resronse from Minister Gormley's office

Dear Mr Cattell ,

I refer again to your recent emails in connection with the Kinsale Farmers Market.

I made some enquiries on your behalf with the Town Manager Ms. Mary Ryan and she informed me that there are no plans to relocate the farmers market back to Short Quay. According to Ms. Ryan, there are two separate reports which identify Health and Safety concerns with that location. The Town Council have identified an alternative location at Church Square car park which they say is satisfactory for most of the traders. They propose to continue the market at this location.

Please understand that the Minister does not micro-manage the day to day affairs of local authorities and therefore decisions
regarding the location of the farmers market is totally a matter for the Town Council.

Yours sincerely,


Eddie Kiernan
Private Secretary

response to 3rd Audit

18/08/10

Dear Ms Kelleher

I have just received your correspondence via Mr. Daly.

I find it strange that I was not consulted by Mr Stockdale , on any of his concerns, some of which do not exist .

I would like to take this opportunity to address same .

1. It is planned to pave the Sq to the first step, and pedestrianise , and we have worked around all obstacles for 5 years . Was Mr Stockdale made aware that a market had been running there for 5 years without a hitch?

2. The layout of stalls submitted by me , would not impede any fire exits, This was not given to Mr Stockdale.

3. Again the new layout would not impede access to emergency vehicles.

4.There are 5 exits from the site .

5 No diesel generators have ever been used in the market.

6. Gas bottles are used in every market in Ireland , but if required we would disallow the use of same in Kinsale.

I trust you will consider the above , as Kinsale needs a successful Market as much as the Market needs Kinsale .

I have over 500 signature from the towns people to con firm this.

Yours Miles Cattell

3rd safety audit

Mr. Miles Cattell,

Slieveroe,

Riverstick

Co. Cork

12^th August 2010

Re: Short Quay, Kinsale, Co. Cork

Dear Ms. Cattell,

I refer to recent reports in relation to the Short Quay as an appropriate location for the Farmer’s Market. As you are aware I have received an independent report stating the the Short Quay is unsuitable for such a market for the following reasons:-

• 1. Too may levels and obstacles in the space
• 2. Stalls would impede existing fire escapes
• 3 .Access to emergency vehicles would be impeded
• 4. Concerns in relation to safe egress from the site
• 5. Concerns in relation to the use of diesel generators
• 6. Concerns in relation to the safe use of gas and distances required from existing buildings and other stall holders.

Given the above report, the Short Quay has been deemed unsuitable for a market. I have met with the exiting stallholders who have confirmed to me that they wish to remain trading at Church Square.

I am available on the above number should you wish to contact me.

Sincerely,

______________________________

MICHELLE KELLEHER

A/TOWN CLERK

letter to town Councillors 30/07/10

As there is to be an extra meeting of the KTC, I wonder if you could spare the time to re - visit the issue of the market . The farmers market in Church Sq, which was for a 3 month trial, is not working , from the traders or the town , as what little business we are doing , down 60%, is drawing people away from the centre of town.As you are aware we had a safety audit done by Lordan Safety, which stated that there was zero risk to holding the Market in Short Quay.In response the Manager called for a 3rd , supposedly independent audit, which we have not been consulted on or given sight of , which I am told says that while it is safe to hold rock concerts it is not safe to hold the market in the Short Quay.

While trading in town recently, I have received over 300 signatures requesting the market be reinstated in the Short Quay, including traders in the quay itself , such as Liam Edwards, and the fact that we are being blocked from trading there is reflecting badly on the Town Council , who are perceived to be going against the wishes of the town's people , as they can all see that this has nothing to do with Health and Safety.

This is the last chance for you to reinstate something that was good for everybody in the town , as has been seen since the Market was moved , so I implore you all to act on this . Yours Miles Cattell

15-07-2010
Kieran Dineen in the echo last night

Hundreds join Kinsale market campaign

KIERAN DINEEN

MORE than 200 people signed a petition yesterday calling for a return of the Kinsale farmers market to its former spot.

The market used to be staged on Short Quay, in the middle of the town, but was moved to the St Multose Church carpark five months ago on health and safety grounds due to a problem with electrical cables going across the road.

Mike Cattell, the organiser of the market, said the 30 traders experienced a drop in trade to the order of 60% when they moved to the new site for the market. He said over the months the number of traders had dropped to about half of what had been there originally.

The licence has now expired for the use of the church carpark and the farmers market has, according to Mr Cattell, now effectively collapsed.

The traders are now demanding that the market be held in its original place, on the Short Quay.

Mr Cattell set up his fruit and veg stall on the quay yesterday, as no licence is needed to sell those products, and will do the same again next week. He collected more than 200 signatures from people who want to see the farmer’s market back in the town yesterday.
Mr Cattell said the traders had got an engineer to carry out a safety report which found no problem with holding the market at the quay.
He said he could not understand why holding a market on the plaza fell foul of health and safety standards when Kinsale was able to host a concert there recently as part of the Clipper celebrations and during Kinsale Arts Week.
“Some of the 30 traders are local producers who would rely on the market for 40% of their sales. Traders will end up moving somewhere else and the town will have lost its farmer’s market forever.” he said.
Cllr Michael Frawley, mayor of the town, said he would love to see the market back in Short Quay, however, the health and safety report had been carried out by an independent engineer and that ruling had to be followed.
He said a solution must be found as the market was a great addition to the town, but that it must also take into account the views of businesses in the town.

delayed again

The Council has called for another ,3rd, (independent) H and S report on the Short Quay , so the market has ceased . I am going to sell fruit and veg etc ,under market trading rights on Wednesdays, probably in the Short Quay , because we need to move the produce. Anybody else must make their own minds up , but are welcome to join me . I will keep working on the re-instatement of the market but I don't hold out much hope.

If anyone wants to support the reinstatement please feel free to use the comments section as an online petition.Miles

letter to KTC

Hi Michelle again, on reflection we have no wish to cause problems during the Clipper week so we are happy to postpone the move to Short Quay until next Tuesday the 2nd July.

I will forward the H and S audit to you as soon as I have Hard copy of same .We do not want to be confrontational on this but it is not possible to continue the market in its present location. If we don't hear from you we will assume that it is OK, Yours Miles