Bid to bring back Lincoln Christmas Market fails

A bid to reopen talks on returning Lincoln's Christmas Market has failed.

On Tuesday evening, City of Lincoln Council rejected a motion to carry out fresh consultations with businesses and residents over whether to hold an event in the future.

The market, which began in 1982, was permanently cancelled in 2023.

Opposition councillors insisted a market is needed to help boost the economy.

The Labour-controlled authority took the decision after the 2022 event attracted more than 300,000 visitors.

The authority said it could not guarantee the safety of everyone, especially given the open access to the venues which ruled-out ticketing.

Councillor Clare Smalley, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader, brought forward a motion calling for a new consultation to be opened on how to hold a Christmas market in the future, albeit smaller than the previous one.

She said the decision to cancel was "done in haste and without proper consultation" and "is a vital part of the local economy".

Speaking at the meeting, she said she was "disappointed" the council "couldn't find a solution" and find a way of running a sustainable market.

The council said it had replaced the market, which was held over four days, with a series of events held throughout the year.

Councillor Joshua Wells, the Labour portfolio holder for inclusive economic growth, said the new programme of events brought more than one million visitors to Lincoln in 2023.

The market, he said, "fundamentally changed" and became "too big".

"We have moved on from the Christmas market," he said.

Councillor Rebecca Longbottom (Labour) said Christmas markets "have had their day" and that "there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the population at large is growing tired of them".

The council said holding a market over a longer period of time, as happens in many UK cities, would be too expensive for both the authority and stall-holders.

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