A revision of plans are required before the return of a Farmers Market in Newmarket-on-Fergus is given the green light.
The Clare Echo understands that there has been one objection to plans to see the Farmers Market start up in the Ballycar car park of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary church in Newmarket-on-Fergus. The issues raised will have to be dealt with before any trading can begin.
Councillors in the Shannon Municipal District on Friday voted to retain the casual trading area in Drumgeely, Shannon which was not currently in active use. Senior executive officer in the economic development directorate of Clare County Council, Carmel Greene told the meeting that there is “a bit more work to do before it is ready for full approval for a Farmers Market in Newmarket-on-Fergus”.
She said that issues will have to be ironed out and that the item will come back before the Shannon MD in the coming months.
Optimism was expressed by Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) that the issues would be resolved. “Having spoken to Carmel to prepare for this meeting and the different aspects of this, she explained to me in detail the background, I would accept what she has to say”. He outlined, “Hopefully things will turn out positive and we will have a vibrant farmers market in Newmarket-on-Fergus into the future when more information is made available and it can be ran in a modern fashion”.
When questioned by Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) if the proposed location will have to change to allow the Farmers Market start up, Ms Greene stated “not necessarily, it might change the size of it”. She pointed out that every trader “generally has a car or a van” but that a review “mightn’t necessarily” result in the identification of a new location. “We have a very successful one in Killaloe held on Sundays in a nice quiet part of the town”.
Licences for trading in these markets are generally awarded for a period of one year. As well as Killaloe, markets are also operated in Kilrush and Ennis. “Once the licence is granted it is generally for 12 months unless it is a summer event. Ennis has reduced an awful lot over the last few years. One time it could be up to 20 different people in the market, now it is down to ten. Food has become the big thing, used to be jewellery,” Carmel stated.
An active Kilkee market was also cited by Cllr John Crowe (FG) who asked why the Shannon Farmers Market did not fall under the same criteria. The reason being was due to its location on private property in the Town Centre.
Cllr Michael Begley (IND) questioned how the process of vetting traders to ensure they are legitimate is conducted. Council official, Fiona Whelan detailed that public liability insurance and a photo of their stall or set up must be provided. In tandem with An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau they worked to get a trader who was not complying with the rules removed, “we need to be cautious, we have enforcement officers. Anything suspicious we would report to the Gardaí. There is only one person that we came across was dodgy”.
