City of Lincoln Council has hit back at claims that ditching the city’s Christmas market was ‘a knee-jerk reaction to bad planning’.
Council leader Ric Metcalfe said: “We have in part reacted to a particular crowded event this year, but this has been a growing trend. We’ve tracked the figures carefully and the trend has always been in an upwards direction since the Christmas Market began 40 years ago.”
The cost of the market has exceeded the council’s £260,000 budget, predicating a loss of £80,000 in 2023.
Cllr Metcalfe added: “We put in a huge amount of time, energy and effort, and indeed public money. We do it at a great risk, not just a public safety risk, but also a financial one.”
In response to local businesses’ concerns, Cllr Metcalfe said: “In trying to develop an alternative to our traditional market, we’ve got to involve businesses.
“We’ve got to get their views and what they think will work within the constraints that we’re working with.
“It’ll need a lot of discussion and we hope that we’ll get agreements as to how to make it just as good as the Christmas market.”
Cllr Metcalfe said: “Any future plans for the proposed six-week event are still in the early stages.
“We’ve got to design a series of events that avoid reproducing what has become too much of a problem.
“I couldn’t tell you now what that would consist of, but we’re working on it, and we want to engage with everyone’s ideas and contributions.”
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