STALL holders are being given licences to trade on Skipton market despite the High Street setts being ‘dangerous’ and ‘not fit for purpose’, say town councillors.

Although the maintenance of the setts is not the responsibility of Skipton Town Council, it issues trading licences and has a duty of care, heard a meeting of the authority.

Councillor Peter Madeley, chair of the market committee, said: “The market is the most important thing that we do. We have to make sure it is safe to trade and it is not.

"We are knowingly sending people to work on pitches that are dangerous and not fit for purpose.”

Cllr Madeley called for a meeting of the highways authority, North Yorkshire County Council, which the meeting was told was responsible for the upkeep of the setts, with the aim of having a formal risk assessment drawn up so that ‘everyone knew where they were.’

He said some pitches were good, some were bad and others were not fit for purpose.

Cllr Madeley told the meeting: “Every week we have people falling down. Outside Barclays they used to have a chair just for people who fell. The setts are dangerous and not fit for purpose and we need to do something about it.”

He added the condition of the High Street was preventing the council from the improvements it wanted to make to the four times a week market.

“Our responsibility is to give out licences and we have a duty of care to the market holders. We can’t move on with things we want to do with the market until we solve this safety issue,” he said.

He added he did not want the town council to have to stop someone from trading on the market because it was unsafe, but did not want the town council to be liable in some way if someone was injured while visiting the market.

Cllr Claire Nash said the setts were classed as privately owned public highway and it was the responsibility of North Yorkshire County Council to make sure they were safe.

She claimed the county council could order the owners of the setts, the frontagers, the owners of the shops and businesses on the High Street, to maintain the setts in front of their properties, or it could make repairs itself and send the bill to the owners.

Cllr Nash said: “North Yorkshire County Council needs to be taken to task, they are not regularly checking the setts and making sure they are fit for purpose.

“They (the county council) have the power to order the people who own them to repair them.”

County councillor, and Skipton ward member, Cllr David Noland, suggested a meeting be set up with Skipton local office of the highways authority, while Cllr Brian McDaid said a deadline for a meeting be put forward after councillors heard it was not always easy to get a meeting with officers from the county council.

North Yorkshire County Council told the Craven Herald that any work to do with the High Street setts was complex and added it was working with the town council.

Karl Battersby, corporate director for business and environmental services, said: “The possibility of moving or repairing setts on Skipton high street is an incredibly complex situation. We are looking into the matter and will continue to liaise with the town council.”