A TRADER who left his pitch at Ross-on-Wye’s Thursday market after his fees were doubled, has spoken out.

Nigel Oates who quit the town’s market in March, explained he’s been trading in Ross for over 50 years, possibly even more as he helped his father Dougie prior to that.

Mr Oates said: “Earlier this year a council representative collected my rent of £40. Shortly afterwards they came out with a measuring wheel and wheeled it around my stall.

“Later the same day I was told that I was taking more space than I was entitled to. I disputed this as I was occupying the same space as I had always had.

“I was informed that my new rent would be doubled and increased to £80. This is an amount I refused to pay. I was told that the amount takes into account the space I am currently taking up.

“So, for the last ten weeks I haven’t been trading in Ross. It also appears that none of the casual traders have taken up the space under the Market House either as it remains empty.

“I’ve told the council I am not willing to pay £80, however, I was agreeable to a compromise and suggested meeting them halfway and pay £60.

“I have been told that this offer would have to be put to the councillors for discussion before making a decision on June 10.”

Mr Oates continued: “If the members don’t accept my offer of £60, I will not be coming back to trade in Ross.

“I’m not that desperate to return to trade in Ross, having reached the age of 74. Being a trader keeps me going.

“I still do Monmouth Market on a Saturday, where a lot of my customers from Ross have been coming to see me over the past two months.

“However the most thriving market that I sell my wares at is in Abergavenny on a Tuesday, and the management only charge me £3 more than my original rent in Ross and has a much greater footfall.

“I want to come back to Ross as I have a lot of ‘girl fiends’ who come to see me. They are nice people and have supported me over the decades and recently on social media.

Mr Oates said he was grateful to Maggie Kilcar for documenting that no new casual traders had appeared under the arches of the market hall since he left.

Ross Town Council have previously stated: “The trader has been a familiar and well-liked presence in the town for many years, and we appreciate how much his stall has meant to many local shoppers.

“We can confirm that the town council did not ask the trader to leave. In fact, we were very keen to keep him trading with us. However, over time, the amount of space the trader was using had grown significantly, to more than double the area he was paying for.

“We have been fortunate to have a large amount of enquiries from potential traders who wish to trade at the market.

“Ensuring everyone plays by the same rules is part of keeping things fair and sustainable. We do hope the long-standing trader might reconsider and return.”