Hartlepool Tall Ships: Traders fear they will be priced out of event

The 2010 event attracted almost a million visitors but left the council with a £720,000 cash shortfall

Local businesses claim they are being priced out of the world-famous Tall Ships event.

Some traders in Hartlepool say they cannot afford to run stalls when the race comes to the town in July.

Susan Connor, who runs a preserves and pickling business, said they ranged from £300 to more than £2,500.

She believes Hartlepool Borough Council should charge local firms less but the authority said it would be unfair to apply discounts based on geography.

"If we are priced out for it, that could be the end of our business," Ms Connor said.

"That's how serious it is.

"I was surprised that there wasn't an option there to just give back that little bit to Hartlepool businesses in terms of maybe a subsidy in some way."

The Tall Ships event is a summer series held in European waters where ports along the route host festivals over three to four days.

This year the ships will sail from Den Helder, in the Netherlands, to Hartlepool, then back across the North Sea to Norwegian Fredrikstad.

Susan Connor said it could be end of her business

Labour councillor Jonathan Brash said the event was a "huge opportunity" for the town.

"But it's also an opportunity to back Hartlepool businesses, to put them first," he said.

"I don't understand why the council would be opposed to offering a discount."

But the authority said there was a need "to make sure that it stacks up economically".

Hartlepool Council Conservative deputy leader Mike Young says discounts would not be fair or economically viable

Conservative deputy leader Mike Young said: "We've consulted 160 businesses and travel organisations, all who are saying that the rate that's been asked for is fair."

Organisers said more than 100 local firms and traders had already registered their interest in being involved.

Almost a million people visited the event when it came to the town in 2010, but it left the council with a £720,000 cash shortfall after its park-and-ride scheme made less money than anticipated.

But the authority said at the time it had still generated an estimated £16m for the local economy.