Market with only three traders is closed down

The subsidised venture in King Edward Street, run by a manager on behalf of the Hull Business Improvement District, only attracted three traders last week.

Bid manager Ken Baldwin said a once-a-month farmers' market would be relaunched in March, which they would run themselves.

He added that the previous market had struggled to get traders and had been reduced to taking stalls selling double-glazing.

"We put up all the stalls and there were lots of empty stalls which is just ridiculous. The traders that support us – like East Riding Country Pork – will be back, but we want farmers. We want to promote local food."

Mr Baldwin said ideally the market would return to Trinity Square, in front of Holy Trinity Church, where it would help support the indoor market nearby – but they needed to be allowed to promote the event.

He said: "When we had a farmers' market in Trinity Square we had 20 traders on a regular basis. But we weren't allowed to promote it by banners because they (the council) said it was fly-posting and we would be prosecuted."

But a market trader doesn't think the latest venture will succeed: "At what point do you realise you are flogging a dead horse? At the end of the day they chucked money at Trinity Square and it didn't work.

"With this one they were paying a market manager, they were using their own stalls and they were paying Cityworks to put the stalls up. It wasn't possible for that to make money from the start."

The Bid was set up following a ballot of businesses in October 2006 but has been controversial from the outset. Around 500,000 is raised from city centre businesses, including banks and shops, who have to pay an extra one per cent in business rates.