Agenda item

(A report by Phil Perry, Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture)

The Markets Manager presented a report which provided progress against the Boston Market Development Plan, as agreed by Cabinet on 27^th March 2024. He indicated that the report provided an overview on how Boston's regular Wednesday and Saturday markets had been performing and proposed actions for the further development of the service in order to deliver a sustainable market service and to become financially resilient.

The partnership annual delivery plan included two projects for the Boston Market Service to undertake during the 24/25 financial year which were to review the market's policy and to undertake a review of the market service with an aim to deliver savings, whilst also growing the service.

By way of an update, since the Environment and Performance Committee meeting on 13^th February 2024, a dedicated Markets Manager was now in place, across the partnership.

A successful capital funding bid of £47,750 had been made for the replacement van, gazebos and equipment. There had been a reduction in the store erector team and hours of operation in Quarter 3 and savings had been built into the 25/26 budget. Road closures had been introduced for Saturday markets following a consultation in Quarter 2. Final consultations were currently ongoing to apply for a road closure on Wednesday market days in Quarter 4. Markets had been integrated into events such as the Christmas Festival and the Boston College Food Festival.

Members noted that the teenage market events had continued to develop and had now been focused into eight months of the year instead of twelve, taking best practice from East Lindsey District Council, which ran a very successful teenage market programme. It had also recently been confirmed with the Portfolio Holder that there would also be charity stalls with the teenage market, as a pairing to bring more visitors for that day.

A new makers and farmers market would be held monthly between March and October, which had been created with the assistance of Councillor Suzanne Welberry and would begin in March 2025. Development of the social media presence, particularly on Facebook, had continued and was being expanded to other platforms such as Instagram and Google. The Boston Market Facebook page had been revamped with new content and an extensive number of local groups had now joined. Year on year from January 2024/25, there were 1410 views with an increase of 64.1%. New professional photos of the market had been taken, that had been posted on the Boston Market Facebook page, which had received fantastic feedback from followers and traders.

The new branded gazebos had been bought in readiness for a move to their introduction for the 2025/26 financial year, with new guttering having been ordered to enable traders to join the gazebos without their stock being damaged. The Markets Manager indicated that although Boston's pitch fees were similar to some of the markets in the area, they were considered high when local demographics were factored in. The proposal within the budget programme for 2024/25 was for the Council to freeze the fees to keep the rates competitive. An increase of 50p had been introduced for the market traders’ vehicles. Market occupancy rates had increased by 1% year on year for Quarter 1 and 2 with an 8% decrease for Q3 due to several markets being restricted due to the Met Office yellow warnings.

The Markets Manager advised that the markets team was in the early stages of working towards a Process Data Quickly (PDQ) machine/payment system to enable traders to pay their pitch fees on the day of the market. This would prevent any traders developing debt moving forward. Positive action was being taken regarding the traders’ current debt and new debt collectors instructed for traders no longer engaging.

New barrier covers were being used for the road closures, advertising the market and how to become a trader, and new banners to advertise the market opening time times around Boston had been introduced. Additionally, new banners for the makers and farmers market had been introduced, including artwork for notice boards around the town centre. Bunting would also be introduced over the next few weeks and the market's logo had changed to represent the colours of Boston Council.

Traders’ meetings had been introduced with the aim to hold them every six months to seek their feedback and to ensure constant consultation. There would also be initiatives such as a selfie square and “trader of the week”.

A good relationship had been forged with Father David Stephenson at St Botolph’s Church and consideration was being given to how best to encourage and utilise the footfall from the 90,000+ visitors a year. International markets to celebrate Boston's diverse community were also being considered.

Members’ comments included the following:

Information had been provided about how many stall holders there were currently. It was confirmed that there were 10-15 at present and in the summer, there would be 20-30 stall holders in place. Consideration had been given to how far traders were travelling, with confirmation that the majority lived in or near Boston. Information was provided, advising that there were 54 market pitches available, with space to extend for particularly niche events.

Consideration was given to the trader charges which had been applied, including whether they could be reduced, and comparisons to other local areas was discussed. The Markets Manager confirmed that he had been advised by accounts colleagues that a price reduction was not possible and instead a price freeze had been implemented. Discussions about the future charging policy were ongoing which was a “live” issue, with a business plan being prepared. In response to questioning, it was confirmed that although stall charges in some neighbouring areas were lower, the evidence showed that many traders choose Boston to trade as it suited their business needs.

Questions were asked in relation to car parking charges for traders (set at £2) in comparison to other areas, with confirmation being provided about how this compared. Market traders had indicated that one advantage which Boston offered was the ability to take vehicles up to the market stall when setting/packing up.

Questioning also took place regarding the willingness of traders to travel across wide geographical areas which meant that consideration should also be given to the charges in other parts of the region and whether they were comparable to Boston. The Markets Manager confirmed that this was part of the work being undertaken by, for example, joining social media groups for markets which were in a wider geographical area in order to promote the availability of Boston’s market. Questions were asked about whether past traders might be invited to return as part of the efforts to enhance the market’s offering.

Issues of supply and demand were considered, with a focus on the changing nature of demand and the demographics of the area. Retail analysis was suggested to obtain a sense of how much money there was in the local economy, how it was being spent and how it impacted on the markets. The Assistant Director – Culture and Leisure confirmed that he would talk to economic growth colleagues about this but that it was known, via licence information, what traders were selling to meet local demand and that the issue was the extent to which the Council could increase and diversify its traders to meet demand.

Questions were asked about the demographic profile of market shoppers and whether any information could be obtained in this respect in a way which was helpful to the future success of the markets.

Consideration was also given to importance of coach tours from the Lincolnshire coast to Boston which had in the past brought shoppers into the town. The Markets Manager indicated that this was something which he wished to see expanded on, including consideration of discounts if coach companies were running tours to Boston.

Consideration was given to whether or not market shoppers were aware of the availability of toilets at St Botolph’s Church. The Assistant Director confirmed that shoppers were aware. He also confirmed that profile-raising work was being undertaken by the Communications Team within Boston and across the two other local authority partners. This included better use of social media. The Markets Manager confirmed that the improved social media presence of the markets both for shoppers and traders was an important way in which communication was helping to address many of the issues which had been raised by the Committee.

It was confirmed that the return of the auction at the market was under consideration but that it was a challenging environment in view of the development of online sales such as Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay.

Consideration was given to whether road closures on a Wednesday (in the way they occur on a Saturday) might be a way in which to improve the number of shoppers using the market as it was felt that the road closure had contributed to a more vibrant experience. It was confirmed that there were a number of logistical challenges and that the views of Father David Stephenson at St Botolph’s Church were important, given the proximity of the Church and the way in which road closures might impact on its work. Discussions with Father David Stephenson and Lincolnshire County Council would continue to be held.

The recommendation was moved by Councillor Mike Gilbert and seconded by Councillor Andy Izard.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the report be noted; and

2.     That feedback be provided to Cabinet on 19^th February 2025 and Full Council on 3^rd March 2025 as part of the Annual Budget report.