Council 'very sorry' about Nottingham's Christmas market

A council has said it is "very sorry" after a Christmas market in a tier three city had to be shut on the day it opened because of overcrowding.

The market in Nottingham opened on Saturday but was closed eight hours later and will now not reopen.

The city council approved the event and organisers Mellors Group said it would be safe, despite residents' concerns.

Dave Trimble, the authority's portfolio holder for leisure and culture admitted "this time we got it wrong".

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "We thought we would support the economy in a managed way, but obviously it was not managed well enough.

"We do a lot of events but this time we got it wrong and we have to hold our hands up and say we are very, very, very sorry."

He said seeing pictures of packed crowds, which have been widely shared on social media, was "gut-wrenching" and, when asked if he regretted the event, replied: "Absolutely."

Before it opened, the council defended the market against a backlash from many residents who were concerned that it would lead to overcrowding and a rise in infection rates.

The Filthy Vegan's Joe Johnson - who was trading on Saturday - said: "They tried to manage it as well as they could but I don't think anyone expected it to be so busy.

"This was the first big event we've been able to do all year, our first chance to earn some money and to close after just one day is so disappointing."

Jo Cox-Brown, from Nottingham-based Night Time Economy Solutions, called for an independent review into the decision to host the market.

She said: "They absolutely should have seen this coming.

"Lots of people had the opportunity and supposedly the experience to question the wisdom of it going ahead, and they didn't."

Edward Mellors, from event organisers Mellors Group, said the day began well but as the evening drew on, it became more difficult to manage the crowds.

The company had said they would monitor crowds to ensure social distancing and use a "robust cleaning regime".

But Mr Mellors said they had underestimated the impact of restaurants and pubs being closed under tier three regulations, while food stalls at the market were allowed to open.

He said: "From 17:30 there were too many people descending in to eat. We made the call to close - our duty of care is very important to us.

"In hindsight we could have looked at it differently."

Opposition councillors have said a decision about whether the market should go ahead was made behind closed doors, away from the public, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Councillor Kevin Clarke, leader of the Clifton Independents, said: "It just beggars belief. They've made Nottingham an absolute laughing stock, an embarrassment.

"It's just one mistake after another, there was no consultation on this, and if there had been we'd have said no, obviously don't do that."

Councillor Andrew Rule, leader of the Conservative group on the council, said: "The news that the council has closed the market is the correct response to an ill-judged decision which created an unacceptable risk to public health and potentially jeopardises the progress made in reducing the Covid infection rate across the city over the last few weeks." 

Guy Jones, the chairman of the Nottingham Green Party, added: "For all that sacrifice to be thrown away for the sake of a Christmas market is at best a little stupid and at worse grossly irresponsible and incompetent."

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