Sileby market stopped by ancient charter allowed to return

Steve Smith came up with the idea to allow people to shop locally during the lockdown

A lockdown market that fell foul of an 800-year-old charter has been allowed to reopen, but with half the stalls.

Charnwood Borough Council used a charter signed by Henry III in the 13th Century to stop a popular market that had formed at a village pub in Sileby, Leicestershire.

Despite anger from locals, the council argued it needed to protect the nearby Loughborough Market from competition.

It has now said it can come back but with just five stalls.

This means it does not meet the legal definition of a market, so it does not contravene the charter which dates back to 1221.

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Steve Smith, who owns SR Fruits and helped start the market, said: "We're not satisfied but so be it.

"[Choosing which businesses to let go] is not a position we wanted to be in but the council pushed us into a corner."

The compromise means the market is now calling itself a "food court"

The market ran from the car park of The Free Trade Inn for nine weeks before it was put on hold by the council earlier this week.

By then it had nine stalls and was proving popular with residents.

The compromise means the market is now calling itself a "food court", focusing on stalls with edible offerings.

However, that means traders like Julie Sketchley, who runs the garden ornament stall with her husband Sonny, will not be coming back.

"We're not very happy. It will have a big impact on us," she said.

More than 1,600 people signed a petition calling for the council to reconsider its decision to pause it

The Royal Charter allows the holder, which is now the council, to take action against rival markets set up within "six and two-thirds miles" of Loughborough.

The local authority recognised the charter was old but said it was still enforceable and they had to protect the Loughborough market, which is a part of the town's traditions and economy.

They added that allowing the Sileby market to go ahead would set a "damaging" precedent.

A spokeswoman said: "We have very carefully considered all the points raised... and we have tried to strike a balance.

"We recognise that these are unprecedented times and we have been flexible in many ways to support our communities and businesses in recent months."