10/03/2023
*PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ*
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, suggest that they are supporting local businesses from their advertisement on page 17 of the mourne observer this week. But if you look at page 3 of this weeks paper, you can see this is the furthest thing from the truth. Local traders are being charged extortionate fees for trading spots that they have held for a number of years. The council are refusing to negotiate on this . They are pushing local traders out of business and looking for bigger food operators to come in and take the pitches, so how is this supporting local.
It is also important to mention with these high Licencing fees, it is also forcing these local traders to have to charge higher selling prices for their products, which is the last thing they want to do. If you take the time to read the article on page 3 about the current Bloody Bridge trader, the councils response pretty much says it all, in that they are not willing to help and support local business in such trying times.
As a trader myself and holding a council pitch for a number of years, I am sitting in the same predicament, wondering what the future holds. We urgently need the support of the public and our local Councillors on this matter as we may face going out of business.
