A MUCH heralded sprucing up of Skipton Market has stalled after the town council struggled to find a contractor willing to put up the new stalls.

The row of ten traditional style red and white stalls - each costing £800 - were introduced by Skipton Town Council last December on the High Street setts outside Rackhams.

The intention was to bring uniformity to the market, and to bring in new traders.

But after being unable to find a contractor willing to take on the job of putting up and taking down the stalls four days a week, the council has been forced to stop use of the stalls at the end of the month.

It means for the time being, traders will set up their own individual stalls at the start of each market day.

Chief officer, Dave Parker, said it was disappointing to see the stalls go, but their introduction last year - following the refurbishment of the section of setts and it being taken over by the council - had resulted in a number of new traders.

“We’re disappointed that we haven’t been able to find a contractor to undertake the regular erection and dismantling work as the council felt the new-style stalls did bring a new dimension to the market," he said.

"However, the really good news is that the initiative has brought a significant number of new traders to the market – and by far the vast majority of them will be staying with us and some are even expanding their trading days." Mr Parker added they had also been listening what traders had said about the positioning of the stalls - which had been placed back from the pavement.

"We’ll be incorporating that into the new arrangements," he said.

Town centre manager, Brett Butler, said the council had received many positive comments about the new stalls.

“The reality is that we can’t continue to use them without charging traders quite a bit more – and that’s something we don’t want to do," he said.

"We will continue to look at ways of developing and improving the market and we’ll be working with our traders to ensure that the area outside of Rackham’s continues to look attractive and welcoming for visitors.”

The last day for the use of the stalls will be Wednesday, August 31 – after the Bank Holiday weekend – and the revised arrangements will come into effect on Friday September, 2.

Meanwhile, the stalls will be placed into storage until the council decides on a plan for their longer-term future.