'Economic abuse' claim at Ayrshire market as traders rage at 'new' £1080 fee from council

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Small independent traders claim they're being driven out of an Ayrshire market venue — because council beaks have 'introduced' a new market operators license fees which they can’t afford.

Ayrshire Live can exclusively reveal that one trader, whose business had an association with Ayr for 35 years, has been forced to cancel ALL future events.

We can further reveal that the problem is more widespread — with evidence suggesting that the introduction of the new fees at The Grain Exchange, Ayr, costing £1,080, is forcing traders away from the town centre.Chris Pleasance owns Allander Record Fairs, which had an association with Ayr for 35 years.He revealed: “We've announced the cancellation of the Record Fair due to take place at the Grain Exchange on October 14 and 15 — and all future events.“This is due to South Ayrshire Council, who after 35 years of Record Fairs, have decided to impose a Market Operators License on this event held three or four times a year.“This involves a significant extra cost (£1,080) along with time spent on unnecessary bureaucracy, making the event unviable.”The Ayr Record Fair was first held in the Station Hotel in 1987.Chris traded as a dealer and helped revive the event, relocating it to the Kyle Shopping Centre, then the Grain Exchange.He said: “We agreed to run a couple of fairs.

They've been very popular, attracting hundreds of people and become a regular event, even during Covid.“Staff at the Grain Exchange have always been very friendly and helpful to us — despite having to deal with some ridiculous directives, procedures and policies passed down from local authority management.”Chris, 60, added: “I'm particularly unhappy about the way things were done with no concern about the financial