ORGANISERS of the annual Valentine's fair based on the Cornhill have today hit back at market traders who claim the fair should be moved.The Evening Star revealed last week that traders were unhappy that they had to give way to the fair, losing two days worth of business.
ORGANISERS of the annual Valentine's fair based on the Cornhill have today hit back at market traders who claim the fair should be moved.
The Evening Star revealed last week that traders were unhappy that they had to give way to the fair, losing two days worth of business.
However, John Loades, who has helped organise the fair on the Cornhill for the last ten years, claims the traders knew the situation when they opted to move to the Cornhill.
He said: "They accepted the condition that they would give way to the Valentine's fair. We were there seven years before the market got permission to get to the Cornhill.
"They have come into a situation that was already in existence."
Mike Young, chairman of the Ipswich Market Traders co-operative, previously told the Star that he felt the public and the major town stores were against the fair.
But Mr Loades dismissed this argument. He said: "Mike Young says we could go onto a park but that is a just a means of getting us out of the way. It's a very one-sided way of thinking. There's animosity from the market traders.
"Why can't they run a market in other areas? We block streets so couldn't go anywhere else but the market could. We should be able to work with the market.
"I spoke to a gent today and he said the market should have stayed where it was."
Mr Loades said that he had been running a petition all week to see if people wanted the fair to remain and claimed he already had 250 signatures.
Mr Young said he had nothing against the fair but felt stallholders were being penalised unfairly.
He said: "Why can't the fair go to the town's parks like in every other town?"
Mr Young added the Cornhill was now the town's market place.
Yesterday marked the end of the fair for this year.
n. What do you think of the row? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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