COUNCIL chiefs have revealed a bid to revive Evesham’s charter market ‘as soon as possible’ will be made after the popular town attraction was forced to close.
After the current operator confirmed he was unable to continue with the twice weekly markets, Evesham Town Council revealed it will be closed until further notice.
Officers have admitted the council does not have the resources or the staff to run the market itself and admitted the situation was ‘deeply undesirable’ for both traders and customers.
But as custodians of the market, which dates back to 1604 when King James I granted the town a charter which enabled it to hold a regular market, the council needs to act in accordance with regulations over how contracts for such services are handed out.
The market is one of the items on the agenda for the council meeting on Monday (June 13).
Councillors will be asked to approve the formation of the Charter Market Steering Group with delegated authority to advertise for a new market operator and manage the tendering process.
Assuming it is approved, the steering group will then meet with prospective market operators to discuss their plans for the market.
Once complete, the steering group will report back to the council with a recommendation on which operator should be offered the contract.
“At the moment, it’s impossible to say with any certainty how long that process will take. But we will do our best to get the market running again as soon as possible,” the council said in a statement.
“We are aware there have already been some expressions of interest in taking over the market.
“These have been noted, and, provided the council office has your contact details, we will get back to you as soon as we are able to formally open the tendering process,” the council added.
