallholders of our market. Why are you surprised at their anger?
They, like the majority of the people in Market Harborough, are aghast at the proposed closure of our lovely market with a possible plan for a large big-name retailer to take its place.
This would be a travesty as we are, in my opinion, a unique market town, with a wealth of good privately owned shops. We do not need another large retailer, we would then be just another clone town, These can be found all over the UK.
People arriving by bus, or car, not just from Market Harborough and district but often further afield, including Rothwell, Desborough and Corby, go through out market to purchase goods and to gain access to St Mary’s Place. There are a large number of stalls selling, to my mind, a quite wonderful selection of goods, including a cheese stall, a butchers with a lovely selection of local meat, a great bread stall, a stall selling most unusual wools, to name just a few.
People then go on to visit the cafe, which sells great home-cooked food at very reasonable prices, it is a wonderful meeting place for everyone, especially for older people and people with limited mobility as it is easy to gain access, the same with the rest of the market. All under one roof.
It is quite ludicrous to suggest that all this be moved to Fox’s Yard, which is a cold, draughty place and totally unsuitable, and I can well understand the feelings of the traders, the majority of which I understand are not willing to re-locate there.
On a Sunday there is also a fantastic Antique Market, which also brings in many people from further afield and resulting in people going in to the town to buy in local shops and stay for meals in the local hostelries. Again, this will be lost if the proposal takes place.
Last, but not least, I would like to mention our local Market Harborough Gardening Club, our membership has greatly increased in recent times and we all look forward to our annual exhibition in the market hall every August Bank Holiday, this has been our venue for the past forty years. Not just the exhibitors, but lots of people from the surrounding areas attend and exhibit at this show. Why should this all be taken away from the people of Market Harborough?
We are always being told about democracy, how can this proposed move be democratic when at least 10,000 people have signed a petition against this move. Our councillors are supposed to represent the view of the people, and this is clearly not the case.
Perhaps the people of Market Harborough, when next voting, should remember the councillors who proposed the closure and recommendation for a big-name retailer to occupy this market site.
We need to attract as many people as possible to our lovely market town for it to survive and closing this market will have the opposite effect.
Mrs K A Patrick,
Marlborough Way,
Harborough.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Harborough
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.