Covid: Woburn market traders ask Bedfordshire council to reconsider ban
- Published
The Woburn Traders Association said it is impossible to "pen in" the market on the corner of Market Place and Leighton Road
The organisers of an 800-year-old street market have called on a council to reconsider its ruling that it could not run because it was unable to meet Covid-19 regulations.
The Woburn Traders Association (WTA) claim Central Bedfordshire Council asked them to create an "unfeasible" one-way system.
Traders want the authority to work with them on the solutions it had suggested.
The council said the proposed safety measures were "not sufficient".
'Practical solutions'
Woburn was granted a Royal Charter to run markets in 1242 and the current incarnation runs for four hours once a month.
The WTA, external said it submitted a risk assessment, but the council "insisted on a one-way system and flow control" with a fixed entrance and exit, which other outdoor markets were not being asked to do.
Stefan Botfield, the traders' chairman, said it was "unfeasible... as like so many markets, it has multiple points of entry".
The council said it was "confident we can come to swift agreement"
A petition calling for the authority to work with traders has more than 700 signatures.
Mr Botfield said it would use hand sanitising stations, contactless payments, promote social distancing and have a "kill switch" where the market would close if it got too busy.
"We would like the council to work with the organisers in a positive and constructive way, suggesting feasible ways we are able to run... and reconsider the practical solutions we have already put forward," he said.
The council, external said safety was its "first priority" and all event organisers had to submit a comprehensive risk assessment.
"We decided the proposed measures were not sufficient," a spokesman said.
"We are in touch with the organiser and are confident we can come to swift agreement as we have with other markets."
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