YP Letters: Wakefield's markets are a shadow of former glories

WHAT on earth has happened to Wakefield city Christmas market – or for that matter our city’s markets in general?

A few years ago, Wakefield used to hold a fabulous three-day Victorian Christmas market which drew people in from all over. Coach trips used to come and it was heaving with shoppers. We now have a one- day market with a few stalls which is held on a Friday, the same day as the switching on of the lights in the precinct.

Why put a Christmas market on a Friday for one day when most people are at work? It should be on a Saturday, as well as Friday, so more people can attend and make it more profitable.

The council has gradually managed to decimate our Christmas market and our general market to oblivion. We have held markets in Wakefield city since 1203 when William de Warenne, fifth Earl of Surrey, received a grant to hold markets in the town and they have been held ever since, bringing in lots of extra shoppers.

We were told when the closure of the ‘new’ market hall was announced that there were plans for the market stalls to be set up in the Cathedral precinct.

What they didn’t say was that there were only going to be about four or five stalls there at any one time, which is rubbish.