'We are an afterthought' - Boston Market traders voice 'anger', 'annoyance' and 'disgust' over relocation for Christmas Festival

Tomorrow (Friday, November 29), a three-day festive celebration will get under way in Boston town centre.

It will include food and drink, craft stalls, entertainment, fairground rides and a synthetic ice rink.

However, there is upset among some of the town’s regular market traders over how their Saturday pitches have been incorporated into the event by organisers Boston Borough Council.

Traders had been expecting to be in their usual Market Place locations, as they were for last year’s celebrations. However, they say they have now been told that unless they paid for a space for all three days of the festival, they will have to trade from Wide Bargate, near where the fairground rides and ice rink will be located. This, they say, was not explained to them when the council approached them about the festival earlier in the year.

Many are choosing not to pitch a stall that day, arguing that their regular customers will not attempt to track them down if they are not at their usual location, and that the ice rink and fairground rides will not bring in shoppers interested in their wares, just families.

Among the numerous traders to voice their upset has been Kelly Brandon, of Brandon’s Market Fresh.

“We should have been included in this year’s Christmas Festival. At the end of the day, we are the council’s customers,” she said, adding: “We are an afterthought.”

Brandon’s Market Fresh has been a fixture of Boston Market for 35 years.

Kelly, of Spalding, hopes traders will be given more consideration in next year’s celebrations, saying: “This can’t happen again to us.”

When asked about the arrangements, Jeanie Killick, of Wyberton, from Jeanie’s Haberdashery, said: “I’m so angry”. Explaining why, she said: “It’s my livelihood.”

Jeanie’s stall has been part of Boston Market since 1965 – she started helping on the stall, her father’s before her, when she was just six years old.

She said being relocated would make ‘a big difference’.

“If they only come to me, they will come here, they won’t go looking around the town, looking for me,” she said.

“We should be the priority, because we stand here twice a week, all year,” she added.

Julie Taylor, of Spilsby, of Julie’s Jewels, will be in Market Place on Saturday, having paid to be there for all three days – a decision she described as a ‘big gamble’ due to the extra expense involved.

“The market has definitely been an afterthought,” she said. “It’s called a ‘festival’, it’s not even being called a ‘Christmas market’.”

“It’s starting to feel like we’re not wanted,” she added.

Carla Beavers, of Boston, who has run an underwear stall on Boston Market for 40-plus years, said she was ‘very annoyed’ by the arrangements, adding: “Regular customers will not come and look for you. I expected to stand on my usual pitch.”

​Mandy Bedford, of Boston, of Hilldyke Nurseries, said: “I think it’s disgusting, to be honest.”

Hilldyke Nurseries has had a presence on Boston Market for more than 20 years.

“We stand here, all weathers, and whenever something else is here we get shifted out of the way. It’s like we don’t matter,” she said, adding: “No matter how much they advertise it, your regular customers who come for you, won’t understand you have moved to the other end of town just for one weekend.

​Coun Dale Broughton, deputy leader of the council, said: “As soon as the plans for this year’s Christmas Festival were finalised we contacted traders to make them aware of the required changes for the event, and have listened to their feedback to reduce the impact of the move as much as possible. We are going to provide additional signage and promotion to make regular customers and visitors aware where they will be based, and will waive any need for use of holiday or a non-attendance fee for those not taking part.”

“We are confident that this popular event will be a great success again, and will see thousands of additional visitors come to the town centre across its three days, enjoying the festival and supporting our fantastic local businesses and traders. Whilst we recognise that some traders will be unhappy with the temporary changes, they are necessary to be able to safely and effectively deliver the full scale of the Christmas Festival that Boston residents want and deserve.

“We hope that many of them will still take advantage of the alternative arrangements made and be part of this brilliant weekend, but absolutely respect the decision of those who may choose not to stand on this occasion.”